chinese takeaway disaster

[weecoffeecup]

I got a chinese takeaway the other night ,put it in the car and drove home whenI got home I discovered the container which my meal was in had not been closed properly and the sauce had leaked out into the bag(all of it) It burned my leg and also leaked over my brand new �60 quid white moleskin coat which is now ruined .The manager of the takeaway where I bought it was extremely rude to me and is refusing to take any responsibility for this saying it must have been the way i had sat the bag in the car my argument is I know how to put a bag in a car and anyway surely if the container had been closed properly this would not have happened there was also a container of curry sauce in the bag which did not leak.Is there anything I can do?

[Paul87]

Consult a civil claims legal adviser on the 5 min free advisory scheme.

Then if you have a case you can take it to the small claims court, (county court) which may cost anything up to �30, which the liable party will incur.

Before doing this you can write to the business formally and "threaten" taking legal action and give 14 days for them to reply. But state they have 14 days to reply. Do everything in writing and make copies of everything.

Let me know what you decide

Cheers

[Twenty20]

This would be so hard to prove that surely it's just not worth the effort? How could you possibly prove that the lid was faulty or not put on correctly and that you didnt, accidentally, knock the lid open?

[weecoffeecup]

I know it would be difficult to prove but I am so angry at the attitute of the management They never even offered me a replacement meal

[spaced]

not much you can do unfortunately. Use another takeaway in future. Let them know that and tell them that you will let all your friends know not to use them again.

Hit them where it hurts (customers)

[Stu Dent]

Whilst it is possible to claim damages if you can show that the takeaway owner owed you a duty of care, and that the damage to your car/clothes was forseeable, my view is that a claim against the takeaway owners would not succeed.

Whilst they should have ensured that the containes was properly secured and should have forseen that if it was not, then some damage could occur, the takeaway owners would claim that you contributed to the damage through your own negligence.

Most people (myself included) realise that there is a risk that some sauce/food/grease etc can escape from these food containers. They are not foolproof. Therefore you should have been able to have forseen that there was a risk of some spillage and you could have minimised that risk by placing the bag/containers within another bag, or stored it in a place where spillage would not cause any damage. So I think that if you ever did take this to a small claims court the costs/damages would at best be split.

Personally I keep my takeaway food in a plastic box in the boot of the car, or occasionally, in the rear footwell of the car. Never, ever, on my seat....just in case.

[spaced]

on your seat? Sorry i didnt realise you had put it on the seat. Dont bother claiming. You can blame yourself as well as the take away. Placing it on the seat is just careless.