Thread: Scalding incident from Drinks Container - responses received!

Hi All...

I thought it might be interesting to share my experience.

I bought a sport drinks container (for mixing protein powder shakes), and on washing it with hot water I was scalded (as the container pressurised and squirted out). Out of good faith, I used the companies online "contact us" form to notify them of the problem with their product... I found the response I received extremely condescending and arrogant:


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1 (initial online form)

Hi there. I have been using "############" products for a while. However, I recently purchased an "############" drinks bottle from Fitness First in Colchester, Essex. I am writing to let you know that there is a serious safety concern with the product. On cleaning it, if you fill it with hot water and shake it, it seems to pressurise and scalding hot water squirts out from the rim. I was scalded and it was very painful. You might want to safety test this product or at the very least, issue a warning on the bottle to avoid anybody repeating this - My hand and stomach were scalded and I could not train properly for a week because it was very painful.





2 (response received)

Hello,
thank you for your message and we were sorry to hear about your accident. However, it is never advisable to fill any container, especially plastic, which expands, with scolding hot water and then shake it. We sell many thousands of these shakers and have never received any complaints of this nature. We are confident that the product is 100% safe, if used and cleaned appropriately.
Kind regards





3 (my reply)

Many thanks for your e-Mail.

Having read your rather blasé response, I am disappointed with your reply and I find the manner of your return e-Mail rather condescending and patronizing, having simply pointed out what is a serious safety issue - Quite frankly this concerns me.

I simply notified ########## of an issue that might pose a danger to your customers, and have received what seems to be a lesson in the natures of how plastic reacts with heat.

Surely a company that cares about their customers has a duty to warn about this (or indeed any other) danger, rather than relying on an assumption relating to their customer's knowledge of physics, and the reaction characteristics of plastic and other materials when carrying hot water (as you have clearly implied).

You have acknowledged that it is dangerous to shake a plastic container that has been filled with hot water - in this instance the hot water was simply from a hot-tap. Can you please tell me why there is no such warning on the product. Due to this, I most certainly disagree with your following comment "...that the product is 100% safe". This product - a product that requires regular cleaning - is most certainly not "100% safe" and you have failed to advise on what may happen if cleaned in this way.

I for one certainly did not know what the consequences would be, by simply using what is considered to be a "normal" cleaning method for such an item. Unfortunately I do now.

As a company, you acknowledge that ########## are aware of what could be horrific consequences, resulting from filling the ######## container with hot water and shaking it. Is not the very purpose of the product to carry fluid and be shaken?

I would be grateful if you point out to me where the notes specifying acceptable heat tolerences are located? I have looked and certainly can not find them.

Can you also clarify if you think that it is an acceptable or reasonable assumption for ############ to assume that their customers are aware of the possible outcome (or not).

Also, if a product requires specialist - or as you say "appropriate" cleaning (I quote: "...if used and cleaned appropriately"), then it is your duty as a company to notify and/or advise the customer of a suitable and appropriate cleaning method, pointing out the danger and risk of cleaning methods (such as filling with hot water and shaking), that is clearly deemed by ########## as inappropriate.

Having identified that ########### are aware of such issues with plastic containers, do you agree (or not) that a warning should be clearly supplied with or on the product at the very least? If this was the case I would have avoided an extremely painful incident - rather than having to notify yourselves of what is obviously a very serious safety issue, only to receive your "advice" about the issues of plastic containers post-incident.

I look forward to hearing your reply answering my above questions and concerns.

Yours sincerely,





5 (no response from them - my follow up email to a superior)

Dear #######,

I am forwarding you the following email correspondence as I have not received a reply (as of yet) from ####### in reply to an email dated 22/03/07.

I am sure that the subject of the initial email will warrant your concern - certainly a view that I can only determine was not shared by #######, judging by the response I obtained from your company.

The correspondence requires reading from the bottom of the page upwards - The lowest point of contact being a copy of the initial "online contact form" that I completed which is located within the #######,. I was simply bringing the matter to your attention and was sincerely concerned and disappointed with the response I obtained.

In no way was my initial contact threatening or demanding, even though I was hurt. The initial response I received had left me feeling angry and belittled. The apparent lack of courtesy displayed by failing to acknowledge my second email has amplified this feeling.

I hope you will be able to find time to look into the matter personally and find a resolution.

I look forward to hearing your views on reply.

Yours sincerely,






6 (their response)

our wholly owned UK-subsidiary forwarded your enquiry to my attention. I am ######## corporte lawyer .

First of all I also want to express my deep regret to what has happend to you when rinsing the shaker.

