A parliamentary report claims that electrical manufacturer Whirlpool has provided an “inadequate” response to defective tumble driers produced and sold over a period of more than 10 years.
More than 100 Creda, Hotpoint, Indesit, Proline and Swan tumble dryer models (all brands owned by Whirlpool) made between April 2004 and October 2015 could pose a fire risk, with at least 750 fires from these models having been reported since 2004.
Trading standards has therefore issued two enforcement notices on Whirlpool, forcing the company to warn customers to unplug and not use faulty machines.
Whirlpool are now saying that if you have an affected machine you must unplug it immediately and do not use it until it’s been fixed
It has been reiterated that most products from these brands are extremely safe and have undergone rigorous testing. Unfortunately though, some defective and faulty machines have ended up in the homes of customers.
The defective machines have caused fires which in some cases led to injury and tragically, death. The damage caused to property has also been extensive.
Malfunctioning electrical products are known to have the capacity to cause property damage and injury.
Whirlpool have commented that “After two years of extensive measures to raise awareness to this campaign – including directly contacting four million owners of these appliances – the number of consumers coming forward has fallen sharply”.
If you are unfortunate enough to be injured by such a product then a claim may well arise either against the manufacturer or retailer of the product. There is often overlap between different types of action so that a claim might arise as a consequence of breach of contract, negligence or even liability under the Consumer Protection Act 1987.