We have been talking about the recall for months – millions of you have been affected, myself included.
However, there is a new plan for electrical recalls…
A new scheme is being launched to ensure people who buy faulty electrical goods receive automatic alerts in the event of a product recall – This is very much welcome because the recall process with the faulty tumble dryers so far have been an absolute nightmare.
It comes after hundreds of reports of fires thought to have been caused by faulty tumble dryers – including one in Guildford that left a family homeless earlier this month.
Last year, the family of a man killed in a house fire claimed it may have been caused by the same fault.
Late last year, the manufacturer revealed a fault affecting more than one hundred of its Hotpoint, Indesit and Creda models sold, which could cause fires if fluff came into contact with the heating element. A lot of you have been intouch and sent me photos of your properties and garages after suffering from fires yourselves because of these faulty tumble dryers. It is scary that it is a widespread problem and happening to so many people.
Only around 114,000 cases have so far been resolved, yet there is over 5 million machines affected.
Until now, the onus has often been on consumers to check whether their models are affected in the event of recalls.
However, the new programme from the UK’s Retail Ombudsman will see members of the public give their contact details at the point of sale – with those details then put on a central register.
In the event of a recall, the buyer will then be automatically notified by text or email if they need to act about their faulty appliance.
The ombudsman believes the register – due to be launched later this month – will speed up the process by which product issues are dealt with – potentially reducing the risk
It comes as consumer watchdog Which? claims that Whirlpool is still advising people that affected dryers are safe to use, despite claims – However, fire and safety officials are letting you to ignore their advice and stop using your tumble dryers immediately.
You can see if your tumble dryer is part of the recall here…
If you are STILL waiting for your repair to be done to your tumble dryer, call 0800 151 0905 and chase it up.
If you have an affected tumble dryer, you are being offered the chance to buy a brand new tumble dryer at the reduced price of £99 – However, I don’t agree with this. I paid a lot of money for my tumble dryer less than 2 year ago and I expected it to last a lot longer than this. Why should we have to pay £99 to buy another model when this isn’t our mistake or fault?
