£1670 for exploding shower door at pool- please help

[Showerexplosion]

My children attended a hotel swimming pool with my mum where they all have membership. A few weeks ago a shower door exploded while they were in the changing rooms. My mother maintains that my children did not touch the door and that it simply exploded.

Neither of my children were hit by the broken glass despite both being in only swimming costumes.

Today she received an email stating:

At approximately 16:10, the glass shower door in the ladies’ changing room was found shattered. Photographic evidence is attached. You reported the damage to Reception at that time, but no explanation was provided. Given the seriousness of the situation and the safety risks posed to other guests, we immediately initiated a full and detailed investigation.

As part of this investigation, we commissioned an independent professional specialising in glass safety and installation to assess the damaged door. Their expert conclusion was clear: the door did not fail due to a defect or spontaneous breakage. The shattering was consistent with improper handling or misuse, and not with normal or appropriate use of the facility.

We also reviewed our CCTV footage covering the Spa and Wellness area. The footage confirms that only yourself, xxxxxx and xxxxxx were present in the changing facilities during the time the damage occurred. No other individuals entered the area before or during the incident. This evidence, combined with the professional assessment, leaves no doubt that the door was broken due to inappropriate use while your grandsons were in the changing room.

The cost of replacing the door is £1,674.00. A detailed breakdown of the replacement cost is attached for your review and we request that you notify your insurers of this cost as we are seeking reimbursement of the replacement of this shower door caused by your actions.

In addition, due to the seriousness of the incident, the safety implications, and the behaviour that led to the damage, we have taken the decision to cancel both xxxxx and xxxxx memberships with immediate effect.

Are we liable for this cost? Are we entitled to a refund for the cancelled memberships - we have only used one month of a 3 month membership for both of them.

I include the pictures they sent me. Any help with how to respond greatly appreciated.

Personally I wouldn't ask for the report. If the hotel takes this to court they will have to disclose it at that stage (unless, of course, it doesn't exist and they just made it up). I would stick with a straight denial of liability.

Yes, I was thinking of those threads too! In fact I posted on the second one...

If you ask Copilot it comes up with this sort of thing:

Quick Answer: A glass shower door can spontaneously explode due to flaws in tempered glass, hidden damage, or sudden stress from temperature changes. Though rare, this phenomenon—called spontaneous glass breakage—is linked to the unique properties of tempered safety glass The Spruce Engineer Fix ylbaths.com.
🔍 Why Tempered Glass Sometimes Shatters
Tempered glass is designed to be strong and safe:

• Strength factor: It’s about 4–5 times stronger than regular glass Engineer Fix.
• Safety design: When it breaks, it crumbles into small, blunt pieces instead of sharp shards The Spruce ylbaths.com.

But its strength comes with internal stresses that can make it vulnerable under certain conditions. ⚡ Common Causes of Spontaneous Breakage

• Nickel sulfide inclusions: Tiny impurities formed during manufacturing can expand over time, creating stress points that eventually cause the glass to fail Engineer Fix.
• Edge or corner damage: Even small chips or scratches at the edges can weaken the glass, making it prone to sudden shattering Me and My Glass.
• Temperature fluctuations: Rapid changes (like hot water hitting a cold door) can stress the glass The Spruce.
• Improper installation: Misaligned frames or too-tight fittings can create pressure points showerlagoon.com.
• Residual stress from tempering: The heating and cooling process leaves internal tension that may release unexpectedly Engineer Fix.

🚨 Risks and Safety

• Noise and shock: Breakage is loud and startling, often described as an “explosion.”
• Injury risk: Serious injuries are rare because tempered glass breaks into small fragments The Spruce.
• Timing: It can happen even when the shower isn’t in use—sometimes in the middle of the night The Spruce.

🛠️ Prevention Tips

• Inspect edges and corners regularly for chips or cracks.
• Avoid slamming or knocking the door.
• Ensure proper installation with enough clearance in the frame.
• Consider laminated glass (two layers bonded together) for added safety showerlagoon.com.
• Keep temperature changes gradual—avoid blasting hot water on a cold door.

Bottom Line: Spontaneous glass breakage is rare but real. It’s usually caused by hidden flaws or stresses in tempered glass, combined with environmental or installation factors.

