Im absolutely livid...thinking about sending a strongly worded email...

[Twdfn123]

Hi,

So my partner and I were at our local peacocks browsing the clothes and we had our 1 year old son with us. I usually push the pram as i look at baby clothes but my partner took him to go to the mens. thank god! Because as i was browsing a bit of the roof fell down about 2 ft in front of me!

Now if I had been pushing my son, that would have caved in over his pram and he could have been injured! I just sort of stood there frozen and the woman at the till noticed and came over. She said did that just happen and said yes. All she said is they should have fixed it months ago as there is a massive leak up there. Then that was it and she turned around and went about her business.

I get its not her fault, but 1) to not even ask if i was okay (i am just a bit shocked and grateful at the same time my son was with his dad) 2) for the store to not even cordon that corner off if they knew it was dangerous because of the 'bad leak'.
After the lady said that I looked at the ceiling and there was lots of brown patches and drips down the wall as well.

I feel like contacting customer service as i find this all quite appaling to be honest.

Yes, i get that. thank you for clarifying. But the next person may not be so LUCKY. thats my point.

Ah, thank you thats a bit comforting :) . Id still rather it not fall on my kids head though 🤔

Its a shame theres issues like thi in underfunded schools, but i suppose thats another issue altogether. thanks for taking the time to reply.

They'd just get a bit damp and fluffy. Not pleasant, but not in any way a risk to their life.

Not being unreasonable at all OP. Like you said it could have been so much worse.
man old hospital a worked at many years ago got closed down because a bit of ceiling fell down when the CQC were visiting 🙈

In my office health & safety days, that is what would be categorised as a "Near Miss". It was an accident waiting to happen and it should be reported, if for no other reason but to stop other near misses happening.

I'm really pleased that you took photos of the aftermath.

I'm also really pleased that no one was physically injured in the accident.

No problem. I'm not a fan of the things landing on me (or somebody else's child), either, but they're specifically designed not to take somebody out.

They can last for years with just stains on them - the actual point of collapse is often when you don't have any brown marks, it's when there's just a slight change in colour and they sag slightly, as the brown marks tend to be when there's a tiny drip - drip over a long period.

It's also often very difficult to find the original source of a leak, as it could be from several metres away and be just a few mm across or even invisible to the naked eye, the water being carried a long distance before reaching the point of dripping.

Defo a near miss. Doesn’t matter if you didn’t actually have an accident if you only just missed one.

Report to the HSE, they will now investigate and prosecute on the probability of what could have happened, there does not need to have been an injury sustained. I would think that as there had been a previous leak and nothing about it the HSE will take this very seriously.

It's not RIDDOR, but I think the local environmental health (council) is a sensible / essential contact, well done op.

Not wrong to want to contact someone about this.

But i WISH you'd call it ceiling instead of roof. It was the ceiling. Using the word roof sounds like you're trying to exaggerate.

I know it seems i'm being pedantic but the roof is the external stuff - slate, concrete, metal, bricks and tiles.

An actual roof cave in would be catastrophic!

I would contact their head office. Just to raise the issue if anything, tell them there is a problem with the roof and what was a minor incident, could be a big problem for them if more falls down, especially after snow forecast. At best you’ll get 25 quid voucher.

Yes you're right I should have said ceiling, my bad 🥲

Write to the Daily Mail and include a sad face photo

I'd rather not have the voucher, just a safe store to shop in 🥲

I totally understand why you must feel upset about this, sometimes when you can vividly imagine some harm coming to your children after a near miss it can be difficult to get over the shock as you keep replaying what could have happened. Its natural to be a bit shaken by that. I do think it's worth flagging as it doesnt sound like the store itself have understood how negligent and dangerous they were and could do with some training

I expect it is the people who own the building who should be accountable. So a complaint to the HSE making it clear that you want those who manage the building to face action I think is better than complaining to Peacocks.

As you point out, it is not money you are after.

Sorry this happened to you OP, you must have been really shocked. Pleased you & your son weren’t injured. Can’t believe some posters think this is acceptable, and seem to insinuate a your a liar and b after compensation. I am sure they wouldn’t if it happened to them. It is a H&S issue, I would be straight on the phone to the head office first thing Monday morning tbh. More of the ceiling could collapse and another customer or staff member may not be so fortunate, staff and customers deserve a safe environment. There have been too many cases of people being injured in shops, inc children being killed by falling mirrors, you would be an absolute idiot not to report it.

Not sure what your son and pram has to do with it as he wasn't there so that's a bit dramatic. Livid no but shocked yes. I would want to ensure that the ceiling was made safe and cordoned off and reported somehow.

Exactly. I’d be livid too. It was sheer luck that no one was injured.
Peacocks have a duty of care to provide a safe environment to shop, and for their employees to work in. Any structural problems should have been reported to their landlord but it is their duty to ensure safety.
Phone your local council tomorrow and report the matter — customers might not be so lucky next time.
If council are not interested call the local paper.
Im shocked at people saying you weren’t hurt so what’s the big deal — the deal is this is how people are injured or killed in unsafe buildings.

OP I think your patience on this thread is above and beyond. Some really daft posts from people seriously lacking in comprehension skills.

You’ve done the right thing reporting to prevent further incidents.

Well yes he was there and it was last minute decision he wasn't under the ceiling. It was an accident waiting to happen that was not dealt with so yeah I was pretty damned annoyed.

Thank you for understanding xx

...but your son wasn't there. If you'd been looking at a different rack you could've been in the spot where the roof came down. If the sales assistant had been standing talking to you she could've been in the spot where the roof came down. If another customer had been browsing nearby you... If Santa had been browsing on his lunch break..

A whole lot of what ifs. Deal with the facts. And I don't see why she'd ask if you were alright given you evidently were.

They should have taken care of it beforehand but didn't. That's not much to do with you however.

You got a fright, it sucks, crack on with your day.

You could email to say you are concerned more generally that this happened and that seemingly safety standards are not being adhered to.

She was in danger. That has a lot do with her.