If an item has been delivered to your premises and causes damage to your property through no fault of your own, you may have a legal right to claim some form of compensation (also known as claiming ‘damages’).

As an example, if your new washing machine starts leaking and damages your kitchen floor you may be able to claim compensation.

If an item or product you’ve taken delivery of caused you an injury you’ll have to make a personal injury claim.

If you have an insurance policy that covers the problem, you could make a claim on this. It may be quicker and easier, but it could mean the amount you pay for your insurance will go up.

How much compensation do you want?

You'll need to decide what you consider a fair amount of compensation to ask for. You should include how much money you’ve spent rectifying the problems, or how much it will cost to fix. Also, what is the time you’ve spent mending the problem worth to you.

Making your compensation claim.

Any damage caused should be photographed so that the pictures can be used as evidence. Also document any dates and times when things went wrong.

Depending on whether you bought the item that caused the damage will affect the action you should take.

If the item that caused the damage was bought by you, firstly you should attempt to claim compensation from the company you bought the item from. You should either write to them or call them and explain the incident in detail

The cost of the faulty item should be included in your claim for damages however, if you’ve already had a refund or been given a replacement you can’t do this.

If you do write a letter to the manufacturer, be sure to include pictures of any of the damage. When sending your letter by post, ensure you get proof of postage too

If the item that caused the damage wasn’t bought by you, then you have the legal right to get compensation from the company that made the product/manufacturer if

1. Your claim is for more than £275.00
2. The item was unsafe/faulty
3. The damage wasn’t done to something owned by a business

You can’t claim the cost of the faulty item - only the cost of the damage and distress caused to yourself.

Write to the manufacturer or call them directly.

If the product has damaged your personal property, you’re legally entitled to damages under the Consumer Protection Act 1987.”

If your claim is for less than £275, you can make a claim for ‘negligence’ against the manufacturer or the company you bought the item from. You’ll probably have to prove that they were negligent, however, it’s worth either calling or writing to them to explain your situation.

If you still haven't solved your problem, there are alternative steps you can take. You could go down the route of ‘alternative dispute resolution’, which is a way of solving disagreements without going to court.

For further help, you could try contacting the organisations below:

Contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 if you need more help - a trained adviser can give you advice over the phone. You can also use an online form.

If you’re in Northern Ireland, contact Consumerline.

An adviser at your nearest Citizens Advice will also be able to help you argue your case or argue for you.