Faulty bottle does damage!!

katie21

Hi
I bought a bottle of miwadi orange from Spar last month. I unfortunatley put the bottle in my handbag to carry it and went on my way!!
about 20 minutes later I went to get something out of my handbag and realise that half the litre of miwadi had spilled all over my handbag destroying everything in its way, including my camera, an old phone I had in my bag plus the handbag itself!!
It was only then that I realised that the seal was not on the bottle properly and so the bottle was sold to me faulty.
Would I be entitled to any compensation for this and if so, off who? The company who makes MiWadi or Spar?

P. Breathnach

If you are entitled to compensation, it would be from whoever you had a contract with: the retailer.

I suspect that you wouldn't get far with a claim. It would be very difficult to prove a chain of responsibility.

slimjimmc

Had the cap been loosened at any stage, i.e. are the anti-tamper perforations broken. If so I'd say you'll have a hard time proving anyone else was at fault. If the cap is leaking but otherwise completely intact but then the shop who sold you the faulty goods should be responsible. It's up to the shop to claim compensation from their supplier if they want. I'm not sure if you're entitled to compensation for consequential loss (content of the bag) since it was you who put the bottle lying down into your bag. I'd expect the most you'll get is a replacement bottle and a good-will gesture. Am I the only one who always checks the seal before I buy or put a bottle on its side ?

Shelflife

you would be wasting your time, there would be no way of proving that you didbt damage the seal when you left the shop.

Cabaal

to be honest new bottle and thats it and thats as goodwill as you have no way of proving you didn't open the bottle before putting it in your bag, in future don't use your handbag as a shopping bag.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I've seen similar to this before. The most one can expect is a replacement for the goods purchased: in this case another bottle of orange. These things happen and this is how we learn lessons like to check goods before purchasing, not putting loose bottles in handbags etc.

axer

You could make a claim still. Manufacturers will have product liability insurance to cover such claims. They may contest it but if the seal is faulty on the bottle then surely you can fill it up with water and recreate the leak again? They can easily inspect the lid and see if it has been tampered with.

Technically you had a contract with spar thus they breached the contract by selling you a faulty product however you are very unlikely to get anything from spar and might have more of a chance in contacting whoever makes miwadi directly instead attempting to resolve it without bring the law into it.

slimjimmc

To fill the bottle the OP would have to unscrew the cap therefore removing any evidence that the cap had not been previously undone and the leak was due to a faulty seal, if indeed this is the case at all.

antoinolachtnai

Product liability claims are likely to be very complicated. It is unlikely you will want to visit the courts to pursue this and I don't think the small claims process would be suitable because of the complexity.

I would write to mi wadi manufacturer, and tell them what amount the damage was in money terms and see what happens next. They might just settle it for the sake of goodwill. Do you have the batch numbers and things, and maybe they can track down the dodgy bottle sealing machine?

travellingbid

Something similiar happened to me a few years ago. A new bottle of liquid foundation still in it's box leaked all over my handbag, destroying the inside of a €250 handbag, along with seeping into my phone. The girl in the shop remembered me as she had commented on my bag and offered me a replacement bottle of make up. Couldn't do anything about my bag or contents without going back to the manufacturer. I called in a couple of times after but never heard anything or got a call back

MrVestek

travellingbid wrote: »

Something similiar happened to me a few years ago. A new bottle of liquid foundation still in it's box leaked all over my handbag, destroying the inside of a €250 handbag, along with seeping into my phone. The girl in the shop remembered me as she had commented on my bag and offered me a replacement bottle of make up. Couldn't do anything about my bag or contents without going back to the manufacturer. I called in a couple of times after but never heard anything or got a call back

Which is why you should keep makeup in a seperate bag inside of your main handbag.

Ignorance is bliss :-)

Jev/N

axer wrote: »

You could make a claim still. Manufacturers will have product liability insurance to cover such claims

Have a read about product liability and then see if you'd think the OP would have a chance of making a claim. In this instance, I sincerely doubt you would

katie21

Just got great news.

Just got a reply by email to say they would reimburse me in full for the damage caused on condition I sign a disclaimer saying that the payment is in full and final settlement of this complaint.

Delighted!!!

Jev/N

Well you can't always be right

Anyways, chalk it up to experience, next time you mightn't be so lucky

axer

katie21 wrote: »

Just got great news.

Just got a reply by email to say they would reimburse me in full for the damage caused on condition I sign a disclaimer saying that the payment is in full and final settlement of this complaint.

Delighted!!!

Fair play to MiWadi. They could have easily fought and won.

MrVestek

I can't believe that they actually agreed to reimburse you for this.

I guess they just don't want the publicity but I mean c'mon you seriously thought that putting a bottle sealed or otherwise into a handbag with other items floating about was a good idea?

Jev/N

If it had been a milk company, they would have laughed it off, I'd imagine

Head The Wall

Jev/N wrote: »

If it had been a milk company, they would have laughed it off, I'd imagine

Yeah, no crying over spilt milk there

MrVestek

Head The Wall wrote: »

Yeah, no crying over spilt milk there

Such an old joke and yet it made me chuckle! Kudos to you good sir!

slimjimmc

Achilles wrote: »

I can't believe that they actually agreed to reimburse you for this.

I guess they just don't want the publicity but I mean c'mon you seriously thought that putting a bottle sealed or otherwise into a handbag with other items floating about was a good idea?

Or perhaps they see it as cheap advertising. Keep an eye out for the only gal in Ireland with a big MiWadi logo emblazened across her handbag.:)

Personally I don't think compensation was justified, but well done anyways. If you don't ask you can't receive.

MrVestek

Ohh feck I just spilled a can of beer on myself.

Must get in touch with *BRAND NAME* to report a faulty can opener thingy.