Maybe you’ve been there: the inside of your car smells like something crawled into the glovebox and died. Folks often turn to scented products that can help allay some of that funk. But one woman who bought refills for Bath & Body Works’ “Scentportables” says the products turned into a hot mess with no warning.
A Florida Woman filed a federal class action against Bath & Body Works’ parent company, L Brands, reports Courthouse News, claiming that the products are defective and that the brand failed to warn customers that the refills may “leak or melt, thus releasing the harsh chemicals contained therein and damaging consumers’ personal property.”
She says she purchased a few Scentportables from her local Bath & Body Works in June 2016, and stuck one to a dashboard air conditioning vent in her car. A month later, the Scentportable melted and leaked onto the console, causing so much damage she says she has to replace it.
But while the products warn people that the refills “contain liquids which can irritate an individual’s eyes, and that the fragrance oil should not be swallowed, nowhere on either the Scentportable Holder or the Fragrance Refill with which it is to be used does it state that the liquids can leak out of the product — even when it is being used as directed,” the complaint says.
She says if she’d known the products would melt and leak, posing a risk to her property, she never would have bought them.
The complaint cites other consumers who reported a similar experience with melting Scentportables.
“If it can destroy car paint, plastic and the vinyl on your dashboard what will it do to a human’s skin, especially a child’s?” one consumer asked in the complaint.
The woman is seeking damages for unfair business practices, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, breach of implied warranty of merchantability, and breach of express warranty.
Florida Woman Sues Over Defective Fragrance [Courthouse News]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist