to expect Homebase to repace paint which had defective lid and spilled all over my car?

[lookingtothefuture]

Am furious - spent over £150 on paint and brushes etc.. On trip 2 on returning home after 5 minute drive, found the lid of 1 of the tine had come off after presumably the 3 tins had moved durng the drive and pant was everywhere all over the boot of the car, my clothes and now the bodywork as it dripped from the open boot. Thankfully it was Matt paint and we have gota good part of it cleaned up, but it took 2 hours. Homebase have said that they have no intention of even replacing the paint. It should have been vacuum sealed and either the seal was defective or it had been opened in the store. The manager was actrually very rude and dismissive which makes it worse! Its not the money - am glad it was just a tin of paint and not a bigger spend given the level of customer services. Its the mess that was caused that was the biggest problem..

How annoying for you. As you said in your post though, it might not have been a defective lid, it's equally possible that someone in the store had opened the tin, which isn't really the store's fault. That's no excuse for the manager's rudeness though. People who work in DIY stores seem to be like that though, they just don't give a crap.

From a legal standpoint you can claim damages against a company if negligence on their part caused damage or injury. But 'negligence' is a different thing to an 'accident' so you'd have to prove that they deliberately loosened lids on purpose or something like that. For reasons of good PR and customer service they should replace the can of paint, having said that, not least because it was faulty. You could try writing to Homebase head office's customer services and complaining about the paint, the damage and the manager... you may get some vouchers as compensation.

Taken from their web site

1. For Head Office roles based at our offices in Milton Keynes:

Please contact us at:

Homebase Ltd
Avebury
489 - 499 Avebury Boulevard
Saxon Gate West
Central Milton Keynes
Bucks
MK9 2NW

Phone 0845 0778888.
Email - [email protected].

Many thanks - calm now. It was the attitude of the manager which annoyed me most. Will e mail anyway and see what comes of it.

B&Q replaced paint for me in a similar situation though thankfully it didn't spill in the car.

They also reimbursed me for a tin of paint that I had mixed up in the wrong shade. I pointed out that the old tin of paint that I was trying to colour match to had such a faded label that it wasn't readable (their labels that they print out and stick on). I didn't really expect a refund on that and hadn't even asked for one but they offered straight away.

I would suggest you pour some over his head :o

Also tell him you will be contacting the local papers and the small claims court

It is good practice to put little clips around the tops of paint tins, effectively sealing them. I have seen these in DIY shops and other paint stores. I think they are added at point of sale but not sure (a long time since I bought paint!).

That suggests leaky tins are a foreseeable hazard and so the store selling paint without clips is negligent. Might be worth trying to find out if anyone has had similar experience with B&Q. If so the store knows it's a real risk and should have taken precautions.

You didnt secure the paint properly in the back of the car. Tins are for storing and transporting paint in an upright position.

Homebase may have offered to replace the paint for you, but in doing so they would have been accepting some responsibility for the incident, which I guess may have opened them up for car damage claims. Perhaps they thought that was what you were fishing for?

They usually put tape over the lid so if they didn't then I imagine the manager is worried that they should have done.
Go to HO and tell them that the manager was rude.

The same thing happened to DH last month. He bought some Dulux paint from B&Q in Kidderminster (yes, I'm naming and shaming)and the person who mixed the paint didn't put clips on. DH suspects that the lid wasn't replaced properly either because he literally lifted it out of the footwell of the car (where it had been secured upright) carried it slightly tilted round to the boot and the lid just dropped out of the tin, leaving a lovely grey gloss all over our road

I rang the store to tell them what had happened and said that I only wanted a replacement tin of paint (£15, not expensive really) and the attitude of the manager bloody stunk. I ended up putting the phone down on her. Not the most mature thing to do but I could feel my back getting up {angry]

I used to work at B&Q in the paint mixing area - I did care about customers but not those that took the piss (not saying OP is at all!). It sounds like the manager was being tight and really could have saved hassle but giving you a new tin of paint!

If you want something to happen you need to call them do not rely on them reading an e-mail! Record any conversations/note them down and get names - boring but effective.

You also need to consider:-

• What photographic evidence of the spill do you have? Otherwise, its your word against theirs.
• What do you want to happen? A refund of the paint or something more substantial?
• What steps did you take to ensure that the tins would not fall over?

Maybe try the shop one more time as the same manager won't be there 7 days a week....

Hi - ccpccp I did trasport the tins in an upright position - I can only imagine that one fell over in the boot when I turned a corner. I wasn't looking for anything re damage to car as we did clean it up (took 2 hours)! Luckily it was the matt not gloss paint that spilled.I e mailed HO and got a very prompt response and offer of £30 vouchers. That covers the cost of the paint and goes some way to meeting cost of rug we had to bin, so happy with outcome.

How did you clean the paint? wouldn't the store be liable to pay for your car to be valeted too? it is the least he can do. maybe he is fobbing you off and this has happened before and he got away with it then. kick up a fuss, write to a consumer t.v programme too if no joy. Go to C.A.B also good luck x