"John Rumm" wrote in message
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On 26/09/2020 18:16, John Smith wrote:
This has come up on another forum. Let's say you specialise in repairing/servicing
vintage hi-fi. A customer brings a system to you to repair the record deck but you see
that the high voltage valve/capacitor components are in a dangerous state. The
customer says just service the deck.

Do you have any duty to decline the repair/service as you can't return the system in a
safe state? Or any liability if you do?

Well you could do as asked, but ask them to sign a waiver / memo that explains the
problem with the kit and the associated risks. SO they understand they are accepting
any risks resulting.

But the customer clearly doesn't believe John; who has already explained
how dangerous he believes it is. He simply thinks John is trying to charge
him for extra work. Simply getting him to sign a piece of paper isn't
going to convince him either that John is right or of the danger. If
it did, having read it, he'd pay for the extra work to be done. And
neither is it going to make the deck any more safe.

In the event of the customer's house burning or one of his loved ones being
electrocuted, all John's signed piece of paper will indicate is that he was
the last person to work on that deck. And that he succeeded in getting some
idiot to sign a piece of paper supposedly absolving him, John, of all
responsibility for what he John suspected might well happen. As explained
on the piece of paper,

It's hardly good publicity for his business either, is it ?



michael adams

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