Exploding Table! What are my chances in the Small Claims Court?

mattyprice4004

mikb said:

mattyprice4004 said:

 I didn't want my fish and chips to end up full of glass.  

And you want to be able to put a can of soda down without this happening ....

Exactly - it's very fickle stuff, and really shouldn't be used for tables! 

MoneySavingAndy

lincroft1710 said:

The situation is not "unjust".

You have an item which is made from a fragile material easily broken and not really intended for the use to which it has been put. You, a member of your family or a visitor could easily have caused the initial damage which led to its failure. 

The £100 offer is extremely generous as it would be virtually impossible for you to attempt to prove an inherent fault.

Thank you, I do appreciate that you are right that there is no way that I can prove that we did not do something that caused this and that glass is of course more fragile than some alternative materials. Therefore, from the retailer's perspective, clearly they could be exposed to a fraudulent claim, or even a "genuine" claim for something for which they cannot be held responsible, and they have gone over and above any legal obligations in their offer. The helpful comments on this thread support the retailer's position, and I now accept that myself.

Looking at it from my perspective, our table was bought for the purpose of being precisely that - a table - and that was what is was used for; we didn't sit on it or try to use it as a trampoline! It was around two years old, we only used it on average perhaps once a week (we eat around an island normally), we used place mats, and it was otherwise well looked after. I understand and accept the helpful comments on this thread and have now accepted the retailer's offer, but still I can't help feeling that the situation is a little unjust - to re-use my original word - that a table fails to function as such after a relatively short period of light, careful use. Cheers.