Giving away electric items - liability

[Tim Watts]

Hi,

I have a couple of things that are surplus (mains powered tools).

Is there any risk in giving these away on say Freecycle? I mean in terms
of liability.

I have no reason to believe the items are unsafe in any way whatsoever,
but let's imagine in a year or two, one develops a fault and causes
damage, starts a fire, gives someone a shock etc:

Can this come back to me in any way? These are not the sort of items a
charity shop would want (I have given normal domestic electrical stuff
to them before) - but it seems a shame to just dump them.


Cheers :)

Tim

[Roland Perry]

In message <dsnnne-...@squidward.local.dionic.net>, at 14:23:41 on
Wed, 14 Mar 2018, Tim Watts <tw_u...@dionic.net> remarked:

There's a somewhat downmarket auction near me (two sales a week) which
always has a dozen or more power tools. I think it's mainly from
professional house-clearances, and the majority is sold "as seen".

You might also try a specialist charity, like:

https://www.emmaus.org.uk/cambridge

who do take electricals and refurb/PAT test[1] them.

[1] Yes, I know, but it's less awful than portable appliance
PAT testing them.
--
Roland Perry

[The Todal]

As the moderator of a Freecycle group I can say that we always allow
electrial items to be offered on Freecycle. It's exactly what Freecycle
does best - allowing people to avoid putting goods in landfill when they
can be used again or utilised for spare parts. I've given away a number
of electrical items on Freecycle - strimmer, hedge trimmer, chainsaw.

If you know of a defect you should point it out, of course. But you
aren't offering any warranty or guarantee, and if it develops a fault
later, you won't be liable unless you failed to disclose a fault that
was known to you.

I suppose there's a slight chance that someone would sue you in the
belief that you had concealed your knowledge of a dangerous defect. A
court would then have to hear the evidence and decide whether to believe
you, and that would involve legal costs. If that worries you, you'll
probably not want to give any electrical tools away or lend them to anyone.

[Tim Watts]

On 14/03/18 18:07, The Todal wrote:
>
> As the moderator of a Freecycle group I can say that we always allow
> electrial items to be offered on Freecycle. It's exactly what Freecycle
> does best - allowing people to avoid putting goods in landfill when they
> can be used again or utilised for spare parts. I've given away a number
> of electrical items on Freecycle - strimmer, hedge trimmer, chainsaw.
>
> If you know of a defect you should point it out, of course. But you
> aren't offering any warranty or guarantee, and if it develops a fault
> later, you won't be liable unless you failed to disclose a fault that
> was known to you.

Thank you - I know you know your subject, so I find that quite reassuring :)

>
> I suppose there's a slight chance that someone would sue you in the
> belief that you had concealed your knowledge of a dangerous defect. A
> court would then have to hear the evidence and decide whether to believe
> you, and that would involve legal costs.  If that worries you, you'll
> probably not want to give any electrical tools away or lend them to anyone.
>

In an ideal world, everyone would be reasonable :)

[Alasdair X]

I suggest you put them on Ebay or Shpock.

[Tim Watts]

Too much bother :) I just want to give them away as they are worth
virtually nothing to me (I've had the full value out of them in use and
the small resale wouldn't cover my effort).

But surely that's worse in a way - if I give something away, I'm not
promising anything about it but if I sell it???

[Robert]

Just because they are not "normal domestic electrical stuff" doesnt mean
a charity shop will not find a market for them, although few charity
shops take electrical items.
I volunteer in a charity shop which does electricals and I am always
surprised at what does sell. e.g. there is a ready market for old corded
power tools, even the metal bodied B&D drills. Always worth testing,
usually changing the plug and roughly cleaning for a £10-£20 sale.