Waitrose won’t refund me after its meatball broke my tooth | Consumer Affairs

Last July my husband broke his tooth on some lamb meatballs from Waitrose. It had to be extracted at a cost of £160. Waitrose asked us to return the remains of the product and informed us that bone chips had been found. We received a written apology and were asked to provide proof of the cost. Months of back and forth followed. In May we were told that as my husband was now considering a dental implant a solicitor would take our claim forward. We have now been told by the solicitor that as the product was supplied by a third party we must sue the manufacturer. It took Waitrose 11 months to conclude that it was nothing to do with them.
SB, Bridgwater, Somerset

This is a disgrace. The initial letter from Waitrose clearly implied that they would refund you. It was only when they realised that your dentist had recommended an implant costing £3,335 that they got scared and passed the buck. The lawyer’s letter claims that because Waitrose could not inspect a sealed packet before sale, they were not at fault. This ignores the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which requires retailers to provide redress for a faulty product, whether or not they are at fault. It is true that in the event of personal injury you can also make a claim against the manufacturer under the Consumer Protection Act 1987, but Waitrose should have pointed you in that direction from the start.

Gary Rycroft, a consumer law expert and solicitor at Joseph A Jones, said Waitrose should have paid up and then sought to recover the money from the manufacturer. “I understand Waitrose saying the manufacturer is also liable, because in law that is correct,” he said. “But that liability is mitigated by the fact that Waitrose is actually acknowledging its legal duty to its customer and then seeking to backtrack. That is dishonest.”

Waitrose quickly apologised and agreed to pay out £4,000 after I questioned its behaviour. The company told me that customer services would pass cases on to its insurer if a claim exceeded a certain value. Basically, it was letting the consumer do the heavy lifting.

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