500,000 WASHING MACHINES RECALLED
WHIRLPOOL’S reputation was “in tatters” last night after the washing machine giant told hundreds of thousands of households to simply unplug their potentially lethal appliances.
Some 519,000 sold under the Hotpoint and Indesit brands from October 2014 to February 2018 could be affected by a fire risk flaw.
Around 80 fires have been linked to a door locking system fault and instead of offering a refund, the US company will recall the machines – but not until January.
In the meantime, its advice is to turn the machines off, or use them at 20C or lower.
The public safety scandal leaves families confused and without washing machines over Christmas and the New Year.
Sue Davies, of consumer watchdog Which?, said: “This alert will cause huge disruption and following the tumble dryer scandal, leaves Whirlpool’s reputation as a company that can be trusted on product safety in tatters. People will rightly be asking what Whirlpool knew about these machines and when.”
The recall affects products manufactured in Turkey and Poland but sold in Britain.
A website set up to deal with recalls crashed yesterday and telephone lines were jammed.
Whirlpool Corporation vice president Jeff Noel said: “We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and concern this may cause to our customers, particularly over the Christmas period, but we hope people will understand that we are taking action because people’s safety is our top priority.
“We are working tirelessly to ensure we are ready to start offering replacements or repairs from early January.”
One fire victim was Simon Bettridge, of Plymouth, whose Hotpoint washer exploded in 2016.
Whirlpool has also been embroiled in a four-year scandal over tumble dryer safety.
Faulty tumble dryers were blamed for 750 fires and dangerous Hotpoint, Indesit, Creda, Swan and
Proline appliances were sold in the UK for 11 years since 2004.
A committee of MPs also criticised Whirlpool’s “improbable” suggestion that the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire which killed 72 people was caused by a stray cigarette.
Grenfell inquiry chief Sir Martin Moore-Bick called Whirlpool’s claim “fanciful” and had “no doubt” the inferno was started by an electrical fault in a Hotpoint fridge-freezer.
MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis said as the washing machines were unfit for purpose at the point of purchase, people could claim a refund from the retailer under the Consumer Rights Act.