The Sale of Goods and Services Act 1982 – it’s an important piece of legislation there to protect us against dodgy deals and faulty products; and the regulations involved are ones that all manufacturers and providers of goods and services must abide by. Failing to do so can leave them liable for any suffering caused by their negligence in failing to adhere to the regulations to a sufficient standard.
Now I myself have had bad experiences in the past of poor services and inadequate products sold to me, and I am certain that the majority of you reading this have as well! In fact, we at The Injury Lawyers have been at the mercy of our telecommunications providers who have provided a far less than satisfactory service to us with countless errors over the past few months; and you’d think with them being probably the biggest British provider that they would provide the best service in the country!
So we can agree that it’s not a pleasant experience to go through – not just because we have parted our hard earned cash for an unsatisfactory outcome, but because the consequences of being the victim of a faulty good or a shoddy service can end up being quite disturbing.
So, here’s a story I found that could fit in to this very category. According to sources from the Mirror (source), one of the busiest mainstream branches of KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) has been fined £19,000 for hygiene breaches after a cockroach was spotted eating a chip in the store!
To be honest, this is quite a disgusting story! According to the report, the creature was spotted by an environmental health officer at London’s West End branch, happily munching away on a fry on a food dispensing counter nearby takeaway boxes and tongs used to serve chicken.
The source goes on to say that the officer also spotted a mouse, flies, and dried chicken blood on the floor – a health and safety disaster! It was also found that there were no hand wash dispensers usable in the food preparation area; making it impossible for staff working there to keep their hands clean on the day of the inspection.
KFC at a hearing admitted breaching numerous regulations, including “failure to keep the premises clean, not keeping the building maintained and in good repair, and not having adequate procedures in place to prevent pest control”. All very serious breaches of important hygiene regulations.
Daniel Astaire of Westminster City Council’s cabinet for community safety stated “The standards of hygiene at this restaurant were appalling and simply unacceptable. A fast food chain of the size and stature of KFC should know better, and I am amazed their head office allowed such an important flagship restaurant to decline to these low levels.”.
This statement pretty much nails it on the head for me! Let’s hope this example is never repeated; the shear thought of it is concerning. I wouldn’t like to have eaten there in the last couple of years…
So what would have happened if their lack of adherence to important regulations had have caused a customer to become ill through the poor hygiene? Well if the sickness was serious enough, the victim may be entitled to claim for compensation for their suffering and loss.
So if you have seriously suffered due to the lack of respect and adherence to health, safety and hygiene regulations, I strongly suggest you speak with an expert independent personal injury lawyer for professional advice on legal representation! Particularly bad cases we see here are those affected on holidays and cruise ships – which of course includes the factor of the loss of enjoyment of the holiday through being ill, and the loss in general for paying for a spoilt holiday; both claimable in a case for compensation!
