B&Q shoppers blast chain after pots of Valspar paint spill open in car

B&Q customers blast the DIY chain for leaving their cars ‘like a swimming pool’ after pots of Valspar paint with ‘unsecured lids’ spill open on the journey home

• Some customers have had thousands of pounds of damage done to their cars
• B&Q says it reminds customers  to ‘store them in a secure, upright position’
• HAVE YOU HAD PAINT SPILL IN YOUR CAR MOMENTS AFTER BUYING IT? Send your pictures to [email protected] 

Furious B&Q customers have blasted the DIY chain after pots of Valspar paint with ‘unsecured lids’ spilled open on the journey home, ruining their cars.

Angry shoppers have complained about parts of their vehicles being left with thousands of pounds of damage after the mishaps – only for the chain to refuse any blame.

One customer who recently suffered the same fate described how a £42 pot of paint left the footwell of his car ‘looking like a swimming pool’ and was then refused a refund by B&Q.

Previously one mother claimed her family’s car was left with £2,500 of damage after a tin of paint bought from the hardware chain exploded inside just inches from her young daughter.

Despite the complaints, B&Q says it does tell customers to transport paint ‘with care’ and its tins come with stickers to remind people they should be stored in a ‘secure, upright position’.

HAVE YOU HAD PAINT SPILL IN YOUR CAR MOMENTS AFTER BUYING IT? Send your pictures to [email protected] 

B&Q customers have complained for years about Valspar paint being spilled in their cars as a result of ‘unsecured lids’

In 2016 one family said their car was left with £2,500 of damage after a paint tin bought from B&Q exploded

For Adam Bolwell, whose Peugeot 107 was left covered in grey emulsion Valspar paint when he was driving up a hill on March 26, that is little consolation.

READ MORE HERE: Pot of paint mixed by B&Q exploded on the way home all over the inside of family’s Ford S-Max causing ‘£2,500 of damage’ 

The 25-year-old claims he’d gone to the DIY store in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, to buy some grey paint to spruce up his bedroom and used his partner 25-year-old Jasmin Kanauros’s car.

Adam says staff mixed the colour for him while he waited and says he put the paint in the footwell of the passenger seat for the 20-minute journey home.

But minutes into his journey he claims the pot toppled over and the lid popped off, flooding the footwell of the car – which his partner needs to use for work.

The accountant rushed home and tried to scoop the paint out with the mat before pressure-washing the inside of the car.

He says the damage left learning support advisor Jasmin in tears and they are now unable to use the car for any length of time due to ‘the fumes’.

Adam claims he reached out to B&Q’s complaints team who said it was up to the local store whether he could be refunded.

Yet he says the Trowbridge store told him the lid was sealed before the paint arrived at the store and they refused him a refund.

One customer said the footwell of his car was left ‘looking like a swimming pool’ after a £42 tin of paint spilled open

Adam Bolwell, pictured with his partner, said B&Q refused to refund him after the paint spillage

Multiple customers complained about the same issue with Valspar paint bought from B&Q back in 2016 and said their cars were being ruined by it – with one couple claiming it seeped into the underbody of their £12,000 Mercedes, making it not worth repairing.

READ MORE HERE:  Family say dream extension to their home has been ruined by B&Q paint which ‘smells of cat wee’ when the weather heats up

The store reportedly disputed paying many of the claims in 2016, claiming that fewer than one in 100,000 tins led to a spillage complaint but offering to carry out additional testing.

Meanwhile another customer slammed the chain online in October, sharing a photo of her car covered in white paint and claiming the DIY giant had refused responsibility.

B&Q said they were sorry to hear about Adam and Jasmin’s experience but that paint cans need to be handled with care and some of their tins come with warnings on.

They said when there is a ‘rare’ spillage, they seek to properly assess the incident to understand how it happened and whether there was anything more B&Q could have done to prevent it.

Adam, from Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, said: ‘I put it in the front passenger footwell. I was going up the hill about one mile away from mine, I wasn’t driving aggressively.

‘It fell over and it went everywhere. It didn’t fall off the seat, it just tipped over.

‘The hill was tight and there was a car coming in the opposite direction so I didn’t have time to pick it up.

‘It was like a swimming pool, I lost about four-and-a-half litres. It wasn’t great.

‘I was a bit annoyed to say the least. With the amount, I was thinking “how do I fix this?”.

‘I used the car mat as a shovel and lifted it out and put it in the bin. I got a few towels to scoop up as much as I could then I pressure-washed the car.

‘My partner was in tears and panicking because she uses it for work. She was angry and gutted, she was wondering what she was going to do.

Mr Bolwell said he tried to use the car mat a shovel to get most of the paint out after four-and-a-half litres were spilled

Mr Colwell said the car is still stained after four-and-a-half litres of paint came out of the tin

‘I was fuming and B&Q weren’t the most helpful. I emailed the complaints team who said they’d pass it onto the store and they haven’t been helpful at all.

‘They said once it’s left their store it’s nothing to do with them.

READ MORE HERE: It’s so emulsional! Paint firm vows to rebrand its range of pinks amid fears current names such as Dollface and Girly Girl are sexist 

‘They said it was sealed correctly and it’s up to the local store whether we get the money back and they said it wasn’t their fault.

‘They mix it on site, they said it was already sealed but they must have taken it off to mix the colour.

‘I presume they get the paint in a clear white and mix the paint so they need to take the lid off to add the toner and seal it back on. Obviously they haven’t sealed it correctly.

‘My dad is a painter, he said he’s bought thousands of tubs of paint and he’s never had that.’

Adam says the car is still stained and the couple can only use the car for short journeys because of the fumes.

Adam said: ‘I’ve chucked the car mats because they’re ruined, the seats still have stains and the footwell has a U-shape where the car mats were.

‘The gear stick still has paint on. I was panicking because I had all the paint in the car so I didn’t clean it the best way.

‘It’s been an absolute pain and it’s nowhere near back to normal. It still smells, we can’t be in the car for too long because of the fumes.’

Other B&Q customers have reached out to the store on social media claiming to have had the same issue with the same paint and that they were also refused a refund.

Other customers have also complained about paint spillages and have accused B&Q of not sealing the tins properly

One wrote: ‘So today I bought a tin of Valspar paint from B&Q that I had mixed. I put the tin on the floor behind passenger seat thinking this is the most secure place.

‘The tin has toppled over and covered the car. Thanks B&Q for the lack of attention to detail in securing the lid.

‘B&Q won’t accept any responsibility, claiming once it’s left their store then it’s my problem. Great customer service.’

Adam says he won’t be buying paint from B&Q again and used another DIY store to more paint to decorate his bedroom.

Adam said: ‘There’s a Facebook thread of other people who have had the same problem.

‘Most of the time when you buy paint you can’t get the lid off. A refund would be good. I won’t be buying paint from there again. They haven’t been helpful at all.’

A B&Q spokesperson said: ‘We are sorry to hear about Mr Bolwell’s partner’s experience and have reached out to ask for more information.

‘Paint needs to be transported with care, and many of our paint tins include a message reminding customers to store them in a secure, upright position.

‘On the very rare occasion that a customer experiences a problem with transporting paint, we seek to properly assess the incident to understand how it happened and whether there was anything more B&Q could have done to prevent it.’

MailOnline has contacted Valspar for comment.

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