We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Argos

Options
My dad had a house fire caused by a lithium battery lawn mower fault. 
The lawn mower was bought from Argos. It was a spear & Jackson lawn mower. 
Unfortunately I found out it wasn’t made by Spear & Jackson it just had their label on it. 
Fire investigation report states battery caused fire. 
Argos informed and they passed it onto their solicitors to investigate. 
This was over 6 months ago and still haven’t had any compensation. 
My dad and I lost everything in the fire, I’ve put a claim in but got told they have to speak to the manufacturers. 
Now I bought this of Argos so surely they should deal with it, why am I waiting for the manufactures to sort it. I never bought it off them. 
I don’t seem to be getting anywhere with keoghs.co.uk 

what can I do ? 
«1

Comments

  • Penguin_
    Penguin_ Posts: 1,584 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    What did your Dads home insurers say when he contacted them? 
  • born_again
    born_again Posts: 20,303 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Fifth Anniversary Name Dropper
    edited 8 March 2023 at 1:18PM
    Your house & contents insurance should be paying out & then will take the info & resolve as they see fit.

    Just what compensation are you looking for?
    Life in the slow lane
  • Aylesbury_Duck
    Aylesbury_Duck Posts: 15,646 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Why isn't your household insurance dealing with this for you?  They should be your first port of call and will then seek to recover their costs from a third party if they consider it appropriate to do so.  As for compensation, your insurer should be acting in accordance with your policy, so that would normally include alternative accommodation for a while, redecoration costs, replacement of lost/damaged possessions, etc.
  • Pbowd911 said:

    Now I bought this of Argos so surely they should deal with it, why am I waiting for the manufactures to sort it. I never bought it off them. 

    I think manufacturers have legal obligations with regards to safety and given the potential costs Argos are going to place the liability on another party if the law permits.

    Very sorry to hear of your situation OP, I would recommend professional advice on this one given the situation :) 
    In the game of chess you can never let your adversary see your pieces
  • Sorry failed to mention my dad who is 82 didn’t have insurance.  He is claiming for contents, the housing association is claiming for the building. 
    Ideally as you say his insurance would pay out, but as it’s a fault with goods the blame lies with them. 
  • born_again
    born_again Posts: 20,303 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Fifth Anniversary Name Dropper
    https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/somethings-gone-wrong-with-a-purchase/claim-compensation-if-an-item-or-product-causes-damage/

    I don't think this will be a quick process. As 2 parties involved & unless there have been a lot of other cases, they could be looking to see if there were mitigating circumstances or user error.

    Maybe a google to see if any other cases to aid your care
    Life in the slow lane
  • MattMattMattUK
    MattMattMattUK Posts: 11,137 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Fourth Anniversary Name Dropper
    Pbowd911 said:
    Sorry failed to mention my dad who is 82 didn’t have insurance.  He is claiming for contents, the housing association is claiming for the building. 
    Ideally as you say his insurance would pay out, but as it’s a fault with goods the blame lies with them. 
    It is not that simple. Realistically you need to take proper legal advice and potentially look at taking action, but it depends on the specifics of the case. Normally his insurance company dealing with the retailer and dealing with their insurers, it is going to be much more difficult for an individual to navigate. 
  • Gavin83
    Gavin83 Posts: 8,757 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Just be prepared for how difficult a fight this'll be and it certainly won't be quick. Given that your dad had no insurance and that the payout is likely to be significant the manufacturer is likely to fight this as much as possible. They'll get good solicitors and they'll try and find a way to push this onto your dad. I'm really hoping that your dad followed the instructions to the nth degree and given the use of the battery it doesn't tell you to only store it outdoors.

    If you haven't done so already you'll need a solicitor.
  • Alderbank
    Alderbank Posts: 3,883 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Gavin83 said:

    If you haven't done so already you'll need a solicitor.
    OP says he's not getting anywhere with Keoghs. They are a large legal group with expertise in these types of liability claims. I suspect that Keoghs have said that the prospects of success are not good, certainly not good enough for no win no fee.

    Most S&J cordless mowers from Argos come with two batteries. Li-ion batteries are generally safer when connected to the device (eg lawnmower) than not connected because if a battery starts to self heat it will be managed by the safety protection circuitry when connected but will self destruct and burst into flames if unconnected. It could have been the spare battery which ignited.
    You say the house interior was destroyed. The FB may have decided that the Li-ion battery was the origin of the fire (usually by by observing how the fire spread) but there will simply be no evidence to say whether the battery was faulty or not. 
    The instructions for those lawnmowers warn that the spare battery could be shorted out by household objects and this could lead to fire. I'm not saying that this happened but I bet that Argos's lawyers might suggest it.

    I was surprised that there are simply no instructions for safe storage, no mention at all.
    https://documents.4rgos.it/v1/static/7596696_R_D001
  • Aylesbury_Duck
    Aylesbury_Duck Posts: 15,646 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Pbowd911 said:
    Sorry failed to mention my dad who is 82 didn’t have insurance.  He is claiming for contents, the housing association is claiming for the building. 
    Ideally as you say his insurance would pay out, but as it’s a fault with goods the blame lies with them. 
    You need to get legal advice.  If Keoghs aren't helpful, have they explained why?  Have they looked at the case and decided it's unlikely to be successful?  If so, then it might not be wise to spend more money on other lawyers.  If you think they've not been helpful for some other reason, find another solicitor.  As others have posted, this won't be an insignificant claim so it's sure to be contested, and they'll want to check that your father absolutely adhered to all of the advice about use, storage and charging of the battery in question.  The fire brigade's verdict might well be correct, but as has been pointed out, assuming the battery is completely destroyed, you aren't going to be able to prove it was faulty.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 350.8K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.5K Spending & Discounts
  • 243.8K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 598.6K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.8K Life & Family
  • 257.1K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.