We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide
Long battle for 'toxic sofa' victims ends with £20 million pay-out
worldtraveller
Posts: 14,013 Forumite
A judge at the High Court has ordered several High Street retailers to pay out up to £20m in compensation to customers who received chemical burns from their leather sofas.
Lawyers representing around 2,000 people believe it is the largest group consumer action in English legal history.
Insurers for Argos, Homebase, Walmsleys and some smaller companies have admitted liability for their customers' injuries and agreed to pay compensation claims.
Last month the court ruled that victims who bought their furniture from the now dissolved Land of Leather would not be in line for a pay-out.
Its insurers, Zurich, successfully argued that the company had breached the terms of its insurance policy, and therefore it did not need to pay out.
It is estimated that 100,000 chemically-laden leather suites were sold on the High Street.
Some retailers later contacted customers to warn of a "health and safety issue" but were not explicit about the injuries that could be caused.
Customers who complained they had become ill were offered a full refund or an exchange, but so far there has been no national recall by trading standards officials.
The problems began in China. Sofa manufacturers had inserted sachets of the anti-fungal chemical dimethyl fumarate or DMF, to stop the furniture from going mouldy during storage in Asia.
BBC News
Lawyers representing around 2,000 people believe it is the largest group consumer action in English legal history.
Insurers for Argos, Homebase, Walmsleys and some smaller companies have admitted liability for their customers' injuries and agreed to pay compensation claims.
Last month the court ruled that victims who bought their furniture from the now dissolved Land of Leather would not be in line for a pay-out.
Its insurers, Zurich, successfully argued that the company had breached the terms of its insurance policy, and therefore it did not need to pay out.
It is estimated that 100,000 chemically-laden leather suites were sold on the High Street.
Some retailers later contacted customers to warn of a "health and safety issue" but were not explicit about the injuries that could be caused.
Customers who complained they had become ill were offered a full refund or an exchange, but so far there has been no national recall by trading standards officials.
The problems began in China. Sofa manufacturers had inserted sachets of the anti-fungal chemical dimethyl fumarate or DMF, to stop the furniture from going mouldy during storage in Asia.
BBC News
There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, There is a rapture on the lonely shore, There is society, where none intrudes, By the deep sea, and music in its roar: I love not man the less, but Nature more...
0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 354.6K Banking & Borrowing
- 254.4K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 455.5K Spending & Discounts
- 247.5K Work, Benefits & Business
- 604.3K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 178.5K Life & Family
- 261.8K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards