Asbestos in children’s craft kit
I purchased a children’s craft kit from Hobbycraft which was later recalled after asbestos contamination was identified in the sand.
What makes this worse is that this issue was not identified by Hobbycraft themselves — it was first discovered by a parent who paid for independent lab testing after recognising similarities with recalled products overseas (Guardian article available online).
By the time the recall was issued, the sand had already been used in our home and garden. As a result, we had to dispose of a sandpit and toys and carry out extensive cleaning as a precaution.
Hobbycraft refunded the £6 product cost — but refused to cover any of the resulting losses (over £150), despite these being a direct consequence of supplying a contaminated product.
The handling has been extremely poor:
• repeated template responses
• refusal to address financial losses
• refusal to provide insurer details
• complaints process closed without resolution
Instead of taking responsibility, the company has relied on generic statements about regulators while ignoring the real impact on customers.
This was a serious product safety issue that appears to have been raised externally before action was taken, and the follow-up customer service has been equally disappointing.
I would not expect this level of response from a national retailer