mouldy tea bags

cupid_s

A few weeks ago my bro-in-law made some tea at my house and it tasted awful - kind of smoked! It turns out he'd opened a fresh box of tetley tea bags and all were mouldy. Not just a little bit but really disgusting and the smell from them is horrible. I have no idea how he didn't notice this but the top few weren't as bad as those underneath which were growing stuff.

The pack was well in date. So I called the consumer helpline number and I've just received a jiffy bag to post them back to tetley, and I have been told they will replace the tea bags. I'm not very good at complaining and have never done so before but I do feel I deserve a bit more than just the product being replaced, especially as 3 people drunk some of this tea before we realised. It could have made them all ill!

Any advice of what I could write in a reply or who else to contact.

stugib

cupid_s wrote: »

I have been told they will replace the tea bags. I'm not very good at complaining and have never done so before but I do feel I deserve a bit more than just the product being replaced, especially as 3 people drunk some of this tea before we realised. It could have made them all ill!

Any advice of what I could write in a reply or who else to contact.

Before you get jumped on by the Vent board's 'everyone's after compensation these days' crew, I'll give you the informational answer quickly

I've boldened the bit above because nothing actually happened. If you mean you think you deserve something financial, rather than just an apology, then you can't claim anything for something that could have happened, otherwise you'd be suing for all kind of risks you could be exposed to just walking down the road. And you can only claim for quantifiable losses. As they sent you a pre-paid(?) envelope and will replace them then you haven't suffered any loss.

These things happen unfortunately!

Question to you: what do you think you deserve and why? That's always the starting point for a good complaint letter.

RadoJo

I would guess that they will send you a voucher for 50p off Tetley's next time or something, but I think you would be best of asking if they can report back to you about how it happened and how they will ensure that it won't happen again. That's really the maximum you can expect from them, and will at least give you some satisfaction that the issue has been addressed, which a voucher or other form of compensation will not.

lolarentt

If you feel strongly about a faulty item I would always recommend writing in rather than phoning a help line. Then you'll get a written reply, usually taking your complaint more seriously than would have been the case if you'd just phoned them.

sarahg1969

If I were you, I would throw them away and buy a new box.

I suspect that the teabags are mouldy as a result of a mistake, rather than because it is their policy to sell mouldy teabags.

We all make mistakes, and some have very serious consequences. Fortunately, in this case, there are NO consequences.

It's not worth getting yourself hot and bothered about. How much is a new box of teabags? Weigh that up against the time yoou could spend sitting composing a letter of complaint. Not worth it, is it?

Sarah

stugib

sarahg1969 wrote: »

It's not worth getting yourself hot and bothered about. Weigh that up against the time yoou could spend sitting composing a letter of complaint. Not worth it, is it?

Good advice - why not sit down and have a nice cuppa tea cupid_s?

cupid_s

stugib wrote: »

Question to you: what do you think you deserve and why? That's always the starting point for a good complaint letter.

I don't think for a minute I should get anything financial. An apology and some more tea bags would do. But I was hoping for a few bags of tea bags!

My complaint letter was going to be along the lines of:

I was very disappointed that my teabags were mouldy. I am returning them to you as requested and would appreciate it if you could let me know the results of any tests you do on them and let me know how this may have happened. A few boxes of teabags would be nice too.

Yours sincerely, cupid_s

stugib wrote: »

Good advice - why not sit down and have a nice cuppa tea cupid_s?

I might stick with coffee instead thanks! I'll go make hubby a nice cup of non-smoked tea now though!

cupid_s

By the way if anyone quite likes the sound of tea that tastes liked smoked kippers, I'll send you some of the teabags to try

tealady

cupid_s wrote: »

By the way if anyone quite likes the sound of tea that tastes liked smoked kippers, I'll send you some of the teabags to try

I thought you had returned them?

cupid_s

tealady wrote: »

I thought you had returned them?

I only received the jiffy bag yesterday so haven't sent them off yet so no-one need miss out

Horace

It's kinda rude asking for a few bags of teabags as compensation though. Tetleys are obviously taking your complaint seriously by sending a jiffy bag for you to return them. Give them time to look at the teabags and they will send you some more teabags, a voucher or other goodies.

Take the I want a few bags out of your letter and let it go and wait and see what happens.