In order to get a complete picture I discussed your concern (which I identified as: should there be a warning on the ######?) with our sales and
marketing dept here in Germany and most of all with our German supplier (as you might guess, we do not produce the shaker ourselves).
We could not identify a similar case with respect to the ###### and our supplier too assured us that he also has never been confronted with an
accident like yours before, though selling some 2 million products worldwide yearly.

Taking the above into account, one accident, though not undermining your accident does not to justify warning notes being added to the ######.

This is especially true when an issue passes the borderline between a real danger and a question of common sense with respect to handling (boiling) hot water.

In conclusion we believe the ###### to be a proven safe product

Nevertheless we thank you for your suggestions which have enabled us to verify the product and the way it is presented once again.

Yours Sincerely


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Do you think I should persue this any further, and how do you think they have handled their replies to my questions/situation... Thoughts appreciated!



Gallen.












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You wont like me for saying it....but I pretty much agree with them. Is it one of those containers with the little nubbin thing at the top which you pull out and push in? I think their replies have been fine, personally....just my opinion of course.

Ah right doesnt really change my opinion - it is common sense that if you put hot water into an enclosed container, it will become pressurised. In my opinion, this is that basic a knowledge that they should not really have to put a warning(along the lines of the mcdonalds coffee cups saying "contents may be hot" :S). Of course, this is just my opinion, and I certainly sympathize with your injury, but I feel that at least a part(and a large part to my mind) of the injury was your own fault unfortunately. But you of course are entitled to your opinion

To go away from opinion and into fact, you probably don't have anywhere to go with this. I feel any kind of claim would probably fail(provided obviously a judge agreed with myself!), and you cannot force them to add the disclaimer. The only other way forward would probably be to contact Trading Standards, if you really wanted to take it this far.

As I say, it is not that I do not sympathize, and I can understand your feelings, I just do not agree with them.

If the water you used to fill the container was hot enough to scald you, surely you should have been wearing washing-up gloves to protect your hands anyway?

IIRC, domestic hot water should be at a maximum of 56 deg C. The maximum my dishwasher goes is 60 deg C, but that is all enclosed.

This is very hot water, but should not be hot enough to scold you.

Did you use water from a kettle?

If its from the hot water tap I would say that the fault is not with the product, but with your hot water supply for being too hot...

Originally Posted by Gallen

This is the point I am making!

I know I am not the only person to have had this happen - a colleague of mine did exactly the same thing with an identical product at work the other week - which inspired the initial letter as a very similar outcome occured - albeit without injury!!!!

do you not think that you should've warned him of the "dangers" or him warned you (whichever was the sooner)??

sorry but looks like the old "where there's blame there's a claim" culture here, if you feel THAT strongly about it, go and pay a solicitor out of your own pocket.

oh and the nature of the product IS tol hold liquid & shake it, but I'm not so sure it's too hold HOT liquid & shake it?!?!?!

next time don't fill to the top and leave plenty of room for the expansion to occur &/or put your finger over the hole.

most certainly NOT blame claim culture! I dont want a penny for what happened.... if you read the initial email i sent, i just pointing out the fact that this happened to the company to avoid it happening again - but was diassapointed with, what i thought was a condescending reply - "thanks for pointing this out to us, we will look into it" would have been sufficient.

RE: Nature of the product - doesnt specify hot or cold liquid, and doesnt specify anything to the contrary.

re: not filling to the top - or putting a finger over the hole;-
Wasnt filled to the top, and im not practising to see how much water u can get in before it spits out! LOL! Also, the water didnt come through the "hole" - it burst through the seal of the lid which was tightly screwed on with the cap clipped into place, hence it shot down over my hand and stomach as it leaked out the sides.

With the benefit of hindsight I wouldnt repeat it again - im not stupid!

As for "where there's blame there's a claim", you seem to have done ok out of claiming dont you! ;-) ...I could say maybe next time look after your bank accounts a little better but I wont - because I'm in the process of claiming too!

Originally Posted by Gallen

As for "where there's blame there's a claim", you seem to have done ok out of claiming dont you! ;-) ...I could say maybe next time look after your bank accounts a little better but I wont - because I'm in the process of claiming too!

I can't resist pointing out that claiming back from a bank is different to claiming for personal injury - in our cases' we're claiming back what was ours, but was unlawfully taken from us. With personal injury, you're asking for something in recompense. We just want the money back that was ours in the first place!

also I haven't actually got any bank charges!

I asked lloydstsb for my statements and found I had 1 charge in the last 6 years! DOH

anyway hope you can do sit ups now