Claim Against Amazon

[AlanHo]

I ordered a 12V power adaptor from Amazon which arrived today.

 

When I plugged it in and switched it on its plug exploded in an instantaneous burst of noise, flame, smoke and melted plastic. I suffered a small burn to a finger and the wall socket and surrounding wall are blackened.

 

I was horrified to find that the plug on the supplied power lead had been fitted with a 13A fuse - but the power supply unit as rated at 1.6A (240V) and 5A (12V)

 

The outer sheath of the cable has split open just below where it enters the moulded plug and the inner cores are showing. I reckon that there is exposed conductors inside the plug which have shorted across.

 

I still can't believe the explosive noise, flame and smoke that was given off when there is so little evidence of significant damage on the plug and lead.

 

I have of course submitted a report and formal claim for compensation to Amazon. It will be interesting to see what they come up with..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Belatucadrus]

Reminds me of when our toaster went bang, very similar failure point the cable had obviously worn over the years and shorted out spectacularly just below where it entered the plug, leaving a similar though less pronounced soot mark on the wall socket. 

In our case the soot marks were entirely external and cleaned off with a mild kitchen abrasive cleaner, the socket survived. Incidentally so did the toaster, I took of a couple of inches off the cable and rewired it to a new plug. It works but has been relegated to a cupboard as emergency backup toaster.

What happens next depends on you, you can either trust Amazon to handle it, or you can go through Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline.

[Irene]

That is a shocking event, Alan!

 

We recently purchased a replacement 12V power adapter from Amazon - for an under cupboard drop-down kitchen TV.  I am very relieved to say that there has not been any horror show like that.

 

All the best for your claim.

[andsome]

Was it Amazon direct or a seller on there?

[AlanHo]

NEXT INSTALMENT

 

Dear Mr Hopkinson, My name is Shraddha and I represent the Executive Customer Relations Group within Amazon.co.uk and in this capacity, your correspondence has been brought to my attention. Thank you for taking the time to contact Amazon.co.uk regarding the issue with your item, Power Supply Cigarette Lighter Socket AC to DC Adapter 110V-240V to 12V 5A Car Power Charger Converter, from order #026-4761252-4704332 purchased from the seller Libraoeu. Safety is our first priority and we take this matter very seriously. We are carrying out a detailed internal investigation regarding this issue. In the meantime, the item may be temporarily unavailable to buy from Libraoeu on Amazon.co.uk, though it may still be available from other merchants on the Amazon.co.uk website. I'm very sorry to hear that you have received an injury from this incident. I wish you a speedy recovery. Please note that Amazon is not the seller of this item. When you purchased this item you entered into a contract with the seller of the item, Libraoeu. The seller is responsible for any claim you may have arising out of your purchase (please see paragraph 12 of this link for further information https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201909000). To contact the seller please see the link to the seller’s storefront below. We recommend using the “Ask a question” option as we will receive a copy of all correspondence automatically. https://www.amazon.co.uk/sp?_encoding=UTF8&asin=&isAmazonFulfilled=&isCBA=&marke... Please provide the seller with medical documents and repair estimates, if any, along with the images that you have sent to us. If the situation is not resolved by the seller within 5 working days, please respond directly to this email so we can assist you further. Thanks for allowing us to work through this problem with you. I do hope that you are able to resolve the issue with the seller.

[andsome]

I thought it wouldn’t be Amazon themselves.

[AlanHo]

I don't rate my chances - but I am surprised that the item was delivered via Amazon Prime the next day

 

 

I guess I will be lucky to get an apology in Chinese. However - I spoke to Amazon today and they assured me that if the supplier does not respond positively within 5 days they will be banned from selling via Amazon.

 

 

[andsome]

We like a small plug in light in the hall to see downstairs at night as our toilet is downstairs. The last one we had eventually failed, so we ordered one from Amazon. It was far too faint and useless. I returned it but the seller refused to play my return postage. It took Amazon just four days before the seller refunded the postage. I am a fan of Amazon. 

[Belatucadrus]

You can never tell with Chinese suppliers, many of them are perfectly reputable companies who have been dealing via Amazon for years. Some are fly by nights who seem to operate for a couple of months then vanish. The fact that this lot have a delivery deal with Amazon indicates they aren't one of the here today gone tomorrow variety.

[catgate]

"Thank you for taking the time to contact Amazon.co.uk regarding the issue with your item, Power Supply Cigarette Lighter....."

 

What hypocrisy. .....  and they all do it.

 

Good luck to you Mr. Ho. I fear you may need some, but I hope that is not the case.

[AlanHo]

The supplier has contacted me to apologise for the harm caused.

 

They add "In this case, because the delivery is FBAT, please contact Amazon Customer Services. They will give you solve well. We hope you get a solution" (Its their grammar not mine)

 

I have done a bit of research and it seems that FBAT stands for "Fulfilled by Amazon transaction". I think this means that sellers create stock in the Amazon warehouse but retain ownership. By so doing they can offer buyers Prime 24 hour delivery and get Amazon to manage the payment. 

 

Watch this space...…………….

[AlanHo]

Amazon have now refunded me the amount I paid and have advised that their terms for "Fulfilled by Amazon" clearly exclude my claim for damage. The seller must be chased for that.

 

I am not going to bother because I guess chasing a Chinese company for a few pounds is going to be a long and frustrating exercise. In any event, I changed the socket for a spare and the socket involved cleaned up perfectly and passed a mega test.

 

Amazon Emailed me a mailing label to return the part at a returns testing unit they have in Glasgow. They have told me that they will let me have a copy of their report.

 

Meanwhile the seller has had the item removed from his Amazon sale - but other sellers continue to sell it. Amazon will ban the item from all sellers if the report from their test lab is compelling.

 

If there are any electricians in our ranks - here is a rough sketch of how the plug should be wired internally .  The explosion was inside the moulded plug and the cable sheath was probably split from the pressure developed.  The fuse didn't blow (the house earth leakage tripped though). Something was not wired correctly - I can't make my mind up what.

 

Note that I found a spare lead in my electric jumble and tried the 12V adapter brick with it. It worked perfectly so there is no damage in that.