Posted By Kesp Samantha a) Is she hurt? b) Have you got CCTV? c) How did she inform you of the incident? d) Inform your insurers e) Inform your solicitor f) Don't write to her direct in a panic Your insurers or solicitor should provide you with the correct advice. Hope this helps

Posted By Samantha Rigby thanks for the replies! customer did notify us at time of incident, we filled out incident form. manager investigated, he says there was nothing on the floor, colleagues in the area didnt see anything oocur, customer says that a colleague removed said fruit skin, colleagues say they didn't. i have phoned our claims department they say send flowers, letter of apology and gift vouchers! it seems they aren't really bothered if we get a claim for it! but then they do estimate a cost if a claim does go in, usually double than what they settle at but they never refund any over cost back to the store! rant rant rant lol!!! sorry it just annoys me. anyway after numerous phone calls from said customer, they are getting slightly peeved to have had no response from store! which is naff as i have spoken to customer on numerous occasions. customer will not accept anything other than a letter of apology and acceptance of accident occurring. i have explained cleaning procedures, the fact that fruit is not stored in the area alleged incident happened etc. to no avail. bit stuck thats all as to what to do next thanks again for replies sam

Posted By Samantha Rigby thanks for the advice ray, wil do first thing in the morning and keep my fingers crossed! lol hope it sorts this situation out otherwise i await the dreaded solicitors letter through the post in about 2 months time lol thanks again to all who have responded sam x

Posted By Samantha Rigby thank you very much for all your replies, i'm going to get it done first thing this morning thanks again sam x

Posted By gham Samantha Why don't you pass it to your trading law team at your head office

Posted By garyh Am I missing something here? Assuming that the incident happened as described, what exactly could they sue for? In a common law "Tort" claim you have to establish that you suffered loss, that the plaintiff had a duty of care in which they failed......etc. So what loss did this person suffer? What compo could they get if they have not lost out financially? Pain and suffering - I don't think that this pays very well!

Posted By Samantha Rigby very true gham! seems like no matter what procedures you have in place, and whatever is done to stop incidents like this occurring, it makes no difference in this day and age. all i can say is these companies who offer 'no win no fee', 'have you had an accident in the last 3 yrs?' etc etc blah blah blah must be minted! i'm all for people getting compensation for loss, injury etc if there was some genuine downfall of procedures that caused the accident, but it peeves me off when you know damn well nothing happened but they blatantly lie about it! ok rant over, i wrote letter saying sorry to hear about your accident in store and sent her a £25 gift card but made it clear we were not accepting liability. lets see where that gets me :) cheers sam x

Posted By Samantha Rigby mei yes we keep our records for 3 and a half yrs, plus any witness statements, any notes that are took at the time, photographs etc. plus if its a minor (under 18) we keep until the person reaches 21yrs old. we have that covered but thanks for your input. i think a lot of companies are clicking onto the fact that this is starting to become common practise! surely something should be done to protect businesses against this sort of action! i feel for small businesses that could potentially go under if they get caught in this trap, its ok for the company i work for has they are a huge retail company and it wouldnt affect us as much. i think this sort of topic will become common place the more these no win, no fee companies continue to win more and more cases! sam x

Posted By Samantha Rigby the accident form says that she bruised her knee, she says she's slipped a disc in her back but now as been to the hospital and there is nothing wrong with her back. she is a member of the public so i dont know if she has had any time of from work sam x