2nd degree burn from heat pack
I purchased two heat packs from Mediscope Australia in November 2025. While using the Back Heat Pack as directed, it burst and leaked boiling hot salt water onto my back, causing a second-degree burn with blistering. I am a disabled person with pre-existing spinal conditions, and I was left bedridden for a week dealing with both my existing back pain and the burn on top of it.
When I contacted Mediscope with photographic evidence of both the product failure and my injury, they implied I had used it incorrectly without ever asking how it had been handled. They then ignored my follow-up email, which included all the photographs they had requested, for over two weeks.
It was only after I threatened to escalate to Consumer Affairs Victoria, the Queensland Office of Fair Trading, and small claims court that a refund was processed within hours. They then had the audacity to tell me that threats do not influence their position.
A full refund was eventually issued, but the process required an ACCC product safety report, multiple formal complaint threats, and weeks of being ignored after suffering a documented injury. The lack of any genuine investigation into how this happened, or any concern for how it could happen to someone else, is alarming for a company that claims to supply hospitals and nursing homes.
I cannot in good conscience recommend these products, particularly to disabled or vulnerable people seeking pain relief. What should have been a simple refund became an exhausting and painful ordeal.