Negotiate compensation for unsafe imports
Negotiate a written schedule covering payment, evidenced costs and unresolved losses, alongside continuing safety work with named owners and review dates. Keep notification, traceability and customer protection independent of payment or factory agreement. Factory evidence can be gathered by the China-based staff of Cambridge China Bridge.
Define the claim against your UK seller
This guide covers defective non-food consumer goods bought from a UK sourcing seller where safety corrective action is also needed. Check the contracting company against the accepted quote, order and invoice. Address your compensation proposal to that seller and ask it to coordinate factory evidence. Read faulty goods and claims for the underlying defect claim.
Describe the affected goods, specification failure and evidence available. Separate confirmed defects from the safety scope still under investigation. Request a written response identifying what the seller accepts, disputes or needs to investigate; do not let an unresolved factory reimbursement become the timetable for customer protection.
Keep safety work running during negotiations
Confirm with the relevant authority what notifications are needed when products you placed on the market, supplied or distributed may be unsafe, pose a risk or breach applicable legislation. Keep supplier records to support traceability. Use the imported-product recall guide to prepare notification, batch tracing and customer notices rather than waiting for compensation terms.
Maintain a safety action log alongside the commercial claim. Give each notification, customer communication, stock reconciliation and factory-record request an owner, agreed action date and evidence of completion. Record missing information and update arrangements. Keep this work moving while costs or responsibility are disputed.
Build a compensation schedule you can reconcile
Propose separate entries for defective stock and for corrective-action expenditure. Attach invoices, stock records and supporting explanations; distinguish paid costs, estimates and disputed items. Ask for an agreed payment date and method for each accepted entry. These are negotiation categories, not a statement that every cost is legally recoverable.
For future costs, agree who authorises expenditure, what evidence is needed and when reimbursement requests will be reviewed. Include an urgent safety-work route so ordinary cost approval does not stall protection. If replacements or order credit are offered, assess whether they meet your cash needs and specify acceptance checks.
| Entry | Commercial agreement | Continuing work |
|---|---|---|
| Defective stock | Identify covered batches, agreed refund or replacement, and payment or delivery date | Keep stock quarantined pending a documented safe outcome |
| Costs already incurred | Record accepted costs, supporting evidence and reimbursement date | Retain the incident and customer-remedy records |
| Costs still developing | Agree evidence, approval route, review dates and treatment of disputed costs | Continue notifications, customer contact and stock reconciliation |
| Factory investigation | Allocate investigation and verification costs expressly | Obtain production records, root-cause findings and correction evidence |
| Closure | Identify precisely which commercial claims are settled | Review outstanding safety actions separately |
Review release and confidentiality wording
Ask a solicitor to review what the proposed release covers before signing. List the orders, batches and loss categories being settled, and specify how unresolved costs or later findings are to be handled. Consult full and final settlement with a UK sourcing seller when reviewing broad release wording.
OPSS says non-disclosure agreements should not limit consumers' ability to raise safety concerns. Its settlement guidance addresses consumer compensation, rather than prescribing business-to-business settlement terms. For your agreement, ask for express wording allowing safety notifications, regulator cooperation, customer warnings and recall communications. Do not make those communications conditional on the seller's approval.
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Close the money claim and safety work separately
Keep separate records of commercial settlement and safety progress. Confirm whether cash has arrived, credit has been applied or replacement goods have passed agreed checks. Record the release taking effect as agreed, while retaining an open list of safety actions, missing batch records and customers still to be reached.
Review outstanding stock and unreachable customers with the relevant authority before treating a recall as closed. Ask the seller for factory correction evidence and arrange suitable verification before restarting supply. A signed settlement, replacement shipment or factory assurance alone should not be your restart decision.
Frequently asked questions
Should I wait for compensation before reporting unsafe goods?
Do not delay a required notification or customer protection while compensation is negotiated. Keep the safety action log separate from disputed costs and factory reimbursement.
What costs should I ask my UK sourcing seller to cover?
Present defective-stock losses and evidenced testing, storage, collection, customer-remedy and disposal costs separately. Mark estimates and disputed items clearly; ask a solicitor to assess recoverability.
Can I accept payment while recall costs are still unknown?
Propose payment for accepted entries while specifying how unresolved costs will be reviewed. Have the release checked so its wording matches that arrangement before signing.
Does a settlement mean I can sell replacement goods?
Use separate restart checks. Review correction evidence and arrange suitable verification before resuming supply; payment or a replacement delivery does not demonstrate safety.