do i give britax an ear bashing about selling unsafe seats?

[FairyTaleinNewYork]

?

dd2 new seat (maxi cosi rodi) has turned up, and i am still angry that i bought a seat earlier this year that is regarded as not fit for sale, even tho it meets the basic standards.

Always worth a letter but unfortunately, if it meets the "basic standards" then they've met their requirements. Things won't change unless people complain.

i will do a letter then.

Perhaps ask them what plans they have in the future to improve their range so it doesn't include those which only met the minimum requirements. Interestingly you don't find many seats which restrain by adult belt alone before 15kg on sale in some parts of Europe. Britax sister company Roemer only has harnessed seats in its Group 1 range.

Which Britax seat is it that is unsafe then ??

I would return it to the shop you bought it for with a copy of the which report and say that they sold you an item which is not fit for the purpose you bought it for and as such you would like a refund.

I imagine it will be far from straightforward, but worth a go!

I would speak to trading standards people and ask them whether Britax might be acting in a reckless and negligent manner by selling car seats that have been shown to be potentially lethal!

A phone call to Britax to ask them teh same question and to make clear to them that every child killed in a crash whilst using one of the inadequate seats is a potential major negligence claim against them. Ask them what they are prepared to do!

If you've got a few hours to kill and free call minutes to use up on your phone, then you've nothing really to lose

They are not "unsafe" per se since they meet the legal standards but Britax Cruiser, Ranger and Trio all scored poorly in the Which? report of June 2005and were on the list of seats to avoid. Report here . The list isn't a comprehensive test of all those on sale in UK though, so there may yet be others worse.

Oh crap, was planning to get a Britax Trio next week.

Ds has the Britax Eclipse at the mo and it's such a struggle to get him in it now.

Ok so what is the cheapest safe one then ??? We don't have Isofix so it can't be one of those.

"they sold you an item which is not fit for the purpose you bought it for " Unfortunately this is not the case as they do meet the minimum safety requirements. IMO, it's those requirements that are wrong.

You are right soupie, but I think a little license in interpretation is allowed for the purpose of making a fuss

it really is annoying isn't it? i would definatley send a letter, but to honest wouldn't expect much in the way of a reply or any kind of helpful feedback.

mine scored even lower than yours, it was the graco junior plus, i dragged dh down to mothercare world yesterday and made him buy 2 new maxi cosi rodi for ds1 and ds2!

nutty, it depends how heavy your ds is. Above 15kg you could get a Britax HiLiner or Kid which are on offer all over atm but below that you may as well stick with what you have. As I said below, the list doesn't include everything on sale in UK ie. very few Mothercare ones which have been slated in the past, so some seats, both good and bad, are also available.

i have a cruiser plus and two graco juniors. one of the gracos and the britax ranger MIL uses. i have now got a maxo cosi rodi for my car and 2 jane isofix ones for peters car. i need to find a safer on that will fit in the back of my matiz. i feel awful paying a heck of a lot out to make sure my kids are safe.

The Britax highliner is in the sale in halfords at the mo.... i saw some in my local halfords for £39.99 yesturday (but only one of the 'designs' was that price, and they didnt have THAT many left)

that is a v similar (but SAFE!) seat to the graco so it may be worth heading down to halfords asap to see if they have any of the bargain ones left!

i'll popdown there tomorrow (if the spots on dd2+3 havent appeared) and see if the britax kid will fit in the back of my matiz. the buckle sits high and on the rodi it was causing buckly crunch.

Always keep in mind that the BS standards logo means the item meets minimum requirements, EU safety regulations logo means it is the best...or sommat like that

I've missed this
Where can I check mine please?

Tillykins check here but not every seat was tested.

you need access to the Which reports!

Ive got them all (for the past 5 years).... which seat do you want to know about? they arnt all included by the way!

LIZs has beat me to it for a link for this years report!

if yours isnt on it (eg the Britax renaissance) it may have been in a previouse report so i could still check for you!

Britax eclipse SI

Eclipse "scored" 47/100 - highest in that category (9kg +) got 70 but that was a Britax Duo Isofix model at £180.

according to this years which report that doesnt do very well... there are lots of safer car seats. (howvere unlike they some seats, this seat isnt included in the dangerouse not recommended section, so its better than those!)

the least high scoring of those that they "dont not recommend" if you see what i mean!

DH's is Britax First Class SI
Both seem average on the chart - but the percentages are low

And that is a big lie about the ease of use of the buckles, it takes both of us to get them strapped into a car, utter nightmare!