Unsafe swing set

SHCooper

We bought our son a swing and slide set from a well known brand for his 5th birthday in April. A month after his birthday (last week) several of the screws failed in the slide platform structure. The top wooden railing came off as the screws snapped as our son leaning on it. He flipped over the top and fell 8ft landing on his back. Luckily he was OK, we rushed him to a&e to get checked out. He's now scared to use his slide.

I got in touch with the company's customer service who passed me on to their QA manager, they refunded the swing set and offered £120 towards a different product but I feel they're not taking it seriously.  I'd also like them to investigate the faulty screws, they shouldn't snap under the weight of a 5 year old. 

I really want the swing to be put right so our son can use his birthday present minus the unsafe slide platform, but there are huge cracks down the full 2.7m legs for the swing so unsure how long they would last.

 Should we settle for £120 towards another toy for this horrible experience or what else can we do or what should we ask for within our rights. Can we insist they send another swing out to replace what we have? Should we report it to trading standards? 

Tia

pramsay13

Decide what figure will make the horrible experience better and ask for that. 

Alderbank

That's quite a substantial item.

Was it delivered fully assembled or in kit form?
If it required any assembly or installation for safe use, who carried that out (you, the company you bought it from or a third party)?

Your rights under consumer law are for a full refund, which you appear to have received. You can ask them to send a replacement instead of a refund but you can't insist on it (they may not have a replacement). Also you can't insist that they come out and repair your slide. Anything additional such as the payment of £120 is in addition to your consumer rights.
You have no consumer rights to know whether they investigate the incident or whether they make any changes as a result. It is quite likely that they will have words with their supplier but they will not share the outcome with you and you have no rights to know what they decide to do about future sales, etc.

Not part of consumer legislation but under separate legislation you might have a claim against the manufacturer or the installer if your son suffered any injury, including psychological trauma, as a result of the fall. Negligence is quite a specialist area of law which you can't really pursue yourself. First course of action would be to visit a 'no win no fee' high street solicitor who will listen to your story and tell you whether the case would have merit.
If you are considering doing that, you should do it without delay.

marcia_

How much did it cost you? 

RefluentBeans

Was it refunded and they gave you £120 towards another product; or did they refund you by giving you £120 towards a new product?

Aylesbury_Duck

How much are you after?

Emmia

Who assembled the set?

Tucosalamanca

Emmia said:

Who assembled the set?

Important question as snapped screws and huge cracks down the full 2.7m legs sounds very much like an installation issue...

Aylesbury_Duck

SHCooper said:

1. they refunded the swing set and offered £120 towards a different product 

2. I really want the swing to be put right 

3. Should we settle for £120 towards another toy for this horrible experience or what else can we do or what should we ask for within our rights.

4. Can we insist they send another swing out to replace what we have? 

1. They appear to have done more than they're obliged to do.  Refunding you, letting you keep the broken set and offering you £120 off a different product is more than you're entitled to.

2. They're not offering that, but have you asked?  If this is your preferred outcome, then ask them, or buy a direct replacement with the refund.

3. See (1).  You can ask for what you like, but push too hard and they may withdraw the £120 discount on offer, which is discretionary.

4. If you think the problem is a result of a design flaw (rather than the way it was assembled) then why would you want a replacement of the same model?  There's nothing to stop you buying a straight replacement with the refund you've had, of course.  Or you could choose a different model using the £120 discount.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

SHCooper said:

 but there are huge cracks down the full 2.7m legs for the swing so unsure how long they would last.

Tia

Hello OP 

Do you have photos? It's common for timber to split like this but you'd be surprised just how strong wood is when it's hanging by a thread so these kinds of splits are typically safe. 

SHCooper said:

 The top wooden railing came off as the screws snapped as our son leaning on it. He flipped over the top and fell 8ft landing on his back. Luckily . Can we insist they send another swing out to replace what we have? Should we report it to trading standards? 

Tia

Yes you have the right to a replacement, if they don't provide such then you have the right to a refund. 

Trading Standards have distanced themselves from the public and these things go through Citizens Advice who just log it on a computer. 

You can attempt get the council's attention by finding the Trading Standards email and then using the council's official complaint process to complain if they don't reply to the first email contact. 

Do you have photos of the screws? It would be interesting to see their size. Ultimately if you have some DIY skills I'm sure you can use some threaded bar or such with locking nuts to form a joint that will be far superior

I'm not an expert so best to do some research if you do this, a local business has a playground with a wooden framed swing which is inspected for safety, it's basically 5 pieces timber bolted together so appropriate fixings do exist out there to purchase.

Hope your son is OK  

SHCooper

We followed the instructions and made sure the screws were drilled so the head was in line with the wood, this was the only safety warning and wouldn't cause the screws to snap.

The legs of the swing arrived with splits which the organisation assured us wouldn't affect the safety of the item, the wood is also peeling. But due to the screws failing I'm questioning the overall safety.

I thought we could keep the swing part as a stand alone swing, but to be honest after inspecting it again my thoughts are to have it fully returned to the company and get a metal one instead. 

I want them to take the accident seriously and investigate the faulty screws. They first told us they would have it forensically examined but have backed down on this.