Furious B&Q customers claim their cars are being ruined by pots of paint that are spilling open on their way home and flooding their vehicles - only for the chain to refuse any blame despite knowing of the issue for seven years. Adam Bolwell says the £42 pot of grey emulsion Valspar paint tipped over as he was driving up a hill, leaving the footwell of his Peugeot 107 'looking like a swimming pool'.
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. 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.
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, 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.
"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.
"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. He 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. 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."
Subscribe here for the latest news where you live
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."
Valspar has been contacted for comment.
