Can I get a refund? In August last year I purchased a glass shower screen

Richh

Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this - In August last year I purchased a glass shower screen from amazon (3rd party) and last week it exploded

By exploded I mean in the way plate glass explodes. There was glass everywhere in the [bathroom](https://i.imgur.com/b3ggXHJ.jpg) and it damaged the bathtub and toilet seat. [This](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sliding-Shower-Extending-Screen-Reversible/dp/B01M18WIVQ) was the screen.

The issue I'm having, apart from the explosion, is i contacted amazon who directed me to the [3rd party](https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/iBathUK/iBathUK/page/68F021AF-3AB6-4782-B09F-0E91E1C88E95) and I'm getting no response at all. Amazon say its none of their responsibility and the 3rd party.

Is there anything I can do? It was sold to me as having a ten year guarantee. I'd rather just have a refund.

Any ideas?

Richh

Sorry for the odd formatting I thought it might allow me to embed links. 

theonlywayisup

As it is over 6 months from purchase, you would need to prove the fault inherent (there is an actual exploding shower screen phenomenon if you google) to invoke your Consumer Rights.

As for the guarantee, what are the terms?  Most guarantees don't offer a refund but a course of action.  You will have to read the terms of the guarantee to see what applies to you. 

Richh

theonlywayisup said:

As it is over 6 months from purchase, you would need to prove the fault inherent (there is an actual exploding shower screen phenomenon if you google) to invoke your Consumer Rights.

As for the guarantee, what are the terms?  Most guarantees don't offer a refund but a course of action.  You will have to read the terms of the guarantee to see what applies to you. 

I fear the guarantee was just words on the listing. 

Aylesbury_Duck

The nature of this type of thing is that it is very difficult to prove an inherent defect.  All sorts of things can cause a tiny scratch which then leads to a fracture. Using an abrasive cleaner, a bit of grit caught between the two sliding panels or just a zip or button inadvertently and unknowingly flicked against it.  I fear you may have a lost cause.

What may be a route is what looks like an intact other half of the screen.  If you were to have that inspected and it turned out that the glass wasn't of the type specified, didn't meet current safety standards (current at the time of manufacture) or was just simply the wrong type of glass for the application, you have a good case to take action against the retailer.  The outcome of which would be a replacement (perhaps not desirable!), a repair (ditto) or a partial refund to take into account the use to date.

How much was it?  It may be something that's not worth pursuing.

Richh

Aylesbury_Duck said:

The nature of this type of thing is that it is very difficult to prove an inherent defect.  All sorts of things can cause a tiny scratch which then leads to a fracture. Using an abrasive cleaner, a bit of grit caught between the two sliding panels or just a zip or button inadvertently and unknowingly flicked against it.  I fear you may have a lost cause.

What may be a route is what looks like an intact other half of the screen.  If you were to have that inspected and it turned out that the glass wasn't of the type specified, didn't meet current safety standards (current at the time of manufacture) or was just simply the wrong type of glass for the application, you have a good case to take action against the retailer.  The outcome of which would be a replacement (perhaps not desirable!), a repair (ditto) or a partial refund to take into account the use to date.

How much was it?  It may be something that's not worth pursuing.

It was £90 which isn't a lot for a glass screen. Probably not worth pursuing. Which is a shame as I feel consumer products shouldn't explode. 

JJ_Egan

My windscreen exploded two months after it got a tiny tiny chip .

DoaM

Richh said:

Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this - In August last year I purchased a glass shower screen from amazon (3rd party) and last week it exploded

By exploded I mean in the way plate glass explodes. There was glass everywhere in the [bathroom](https://i.imgur.com/b3ggXHJ.jpg) and it damaged the bathtub and toilet seat. [This](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sliding-Shower-Extending-Screen-Reversible/dp/B01M18WIVQ) was the screen.

When Plate glass shatters it doesn't (necessarily) break into small pieces - it breaks into variable sized pieces with lots of sharp edges and is potentially lethal. Shower screens are made from Toughened glass (I believe) and shatter as shown in your photo. (Toughened glass is made under pressure - this causes it to shatter in a relatively safe way, but also makes it more prone to shattering if a defect develops as the internal pressures focus at the defect).

Aylesbury_Duck

Richh said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

The nature of this type of thing is that it is very difficult to prove an inherent defect.  All sorts of things can cause a tiny scratch which then leads to a fracture. Using an abrasive cleaner, a bit of grit caught between the two sliding panels or just a zip or button inadvertently and unknowingly flicked against it.  I fear you may have a lost cause.

What may be a route is what looks like an intact other half of the screen.  If you were to have that inspected and it turned out that the glass wasn't of the type specified, didn't meet current safety standards (current at the time of manufacture) or was just simply the wrong type of glass for the application, you have a good case to take action against the retailer.  The outcome of which would be a replacement (perhaps not desirable!), a repair (ditto) or a partial refund to take into account the use to date.

How much was it?  It may be something that's not worth pursuing.

It was £90 which isn't a lot for a glass screen. Probably not worth pursuing. Which is a shame as I feel consumer products shouldn't explode. 

It's not really an explosion because pieces don't get propelled from a central point.  As DoaM says, the glass is designed to shatter "safely", i.e. into small, blunt pieces.  When it happened, the panel would have shattered and collapsed in situ.  The glass on the toilet and in the bath bounced there after falling, it didn't fire outwards in an explosive sense.  In that sense, it did exactly what it should do in the even of failure.

It was either a manufacturing defect (or an incorrect specification), a scratch caused in packaging, transporting or installation, or a scratch/knock in the time you've used it.  A small defect then requires a tiny change in pressure to cause the shatter, which could be simply a change in temperature or humidity.

Richh

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Richh said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

The nature of this type of thing is that it is very difficult to prove an inherent defect.  All sorts of things can cause a tiny scratch which then leads to a fracture. Using an abrasive cleaner, a bit of grit caught between the two sliding panels or just a zip or button inadvertently and unknowingly flicked against it.  I fear you may have a lost cause.

What may be a route is what looks like an intact other half of the screen.  If you were to have that inspected and it turned out that the glass wasn't of the type specified, didn't meet current safety standards (current at the time of manufacture) or was just simply the wrong type of glass for the application, you have a good case to take action against the retailer.  The outcome of which would be a replacement (perhaps not desirable!), a repair (ditto) or a partial refund to take into account the use to date.

How much was it?  It may be something that's not worth pursuing.

It was £90 which isn't a lot for a glass screen. Probably not worth pursuing. Which is a shame as I feel consumer products shouldn't explode. 

It's not really an explosion because pieces don't get propelled from a central point.  As DoaM says, the glass is designed to shatter "safely", i.e. into small, blunt pieces.  When it happened, the panel would have shattered and collapsed in situ.  The glass on the toilet and in the bath bounced there after falling, it didn't fire outwards in an explosive sense.  In that sense, it did exactly what it should do in the even of failure.

It was either a manufacturing defect (or an incorrect specification), a scratch caused in packaging, transporting or installation, or a scratch/knock in the time you've used it.  A small defect then requires a tiny change in pressure to cause the shatter, which could be simply a change in temperature or humidity.

If it didnt explode how were pieces of it found in the hallway and on the architrave above the door? Also, the cuts on my fingers would disagree with the term blunt pieces haha.

When it happened it sounded like the roof was collapsing.

societys_child

Have to agree that when the stressed glass shatters, it does go with a bang , flinging it in all directions