Is it worth a report to Trading Standards about a possibly unsafe light fitting?

Nilrem

About 6 months ago I needed to replace the tube in the kitchen, as the inverter on the old one had died, I made the mistake of saving 20 minutes and getting one from homebase.

I wasn't impressed with the build quality at the time (coke can was the phrase I think I used to describe the quality of the metal housing).

Fast Forward to Sunday when I could smell a hot plastic/burning smell in the kitchen.
Cue about 5 minutes or so of myself, and other members of the household playing "spot the faulty appliance".

We narrowed it down to the light fitting.



What it looks like is the fitting end caps, which hold both the tube connections and the diffuser are "loose" (push fit to the body only) have obviously been allowing the connections to make an imperfect contact resulting in shorting/arcing on one side.

I'm not worried about a refund (it's only £30ish quid), but the fact the design is probably unsafe, and I'm getting fed up with Homebase quality being so poor (virtually anything of their own brand is sub par and useless, but because it's local I keep forgetting when I need something in a hurry*)

To compare that to the replacement I bought from B&Q the other day, the B&Q one actually has a separate cap that goes over the bit for the end connection, which holds the diffuser, and because it screws into the body it effectively locks both the diffuser, and the bit with the connections into place, rather than trying to do two jobs with a loose push fitting.

The really annoying thing is, I ended up dropping the homebase fitting as I took it down, so the metal work is slightly buckled (mind you it's so thin i think you could buckle it by looking at it wrong), which I'm fairly sure HB will say caused the problem (I hate light fittings - when I put them up I usually enlist an assistant or two to pass bits up).



*And usually regret it when the next day I have to make a second trip out to B&Q, Wickes or put in an order online to get a part that actually does the job.

lincroft1710

I would speak to Homebase first, it may have been a one off or faulty batch. If you approach them on a softly, softly basis i.e. there may be a fault with this rather than I want compensation/replacement/money back, it may pay dividends.

BTW £30 is quite a lot of money for some people.

mo786uk

report it to consumer direct

that way it will be on record either way.

if it is an issue may be raised with homebase.

Nilrem

Cheers, I'll try Consumer Direct on Monday.

lincroft1710, I'm a bit miffed at the £30, but I'm more worried about the quality (or lack off) and potential risk for others than a refund (I could barely smell the burning/hot plastic and probably would have put it down to something on the hob surface if that had been on recently).

I just want to make sure it's officially noted, as I'm not convinced Homebase would log it as a possibly serious problem, other than just faulty.

arcon5

Maybe write to the manufacturer directly aswell. I agree homebase are unlikely to care, but the manufacturer may.