A FAMILY claim they could have been killed after a battery pack bought from Lidl exploded – even though it was uncharged and not plugged in at the time.
Andy Clasby alleges that the £10 power bank “randomly combusted” even though it was not plugged in at the time.
The 37-year-old from Darvel, East Ayrshire, has posted pictures of the own brand Silvercrest battery pack showing the case distorted and cracked with the internal components visible.
The van driver said he had only charged the battery pack once and that it had no power left when it malfunctioned.
He posted on Facebook yesterday (Wed): “Bought a Silvercrest 10000 mah battery from Lidl and the other night I heard a crack and the battery pack exploded and this is what happened to it.
“If it had been plugged into mains it could have went up in flames. Please share.”
His Mum, Margaret Jones wrote online: “Disgusting. If it had been plugged in we wouldn’t be here to tell the story.
“Cheap rubbish and they’re charging a fortune for them.”
Michelle Findlay John said: “Glad you’re ok.”
Nick Hand commented: “Wow looks like it has deployed an airbag ffs could have been nasty.”
Gordon McLeod said: “Andy that thing could still go up in flames, plugged in or not so be careful where you put it.”
John Carden commented: “Get it outside ASAP. They can still erupt.”
Mechelle Christine Jones said: “Omg like to think what could have happened to you and Mum defo take it further disgusting.”
Speaking today, Andy said he heard a mysterious bang on Saturday night that was so loud he thought his bed had broken. Checks at the time failed to find the cause and it was only the next day he discovered the battery pack.
He said: “It had only been charged up once before and at that point it didn’t have charge.
“If it was doing that when it wasn’t plugged in what’s it going to do when it is?”
Andy also explained that although he has managed to get a refund for his battery, he has had issues with highlighting it to head office.
He added: “[Kilmarnock Lidl staff] didn’t seem to know what it was so I had to say it used to be a battery pack.
“The staff in Kilmarnock were fine, but contacting head office has been a nightmare.
“I sent them a personal message but keep getting automated messages, I still haven’t heard anything from them.”
Lidl have apologised for the matter and say an investigation has been launched.
A spokeswoman said: “We were very sorry to hear of this matter, as customer safety if of the utmost importance to us.
“Following initial contact from the customer, the matter has been escalated to our quality assurance team who requested further information, and immediately launched an investigation with the supplier.
“As soon as the investigation has concluded, our teams will liaise with the customer directly to discuss any next steps.
“We only ever work with reputable accredited suppliers who have strict controls and procedures in place to ensure that our products meet the high standards demanded by us and by our customers.
“We are, therefore, very sorry that this was not the case on this occasion.”
There have been a number of incidents involving mobile phones and laptops exploding.
Earlier this year, video footage captured the moment a woman in China was forced to flee her car on a busy road after her phone appeared to randomly catch fire.
Her iPhone pops and starts letting off a small fire before a much larger explosion moments later.
