One mum is suing Argos for £20 million after they failed to inform her that her child’s car seat was unsafe.
Rochelle Natty claims it was 18 months before the company told her that her son’s Mamas & Papas car seat was “not fit for purpose”.
Argos recalled the range of car seats in April after concerns were raised that it would not provide adequate safety in the event of an accident.
They asked customers who may have bought any of the five models available to return them to their shores however, Rochelle says this took them far longer than it should.
She is demanding £20 million in damages as a result of the shock caused after realising she has been putting her child in an unsafe car seat.
“I was sold a car seat that was unsafe and Argos took one year and a half to inform me about it, whilst my son was being driven around in a car seat that was not fit for purpose,” she said in a High Court writ.
“On 11 May 2016 I received an email from Argos stating urgent safety concerns.
“I read through it, then called Argos up and asked, why did it take them a year and a half to tell me this whilst driving around with my child in an unsafe car seat. Argos then went on to blame Mamas & Papas.
“They put my child’s life at risk.”
But Argos’ legal representative say that her claim should be struck out as she “seeks £20 million despite not claiming to have suffered any actual loss, damage or personal injury.”
“It is averred that Argos has acted reasonably at all times in respect of the timing and distribution of the recall notice.
“Argos has offered a full refund to any of its customers in possession of an item referred to in the recall notice.”
Mamas & Papas have since released a statement saying:
“Mamas & Papas has been in discussion with Argos about their decision to suspend sales and recall certain Mercury car seats, which are manufactured by Mamas & Papas exclusively for Argos. We continue to work closely with Argos to determine the exact nature of the issue.
“We wish to reassure our customers that we take product quality and assurance very seriously and that the safety of our customers is always our primary concern.
“All Mamas and Papas car seats are tested, certified and approved under European regulations by independent accredited bodies.
“All our products are audited and checked - by routine batch sample testing of production - at accredited test laboratories.
“We would like to apologise to customers for any inconvenience the recall has caused.
“We would also like to assure them that there have been no reports of any incidents involving any of the recalled car seats.”
