Asda exploding glass table - what do I do?

silverstone35

Hi forumites, really hope you can advise...

About 6mths ago I bought a Brooklyn glass coffee table from Asda. Tonight, completely out of nowhere, it shattered into a million tiny pieces. My husband cut his finger as it shattered while he was sitting next to it (not a major cut thankfully but enough to get blood everywhere!).

Previously to purchasing the coffee table we had bought a set of 3 glass tables (nest tables) similar to the coffee table but without the second glass panel towards the base of the legs. We went back to purchase the coffee table to complete the set when we had the ££.

What is most frustrating about the whole situation is that of the set of nest tables, one of those exploded a couple of months after we bought it! We needed more than 2 little tables so we bought another set and then completed it with the coffee table. One self-smashing table we could deal with, but 2...well we are no longer wanting a constant threat in the hous so are getting rid of the lot.

So now we have 1 full set of nest tables, 1 part-set (as one smashed) and 0 coffee table. Out of the total 7 tables we purchased, 2 have smashed. That's not good! The first table that broke had a vase on it which also broke, this time around fortunately there was only a box of tissues on the bit of glass that smashed (the top pane was left in-tact, fortunately, as our wedding commemorative glass engraved vase was on it a gift from family!!!)

Anyhow, after spending over £200 for the 2 sets of nest tables and coffee table, we have had to do 2 mega clear-ups, minor injury and do not have the table set we paid for! Only 1.5 sets!

I did some reasearch and apparently there have been lawsuits in the USA around a particular manufacturer of glass tables who also experienced this "spontaneous shattering". They went bankrupt after the lawsuit was filed.

I'm wondering what's best to do. I took a pic of the damage immediately after the table shattered. I don't have the receipts anymore. Should I try going to the store to try my luck or does anyone have any better suggestions?

Thanks,
xxx

niceguyed

Mmmm weird. I found this on wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_glass_breakage

I must admit I thought maybe you had done something, maybe weakened it but there seem to be quite a few articles. If you don't have a receipt can you prove purchase through a bank statement? Do you have the box or an item number?

Give Asda a call, see what they say. Maybe they have heard of it before. It sounds really nasty, especially if there was an injury. Could be worth taking a picture of the cut.

Obviously it depends how seriously Asda take this and what you want as a resolution? Maybe not a exact replacement table though.

pinkteapot

Well worth pursuing with Asda. It should have a one year warranty so worth going for a refund, at least on the broken items.

They will likely push back on how you used the tables. How much weight was on them? For the coffee table, you can reasonably expect it to hold a few magazines but if you stacked lots of heavy books on it then they might refuse a refund.

Depends how good their customer service is. I once bought a £9.99 toaster from BHS and it broke after 11 months. Took it back to BHS (with the receipt) and they gave me a new one!

pleasedelete

I once came home to find a massive glass blue vase from m and s was shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces. No one was in the house, no pets. I contacted them as it was a wedding gift and expensive but heard nothing back.

It was very odd

thacky

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2483429

Some more on glass tables on this thread

lincroft1710

silverstone35 wrote: »

I'm wondering what's best to do

Invest in a set of wooden topped tables. They (a) won't explode (b) will be safer, (c) will be generally more hard wearing and (d) will be more suitable.

rosemaryj85

This happened to me yesterday while my 9year old son and 80yr old gran were sitting at the table.
We bought the miami garden set about 4 weeks ago and it just shattered into hundereds of pieces Im thinking it is due to the heat, but this in ridiculous considering it is a garden set and is clearly not up to standards.

foxwales

Pane glass can be very brittle if it's not tempered correctly during the manufacturing process. It's likely that atmospheric conditions caused the glass to expand/contract or alternatively the frame housing it, which caused the brittle pane to shatter.

See if you can identify a manufacturers stamp on any of the remaining furniture, report this and the incident to trading standards.

It will be extremely difficult to claim fault beyond accidental or deliberate damage because the onus of proof falls upon you unless there have been frequent occurrences of this problem with this specific product or batch.

ThumbRemote

foxwales wrote: »

It will be extremely difficult to claim fault beyond accidental or deliberate damage because the onus of proof falls upon you unless there have been frequent occurrences of this problem with this specific product or batch.

I'm not sure if your reply relates to the original problem (which was posted a few months back so is presumably now resolved) or the more recent follow-up from rosemaryj85.

For rosemaryj85, the item was only bought 4 weeks ago so the onus of proof is with the retailer. She should just take the items back.