Product Recalled - Company no longer trading - Bluebell smart monitoring system

Franzman1987

Hello, 

First time poster, looking for some advice. My wife and I purchased a Bluebell baby monitor before the birth of our first child in 2020. However we did not use it as we ended up in our 1 bed flat longer than we anticipated and didn't need it.

We went to use it for our newborn as we are now in an actual house and discovered that the product has been recalled. The company has been dissolved and the app no longer works meaning it is dangerous to use.

Reading online it is possible to get a refund form John Lewis or Boots. However, we purchased directly from the Bluebell website which no longer exists.

The recall notice can be found if you google "bluebell smart monitoring system recall" (I'm not allowed to post links on here yet).

It cost nearly £300 which is a lot of money for us to have spent on something which we have never used and no longer works.

Any advice on how I could possibly claim a refund, or if we are entitled to one at all would be greatly received.

Many thanks
Jack

Aylesbury_Duck

Franzman1987 said:

Hello, 

First time poster, looking for some advice. My wife and I purchased a Bluebell baby monitor before the birth of our first child in 2020. However we did not use it as we ended up in our 1 bed flat longer than we anticipated and didn't need it.

We went to use it for our newborn as we are now in an actual house and discovered that the product has been recalled. The company has been dissolved and the app no longer works meaning it is dangerous to use.

Reading online it is possible to get a refund form John Lewis or Boots. However, we purchased directly from the Bluebell website which no longer exists.

The recall notice can be found if you google "bluebell smart monitoring system recall" (I'm not allowed to post links on here yet).

It cost nearly £300 which is a lot of money for us to have spent on something which we have never used and no longer works.

Any advice on how I could possibly claim a refund, or if we are entitled to one at all would be greatly received.

Many thanks
Jack

I don't think you can say it would be dangerous to use it.  From what I can see online, the app doesn't work any more, so the monitor is useless rather than dangerous.

The retailer has gone, and I suspect you'd be at the end of a very long line of creditors.  However, if you paid by credit card you should contact the card company because they are equally liable.  The problem I see it is that you bought it over three years ago.  It's possible that your card company would depreciate any refund to reflect the three years' use you (could have) had from the monitor.  If I'm right (and I'm not an expert on section 75) then it's still worth pursuing because anything back is better than nothing.

DullGreyGuy

Your consumer rights are with the company you bought from. If that company has gone bust then unfortunately your rights disappeared with the company. 

How did you pay for it? If you paid by credit card then your best bet is going to be speaking to them about a S75 claim. 

DullGreyGuy

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Franzman1987 said:

Hello, 

First time poster, looking for some advice. My wife and I purchased a Bluebell baby monitor before the birth of our first child in 2020. However we did not use it as we ended up in our 1 bed flat longer than we anticipated and didn't need it.

We went to use it for our newborn as we are now in an actual house and discovered that the product has been recalled. The company has been dissolved and the app no longer works meaning it is dangerous to use.

Reading online it is possible to get a refund form John Lewis or Boots. However, we purchased directly from the Bluebell website which no longer exists.

The recall notice can be found if you google "bluebell smart monitoring system recall" (I'm not allowed to post links on here yet).

It cost nearly £300 which is a lot of money for us to have spent on something which we have never used and no longer works.

Any advice on how I could possibly claim a refund, or if we are entitled to one at all would be greatly received.

Many thanks
Jack

I don't think you can say it would be dangerous to use it. 

At the point of the recall it was a case that the app wasnt working as intended and therefore potentially was dangerous if you were reliant on the app's functionality (not in the sense it's going to explode and burn your house down but that it may not notify you if it hears your baby choking and you think they are fine in their bedroom alone because you've had no notifications). 

Aylesbury_Duck

DullGreyGuy said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Franzman1987 said:

Hello, 

First time poster, looking for some advice. My wife and I purchased a Bluebell baby monitor before the birth of our first child in 2020. However we did not use it as we ended up in our 1 bed flat longer than we anticipated and didn't need it.

We went to use it for our newborn as we are now in an actual house and discovered that the product has been recalled. The company has been dissolved and the app no longer works meaning it is dangerous to use.

Reading online it is possible to get a refund form John Lewis or Boots. However, we purchased directly from the Bluebell website which no longer exists.

The recall notice can be found if you google "bluebell smart monitoring system recall" (I'm not allowed to post links on here yet).

It cost nearly £300 which is a lot of money for us to have spent on something which we have never used and no longer works.

Any advice on how I could possibly claim a refund, or if we are entitled to one at all would be greatly received.

Many thanks
Jack

I don't think you can say it would be dangerous to use it. 

At the point of the recall it was a case that the app wasnt working as intended and therefore potentially was dangerous if you were reliant on the app's functionality (not in the sense it's going to explode and burn your house down but that it may not notify you if it hears your baby choking and you think they are fine in their bedroom alone because you've had no notifications). 

Agreed, I should have been clearer:  It wouldn't be dangerous for OP to use it now because he can't - the app just doesn't work, full stop.  He has an entirely useless product, not a dangerous one.

Franzman1987

Thank for all your comments. 

Sadly we purchased with a debit and not a credit card, never making that mistake again. 

It terms of it being dangerous to use the recall notice does say

"It has been identified that the app that supports the monitor system is no longer functioning correctly. This means that there is a potential risk of the child not being monitored correctly.

The product does not meet the requirements of the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016"

So we obviously won't be using it. Sadly I think we don't have much to go on unless there is a way to contact the company and get added to the creditors somehow.

Thanks for the advice.