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

mattyprice4004

Richh said:

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.

That's just the normal failure mode for tempered glass - the way it's made means it is inherently under lots of stress. 
When failure happens it's usually catastrophic with the release of a lot of energy - hence the pieces doing a bit of damage. 

Unfortunately it's just a fact of life that tempered glass explodes occasionally - doesn't matter what brand you buy, it just happens. Have had a coffee table and an oven door so far do it to me  

I fear at best you can expect a replacement or at worst they'll not help at all - you need to take this up with the seller, who weren't Amazon. Good luck!

born_again

Richh said:

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.

Someone must have swung it back onto something hard to shatter it and scatter the pieces that far.

I once had to break a patio door that was toughened. Even using a hammer drill in the corner, while it shattered it to millions of bits. It still stayed intact, until it was hit again to break it out. 

Aylesbury_Duck

Richh said:

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.

In which case, that does suggest it wasn't the right sort of glass for that application.  That may give you recourse against the retailer if you wished to pursue it.