Waitrose has refused to pay a claim after their employee allegedly crashed a line of shopping trolleys into a customer’s car – causing £5,000 worth of damage in a store car park in September 2023.
The supermarket chain’s handling of the incident has sparked criticism after a 15-month delay in settling the damage claim.
Initially, Waitrose’s insurer accepted liability for the damage claim.
However, the company then changed the insurer handling the case three times, significantly delaying the settlement process.
The supermarket chain’s handling of the incident has sparked criticism after a 15-month delay in settling the damage claim
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After 15 months, Waitrose unexpectedly claimed the incident was partially the customer’s fault, providing no explanation for this change in position.
This reversal came despite the company’s earlier acceptance of responsibility for their employee’s actions.
The customer faced significant financial impact from the incident, with insurance premiums doubling and a £1,000 excess payment required.
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This is not the first time Waitrose has faced criticism over its handling of customer claims.
In a previous case, the retailer had promised to cover dental treatment for a customer who cracked a tooth on a bone in one of its meatballs.
However, Waitrose reversed its position after 11 months in that instance, only settling after media attention highlighted the case.
Following media scrutiny, Waitrose finally settled the claim within two weeks.
Waitrose has refused to pay a claim after their employee crashed a line of shopping trolleys into a customer’s car
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The retailer offered a £200 gift card as a goodwill gesture to apologise for the delays.
In response to the incident, a Waitrose spokesperson said: “We work hard to meet customers expectations, so we’re very sorry this claim took longer to settle than it should have done.”
The company added: “Although this has now been resolved, we’ve organised a £200 gift card as a gesture of goodwill to apologise for the experience.”
The retailer declined to answer questions about its handling of the case.
