Legal query: who has the legal responsibility here?

jenniewb

I bought a food item from a well known UK shop. The food I bought wasn't prepared correctly and broke my tooth and ultimately I had to lose that tooth. Along the line I had a lot of pain and repeated infection due to the broken tooth- I wont detail it here but safe to say it was really disturbing.


I complained to the company who sold me the product as from what I understood, it was their responsibility to sell me a product fit for consumption and they failed to do this. However, after many months of waiting for a reply, they've decided they are "not liable" and I'd need to contact the brand who made the product. They appear to not respond or be a one-man-band type of mega small company who didn't seem to care about my experience let alone see their part in it.


I'm not sure who to complain to. Do I go to the Ombudsman? I was under the impression that from a legal point it was the vendor not the manufacturer of the product who has the authority and responsibility here. Did I misunderstand this?
Ultimately I'd be asking to be compensated both for my experience and the missing tooth, but I also want to take the item to trading standards as I believe it was an inherent fault with the item itself.


Does anyone know where or what I do? I don't know if it's worth contacting one of those "no win no fee" types but they seem a bit power-heavy and aggressive and I'm also wary they'd swallow most of any compensation due- which I'd like to use to replace my missing tooth (which wont be cheap).
Any advice greatly appreciated!

keithdc

jenniewb wrote: »

I bought a food item from a well known UK shop. The food I bought wasn't prepared correctly and broke my tooth and ultimately I had to lose that tooth. Along the line I had a lot of pain and repeated infection due to the broken tooth- I wont detail it here but safe to say it was really disturbing.


I complained to the company who sold me the product as from what I understood, it was their responsibility to sell me a product fit for consumption and they failed to do this. However, after many months of waiting for a reply, they've decided they are "not liable" and I'd need to contact the brand who made the product. They appear to not respond or be a one-man-band type of mega small company who didn't seem to care about my experience let alone see their part in it.


I'm not sure who to complain to. Do I go to the Ombudsman? I was under the impression that from a legal point it was the vendor not the manufacturer of the product who has the authority and responsibility here. Did I misunderstand this?
Ultimately I'd be asking to be compensated both for my experience and the missing tooth, but I also want to take the item to trading standards as I believe it was an inherent fault with the item itself.


Does anyone know where or what I do? I don't know if it's worth contacting one of those "no win no fee" types but they seem a bit power-heavy and aggressive and I'm also wary they'd swallow most of any compensation due- which I'd like to use to replace my missing tooth (which wont be cheap).
Any advice greatly appreciated!

In what way was it allegedly not 'prepared correctly?' By you or by them?

Contract is with who you bought it from.

ssparks2003

Food is generally soft enough to eat so how did you break a tooth?

photome

ssparks2003 wrote: »

Food is generally soft enough to eat so how did you break a tooth?

I broke a tooth on a nut recently.

I am not blaming anyone else although I am having it capped rather than replaced

neilmcl

I think you need to provide more detail regarding what exactly did you purchase and why you claim it wasn't "prepared correctly".

agrinnall

If you want legal advice you have to get it from a solicitor or other suitably qualified legal professional. Anything you're told on here is opinion.

peachyprice

What food was it? Was there any advice that it 'may contain bones' or the like?

sheramber

My husband broke a tooth when eating a bag of crisps. A very , hard small piece caused th damage.

He sent the offending particle and the bit of tooth to the manufacturer.

They investigated and replied that one of the machines had been blunt and had not cut up the potato properly. As a result the piece of potato was baked hard.

They paid for private dental treatment as the treatment required to give the best results was not available on the NHS, which would only cover a basic filling.

His dentist did have to complete a long questionnaire about the treatment needed for the best outcome for the future.

The payment was made by the manufacturer's insurance company but the manufacturer kept in constant contact until it was finalised.

jenniewb

keithdc wrote: »

In what way was it allegedly not 'prepared correctly?' By you or by them?

Contract is with who you bought it from.

By them, it was a snack food (roasted chickpea) but it wasn't prepared properly; if they'd prepared it properly, then pre-soaked chickpeas are then roasted so they are chewable. These were not presoaked (their mistake as they normally are) and I bit down on one assuming it would be edible...and my back tooth broke in two.

jenniewb

photome wrote: »

I broke a tooth on a nut recently.

I am not blaming anyone else although I am having it capped rather than replaced

And if I were talking about nuts or even cherrys in a cake, I'd agree with you, but these were supposed to be prepared before being sold. They were not. It's a bit like buying a bag of crisps and then finding they'd put in whole potatos rather than cooking them first- only the food I am talking about was hard enough to break a tooth and did.

Look, I get that with most threads, people like to play judge and jury, that is not what I am asking.

I am not asking about if anyone is at fault here- it has been proven by my evidence, by their later independant investigations and that there was a fault and that fault was not my fault is not in dispute. What I am asking here is who is responsible here because from my understanding it is the vendor not the manufacturer.

jenniewb

sheramber wrote: »

My husband broke a tooth when eating a bag of crisps. A very , hard small piece caused th damage.

He sent the offending particle and the bit of tooth to the manufacturer.

They investigated and replied that one of the machines had been blunt and had not cut up the potato properly. As a result the piece of potato was baked hard.

They paid for private dental treatment as the treatment required to give the best results was not available on the NHS, which would only cover a basic filling.

His dentist did have to complete a long questionnaire about the treatment needed for the best outcome for the future.

The payment was made by the manufacturer's insurance company but the manufacturer kept in constant contact until it was finalised.

Thank you- that is really helpful
The problem isn't just a one off fault though, because this issue has occured before and a few people have reported broken teeth as a review/warning when I then went to research myself.

I think that the food which damaged my tooth generally is prepared badly full stop not as a one off and this makes them far more likely to cause damage because they are too hard to bite through it's almost "lucky" it hasn't affected more people (unless reviews are being taken down which wouldn't suprize me given my personal experience of trying to contact the brand so far...)


So I am wary that the food I had purchased was never really fit for consumption rather than a mistake but as it stands I can't make a case for that as I'm not a Dentist or specialist nor can I afford to get one to verify this for a legal case- they are marketed in a way that would entice children and this worries me a lot. I know what I bit into wasn't able to be broken by a tooth, and that this is likely to occur again given the way they are prepared.


I'd love to get the tooth replaced though! I'm not sure if any liability would pay enough (I've been quoted £3000 and the tooth would need to be replaced again 10-20 years later which is foreseeably in my lifetime). But if that could be done and the tooth replaced it would be amazing!