Broken goods in store

pulliptears

Does the shops insurance not cover these scenarios?

hcb42

very likely to be under their excess, unless it is Waterford Crystal where the OP knocked the wobbly shelf...:eek:

I guess a lot of shops do just suck it up and absorb the cost, don't think i have ever met anyone who has ever been in this situation and been forced to pay/sued.

unholyangel

lukehb wrote: »

It is a purely hypothetical circumstance, inspired by what I will call a "very near miss" in a glassware shop.

I nearly collapsed a shelf, with probably upwards of £1000 worth of goods on it. They had one of these signs, I got talking to them about their policy, and how often people actually accepted responsibility for these things, and pay for them. I mentioned that I thought they should at least accept some responsibility because the cases and shelving they used was, for want of a better word, rickety at best.

I mentioned that I thought I had one time heard something like this, and he said he thought he had heard similar, but we both admitted we would never publicise it as most customers are ready to pay in this circumstance anyway, and the sign is usually enough to force them to be careful.

We also got talking about whether this would encourage people to deliberately cause small, easily repairable damage to goods to get them at a reduced price, if you could insist on taking the damaged goods with you.

I also lived in the US and Canada for quite a while too, so it is possible that I am transferring their laws to over here, or as I have said, have simply made them up.

But if the damage was repairable, the retailer could - unless a replacement was cheaper perhaps - invoice the customer for the cost of repair.

Its not so much of "you break it, you buy it". Its more that everyone has a statutory duty of care. And if you cause another to suffer a loss through a breach of this duty, you can be liable for costs reasonably incurred. They're entitled to be put back into the position they would have been in had the breach not occurred.

Most they could probably ask for is wholesale price. They wouldnt get retail price in most cases as it would be seen as a betterment compared to the position they were in prior to the breach.

mazza111

LukeHB - I seem to remember reading or seeing something like that on TV too. It's the cost price you would need to pay providing there were signs up. I can't for the life of me remember where I seen it though. Thought it was something like Watchdog or one of the other consumer programmes

Equaliser123

Depends on the items. If it is, for example, long lead times and the retailer cannot immediately obtain a replacement then it may be closer to retail price.

Generalisations here as no specifics involved.

cardinalbiggles

I would never buy anything from a shop with a sign that says breakages must be paid for.

They cant force you to pay. As far as I am concerned they are trying to sell things and must accept that from time to time things may get broken. Its not a privilege to enter a shop, they are trying to make money from you.

artbaron

I can't see how claiming would work for accidental damage. If you knocked something over then you're free to leave the shop without giving any information. The store owners can't legally stop you and even if they called the police, they wouldn't intervene unless there was evidence of the damage being deliberate.

I'm a big believer in personal responsibility but to my mind it's the shop's responsibility to take out insurance against accidental damage.