GSF Car Battery Leaked in box and floor

Eddsville

I recently purchased a new car battery from GSF. When it arrived there were no signs of damage or leaking.

I stored the box on my dining room floor until I went to fit it the following morning. When lifted the box the floor was wet. I moved the box outside immediately. Unfortunately the leak had stained the floor and this cannot be removed.

When I opened the box the battery was packed upside down, therefore the cause of the leak.

I contacted GSF and one of their customer service team has told me they are not liable or responsible for the damage.

Any advice on this would be appreciated. Before anyone mentions storing a car battery inside, I would expect it to be safe for transporting and handling, therefore no concern about storing it in the house for 12hours.

Thanks all.

Hasbeen

Eddsville said:

I recently purchased a new car battery from GSF. When it arrived there were no signs of damage or leaking.

I stored the box on my dining room floor until I went to fit it the following morning. When lifted the box the floor was wet. I moved the box outside immediately. Unfortunately the leak had stained the floor and this cannot be removed.

When I opened the box the battery was packed upside down, therefore the cause of the leak.

I contacted GSF and one of their customer service team has told me they are not liable or responsible for the damage.

Any advice on this would be appreciated. Before anyone mentions storing a car battery inside, I would expect it to be safe for transporting and handling, therefore no concern about storing it in the house for 12hours.

Thanks all.

Perhaps inadvertently after all the way getting the box safely to you. As you mention no sign of damage or leaking, so delivered Ok.

The box was then perhaps placed upside down on the floor?

Would be surprised if the person packing the battery would insert it upside down into the box?

You may have a hard job getting any recourse on this apart from your house insurance?

Mickey666

Was the packaging damaged in some way?

I've bought a fair few car/machinery batteries online and they have all been well packed to survive the almost inevitable turning upside down during shipping.

Firstly the breather holes are tightly plugged (and large labels added warning for them to be removed before using) and secondly the battery itself is sealed into a very thick plastic bag so that any fluid leak would be contained within.  Around that, the battery is packed with at least one-inch of polystyrene packing within a sturdy cardboard box.

Unless physically damaged, I can't see how such a packaged battery would leak anything from such packaging, even if placed upside down, so I reckon a claim on the supplier would be difficult to win.

An accidental damage claim on house insurance seems more likely to have success, though there will be an excess to consider, so it might not be worth it depending on the extent of the damage.

Might be worth washing the affected area with a sodium bicarbonate (baking powder) solution a few times to neutralise the acid before rinsing thoroughly, otherwise the effect of the acid might linger.

Eddsville

Hi thanks for the replies. Attached is a picture of the battery when I opened the box. As you can see upsdie down in the box and the absorbent pad was screwed up in one corner.

Eddsville

And here is the replacement battery they sent. Note the difference in how it is packaged.

Mickey666

. . . er, not really because it's hidden below the paperwork

But I get your point.  At least they've replaced the battery (and perhaps the person who packed the previous one!).

MovingForwards

@Eddsville remove your photo or redact your personal details.