Product Instructions and Guidance.

Cheillie2020

Hi,
After some advice...

If I sell children's home use toys that are for ages 3+ and only for home use...not to be used as a rental or commercial use...
If this is shown on the website, on the product page, on the instruction manuals and in the T&C's on website....and then someone purchases, and then uses the toy for ages below 3, or uses as a rental or part of their business, who is at fault?

Surely the retailer/manufacturer can't be expected to hold the hand of the purchaser.

For example, we had a customer contact us specifically say they are buying as part of their business or for under 3 year old. We advised that its not for commercial use and about the age range, but they still wanted to buy....
I have no idea whether to reject the order or allow them to order as anyone else...

I guess I can relate to this somewhat in the sense that I have 100% purchased a toy in the past for my children that might not be advertised as their age range....but who's in the wrong. The customer or the retailer...

lincroft1710

You seem to be overthinking this!


As a retailer you cannot in any way control what a customer does with a product once they have purchased it. You can of course refuse to sell a product to a customer. You would only be at fault if you gave a verbal assurance contrary to the advice or instructions provided with the product, e.g.saying to a customer "Although it says Age 3 and over, it'll be perfectly OK for your 2 year old"

DullGreyGuy

In most cases the retailer wont know who is going to use it nor in what setting. If the person buys a large volume then they may think its a commercial setting but they may think its resale rather than for use. 

You really also need to consider what goes wrong post sale for this conversation to have any meaning as presumably you are talking about a kidy choking on something etc rather than you trying to sue them for breach of contract simply for buying it from you. 

There are no get out of jail free cards, businesses do have a basic duty of care as realistically many 3 year olds have baby brothers/sisters who no one can truly watch 24/7. If the issue is that its made up of tiny loose parts then that pushes it more on the parents. If its because the head is secured by a 5" sharp metal spike and can relatively easily be removed then there is more chance that this could be argued to be an unsafe design even with the age warning. 

Irrespective of if there is a case to answer or not that doesnt stop someone trying it on and the time/effort/cost of defending claims can be high even if they are without merit and so much better avoiding the risk where possible.

Savvy_Sue

At work we often buy 'domestic' white goods rather than the 'industrial' option - it means that if it goes wrong we know we won't be able to use the normal guarantees, and if we call an engineer from the company they'll say as much. 

But again, you really need to speak to a solicitor with an interest in this area, because you cannot rely on anything we say. And again, you cannot afford NOT do do this!