Some students who signed up for a new laundry delivery service this semester may feel like they were put through the spin cycle.
Revolt Cleaners, a wash, fold and laundry delivery service that was listed as a local option on GW’s housing website, closed about two weeks ago without notifying students who had prepaid for services, according to several students who used the service.
At least two students lost a combined nearly $1,000 after they signed up for laundry services they never received. They also said Revolt’s website still had a spot to put down credit card information.
University spokesman Kurtis Hiatt confirmed the company closed on Sept. 14.
Hiatt said staff are helping students who had used Revolt if they have lost items or money when Revolt closed. He did not say how many students had signed up to use the laundry service.
“Staff have been assisting students with the process for retrieving items that were in Revolt Cleaners’ custody, and have advised students on how to seek refunds if they believed they are owed one,” he said.
He also noted that the local laundry service companies GW lists on its housing website are not affiliated with the University.
Freshman Ariana Patsaros thought that when she arrived at GW, doing laundry wouldn’t be such a big ordeal. She signed up for Fetch Cleaners in August, which she later found out was “the same company” as Revolt and Soapy Joe’s when she contacted GW Campus Support Services.
In March, Revolt bought Soapy Joe’s, which was formerly alumni-owned and was used by students for more than a decade. Revolt also owned Fetch Cleaners.
Patsaros said the laundry bag Revolt employees promised to deliver never showed up and when she repeatedly called the cleaners, staff put her on hold or never returned her voice mails.
Two weeks ago, when Patsaros said she contacted a representative from Campus Support Services, she was told to put her experience in writing because there had been multiple complaints from students who signed up. She was then told Revolt had closed.
Patsaros, who called the company a “scam,” said she has still not been reimbursed for the $370 she prepaid for first semester.
“They took everyone’s money who presigned up, and then went out of business,” Patsaros said. “[GW] is telling us to contact the bank.”
Revolt, Soapy Joe’s and Fetch Cleaners are not currently listed on the GW Housing website, where the University suggests that students contact Campus Support Services for information regarding Revolt Cleaners.
“If I had never called them, I don’t know what would have happened,” Patsaros said. “They would have kept endorsing a company that didn’t exist.”
Revolt Cleaners has a one-star rating on the online review site Yelp. Several reviewers complained the service had put fraudulent charges on their credit card or charged multiple times for a singular service.
One reviewer called Revolt Cleaners “flat-out fraudsters.”
Freshman Kennedy Whittington-Cooper also signed up for Revolt Cleaners and paid $600 for the full school year.
Cooper, a track athlete, said she wanted a laundry service to wash the three workout shirts she goes through daily. After the second week of school, her service suddenly stopped when Revolt closed its doors. She also received no notification and her calls to Revolt went unanswered.
“It was inconvenient, especially coming in as a freshman my first few weeks,” she said. “It was very stressful.”