It's outrageous that they would treat paying customers this way. This is probably a local manager gone rogue. I would not reply to the email demanding payment and in the first instance make a formal complaint to IHG (the parent brand) customer services. If they are not forthcoming (eg as a bare minimum an apology and reinstated membership or full refund of membership per your wishes) then you should take this to their regulator and the press.

I wouldn't take it lying down either, op, but don't use chatgpt for your reply, it makes up all sorts of details that sound plausible.

Yes, tempered glass (which is what safety glass is) can spontaneously shatter for a few reasons e.g. Nickel Sulfide inclusions, which are tiny impurities within the glass, can expand under heat leading to shattering, and significant thermal stress from uneven heating can also cause the glass to shatter unexpectedly. This is not an uncommon event.

Some excellent responses here, although please don't quote "UK law" in any correspondence. There's no such thing.... it's English law.

Let them take you to court and try to sue two 6yos for destruction of property. It’s nonsense, OP. They’ve no evidence at all and I’d imagine this would get thrown out pretty quickly. I’d email them back, ask for a written copy of their ‘expert report’ and a refund for the cancelled memberships, lest you be forced to take a counterclaim for the trauma caused to your children by the spontaneous failure of a glass door…

Also, what insurance of the grandmother’s would cover this sort of event?!

It happens, it’s called thermal expansion. I’m a loss assessor for an insurance company and there is no chance their insurer would try to recover the cost for something like this. They are trying to avoid going through their insurer by blaming you. Simply reply by saying you accept no responsibility and ignore any further requests for payment.

I have also witnessed a glass door in an office shattering spontaneously. The pieces flew several metres and did injure someone. Not seriously, but minor cuts.

They are absolutely trying their luck and should be grovelling apologetic that this happened while there were kids there. Not trying to get a member to pay.

I'm just reading this on Reddit too. Could be the same poster as its in UK legal. I just got confused which forum I was reading for a moment, thought I was going mad!

This is going to go viral isn't it?

Looking forward to sad face twins in the DM.

We had friends around a few weeks ago and one of their boys slammed an internal glass door. It didn’t shatter immediately but the next morning had done (into 1000s of pieces but it hadn’t fallen out as it was safety glass). Just saying this because similarly cause and effect are not clear here and, whilst it was possible that the slamming caused it in our case, no one could be sure of that. Absolutely not your liability and they can’t prove anything. I would send an extremely polite reply saying that you will not be paying and that there is no proof that your family caused this, referring them to their insurance.

I definitely wouldn’t admit liability. I’d just reply in writing, keep it polite, and ask them to explain how they think you caused the damage. I’d also ask for their maintenance/inspection records for the shower, confirmation the glass was safety-rated, and a proper repair quote or invoice. Advise them that you don’t accept liability unless they can show evidence that it was caused by misuse.

Our glass shower screen once spontaneously exploded in the middle of the night

I agree, don't ask for the report, it's nothing to do with you (OP) as you have zero liability.

An article I just read says that grains of nickel sulphide in toughened glass, (so microscopic impurities that can occur as part of the manufacturing process ), can cause this spontaneous shattering.

OP has already confirmed she posted this on Reddit.

I had a glass jug explode only it's own.. l would be seeking compensation from them.. for the distress it caused.. luckily no one was hurt..

The glass door on my washing machine shattered spontaneously many years ago. It was the weirdest thing and scared the crap out of me. These things do happen.

I had my bathroom installers phone me to say a glass shower panel 'exploded' and they'd only lifted it to install on the tray. The supplier turned up a few hours later with a replacement FOC. All said its rare but yes, they can just blow.

Yes

Pyrex dish exploded on draining board - it was cool as a cucumber!
I thought I’d been shot.

Get on to your household insurance for your free legal consultation and write back denying any liability but reserving rights for future counter claims.

Yes. I worked in a datacentre with glass doors, and one of them exploded, which gave me a huge shock, as I was in the next row at the time. I eas very shaken up when i went to report it. It was also a right faff to clean up, including vacuuming out the servers.

In reality, there was probably something causing some strain on the glass, if it had slipped a bit or something. I don't know. Fortunately in my case, the security guard could see on the cameras I wasn't by the cabinet when it happened, but you wouldn't get that in changing rooms.