Exposed: Incorrect safety advice about fire-hazard dryers
WHITE GOODS manufacturer Whirlpool and retailers are failing to give correct safety information to customers affected by fire-risk tumble-dryers, a consumer group has warned.
Which? said its undercover investigation found that customer service staff from Whirlpool and retailers AO.com, Argos, Co-op Electricals, Currys PC World, John Lewis and Very/Littlewoods were not giving the full and appropriate safety advice when contacted about tumble-dryer models subject to a safety notice.
Which? made 12 calls to each of the customer service departments of the six retailers to ask for advice about burning smells coming from either a Hotpoint or Indesit model.
Despite there being a known fire risk attached to these models of tumble-dryer, the watchdog said the customer service representatives gave “inadequate, inconsistent and potentially dangerous advice”.
It said not one call resulted in what it would consider to be an acceptable response to a serious safety issue.
In nine out of 10 inquiries the caller was not asked for a model code, despite safety alerts in place relating to the fire risk of these models.
In the same percentage of cases, the customer service member failed to give the correct safety instruction, which is to unplug the device.
In six out of 10 calls, the staff member also failed to advise the caller not to use the dryer until it had been repaired or replaced.
In three out of the five calls transferred directly to Whirlpool, the customer service member incorrectly implied or explicitly stated that there would be a charge for repairing the machine. In only one of the five calls to Whirlpool did the operator give the correct safety advice, which is to unplug and not use the tumble-dryer until it has been modified.
Whirlpool issued a safety warning in 2015 after it found Hotpoint, Creda and Indesit dryers had a fault making them a fire risk.
In 2017 a coroner ruled that a flat fire which killed two men in north Wales was most likely caused by a fault in a tumble-dryer, a coroner has concluded.
Bernard Hender, 19, and Doug McTavish, 39, died in the blaze above a funeral director’s office in Llanrwst in October 2014.
Earlier this year a parliamentary report found that up to one million defective dryers are potential fire hazards in British homes due to Whirlpool’s “inadequate” response to the discovery of the defect.
Which? is calling on the Office for Product Safety and Standards to take > Doug McTavish, left, and Bernard Hender died in a fire flat in Llanrwst, thought to have been caused by a faulty tumble-dryer, in October 2014
immediate action against Whirlpool and is demanding a full product recall of the affected tumble-dryers, both modified and unmodified.
Which? managing director of home products and services Alex Neill said: “Whirlpool has admitted that there could be at least a million fire-risk tumble-dryers in homes across the UK.
“To discover that both retailers and Whirlpool are failing to give correct safety information to affected customers is shocking.
“We’ve been asking for these machines to be recalled for two years now and our investigation is yet
more evidence that Whirlpool and the government are not taking people’s safety seriously.”
Rachel Reeves, chairwoman of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, said: “Whirlpool’s response throughout this saga has been appalling. They have serious questions to answer about the safety advice they are providing to their customers.
“The government’s new Office for Product Safety needs to rise to the challenge and ensure consumers can rely on the advice they receive and have confidence in the safety of the products they buy.”