Not sure where i stand?

edx12

Hi! I Purchased a set of rope light from lidl during the christmas because i thought it was a great deal! €11.50 for something like 12 meters of LED rope lights. Yes please, where can i go wrong. Wrong. I had them drapped over my couch and they over heated and started going on fire. Damaging my couch and scaring the life out of me and my girlfriend. If we hadnt of been in the room im sure the place would of went on fire. I went to lidl and complained, wrote out a formal complaint and everything and the manager assured me someone would be in contact. Sure enough someone was. They asked me to send a picture of my damaged couch and i did. About a week later they rang me and said they wernt going to do anything about the damaged couch and offered me a 25 euro voucher, not for my troubles but for there gratitued? I T

What should i Do??

Thanks for reading

Bepolite

Small claims but you'll be sueing under the LFDP Act 1991 with an 'excess' of IR£350 (Euro equivalent). Registrar may just assess the damage without resorting to the above act but that might not be 100% proper.

dudara

There might be some element of negligence here on your part. There's no way I would have draped lights on a fabric surface. Were there any warning notices etc on the box?

beertons

Are they outdoor lights?

brokenarms

Surely outdoor lights mean they can be used outdoor or indoor without fears of them going on fire?

What if they fell on fabric outdoors. The same situation could develop and a house could go on fire.

carpejugulum

Sounds like your fault OP. €25 is more than they owe you (zero) as you didn't use them as intended and recommended.

emeldc

Have you house insurance, you might have a better chance there with accidental damage.

All the same don't people go mad at Christmas with all sorts of lights and sh1t.

dudara

dudara wrote: »

There might be some element of negligence here on your part. There's no way I would have draped lights on a fabric surface. Were there any warning notices etc on the box?

I agree. Have a read of this http://www.noralighting.com/uploads/specs/nfl-4400_inst.pdf

sandin

Draped lights over a couch? Ah come on now. You

D3PO

and its for this reason companies have to put stupid labels on things like "do not iron whilst wearing"

seriously OP a bit of cop on wouldn't go astray. Im shocked they offered you anything to be frank.

brokenarms

D3PO wrote: »

and its for this reason companies have to put stupid labels on things like "do not iron whilst wearing"

seriously OP a bit of cop on wouldn't go astray. Im shocked they offered you anything to be frank.

You are right. 100% . But generally people are stupid and products have to be made fool proof.
A product like this should not go on fire under any circumstance .
They know that and that's why they paid up. The same scenario could well have happened outdoors by wind with the potential to kill people in their sleep.

Lesson I have learned. Never buy that cheap tat from Lidl as it is unsafe for use around the home.

Bepolite

That's a tad ridiculous. I just assumed LEDs shouldn't get hot and you were using the product as intended - but if you're ignoring warnings on packaging and using an outdoor product inside, I'm not sure what you were expecting.

If the Sofa caught fire I'd be more worried about that furniture is meant to be self extinguishing.

Doom

Have you any data info sheet from the product?

foggy_lad

Bepolite wrote: »

Small claims but you'll be sueing under the LFDP Act 1991 with an 'excess' of IR£350 (Euro equivalent). Registrar may just assess the damage without resorting to the above act but that might not be 100% proper.

A claim could be lodged for damage caused to the sofa but lidl would counter claim by saying the op did not follow the instructions and warnings about placement of the lighting.

Bepolite

foggy_lad wrote: »

A claim could be lodged for damage caused to the sofa but lidl would counter claim by saying the op did not follow the instructions and warnings about placement of the lighting.

Well I have indicated that in a later post - but point taken. I obviously assumed he wasn't draping outdoor lights over a sofa - wrongly it would seem!

That said I wouldn't have expected LED lights to heat up.

foggy_lad

Those rope lights get very hot in use and more so when ventilation around them is restricted.

Doom

http://corporate.nca.ie/eng/Business_Zone/Product_Safety_and_Recalls/FAQs/

sawdoubters

were they led lights or normal lights,try consumer watch dog

pleasant Co.

Lights generate heat? when did this start happening? does the President know? quick, tell the world!

edx12

Bepolite wrote: »

Small claims but you'll be sueing under the LFDP Act 1991 with an 'excess' of IR£350 (Euro equivalent). Registrar may just assess the damage without resorting to the above act but that might not be 100% proper.

Thanks. I rang the consume rights in dublin and they are on the case. Will keep you updated

edx12

Thanks for all the comments guys. I rang consumer rights and they are on the case. I will let you know how I get on.

jennnn

12 metres of rope lights... on a couch? :eek:

Good luck with the case OP. Ye must have got a terrible fright.

edx12

Sure did. We were watching television when all of a sudden there was this really intense bright light from the corner of the room, closely followed by smoke. Thank god we were in the room at the time or it could have been a different story.

I have seen these lights in many houses used in far worse scenarios then in mine. It is scary to think they can be so dangerous.

edx12

Still getting used to this. Sorry if I didnt reply some. And thanks for the response

cml387

It's a myth that LED's don't get hot. They do.

TheIrishGrover

Individual LEDs for internal use (On devices or a Christmas tree etc) are very efficient and very small. However outdoor ones I would imagine would be quite a bit larger and draw more current. also, if such a long cable of LEDs was looped around itself then you could get inductive effects through the cable itself which could seriously overheat the actual cable. That's why if you are running a lot of devices off a long extension cord they recommend you unspool the cable.

If this cable was wrapped around a couch(!!!) and/or wound up in a loop or ball while on then it's no wonder it overheated. Should be used outdoor with proper ventilation and strung out as intended

edx12

TheIrishGrover wrote: »

Individual LEDs for internal use (On devices or a Christmas tree etc) are very efficient and very small. However outdoor ones I would imagine would be quite a bit larger and draw more current. also, if such a long cable of LEDs was looped around itself then you could get inductive effects through the cable itself which could seriously overheat the actual cable. That's why if you are running a lot of devices off a long extension cord they recommend you unspool the cable.

If this cable was wrapped around a couch(!!!) and/or wound up in a loop or ball while on then it's no wonder it overheated. Should be used outdoor with proper ventilation and strung out as intended

It wasn't rapped what so ever, it was draped. Just on the arm that's it. As I said many people have theses lights and I have seen them used in a lot worse fashion.

the groutch

still not sure why you think you're entitled to compensation?
you've used outdoor lighting indoors, you are fully at fault.
if the €25 voucher is still available, you should take it and move on.

Cabaal

edx12 wrote: »

It wasn't rapped what so ever, it was draped. Just on the arm that's it. As I said many people have theses lights and I have seen them used in a lot worse fashion.

Doesn't matter what silly places people put LED's, if there placement is against the safety instructions included with the LED's then there location is a bad idea. End of.