This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38184834
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| 'Dangerous wait' with fire-risk dryers | 'Dangerous wait' with fire-risk dryers |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| Households with fire-prone tumble dryers are still being told they may wait up to three months to register for a repair, a consumer group has said. | Households with fire-prone tumble dryers are still being told they may wait up to three months to register for a repair, a consumer group has said. |
| A year after a safety alert was first issued by Whirlpool, mystery shoppers for Which? were told that registering for a repair or replacement could take six to 12 weeks. | A year after a safety alert was first issued by Whirlpool, mystery shoppers for Which? were told that registering for a repair or replacement could take six to 12 weeks. |
| The company had committed to reducing the waiting time to 10 days. | The company had committed to reducing the waiting time to 10 days. |
| It recently told MPs that response times had seen "significant progress". | It recently told MPs that response times had seen "significant progress". |
| Fires have been caused by excess fluff, which can catch on the heating element. On one occasion earlier this year, a machine, awaiting a repair, caused a huge tower block fire in west London which left families homeless and needed 120 firefighters to bring under control. | Fires have been caused by excess fluff, which can catch on the heating element. On one occasion earlier this year, a machine, awaiting a repair, caused a huge tower block fire in west London which left families homeless and needed 120 firefighters to bring under control. |
| Some five million affected machines were sold in the UK, under the Creda, Indesit and Hotpoint brands, between April 2004 and September 2015. | Some five million affected machines were sold in the UK, under the Creda, Indesit and Hotpoint brands, between April 2004 and September 2015. |
| Whirlpool has been undertaking a repair programme and offering discounted replacements to anyone with an affected dryer. | Whirlpool has been undertaking a repair programme and offering discounted replacements to anyone with an affected dryer. |
| There has been criticism of the speed of these modifications and of the company's advice that the machines can still be used as long as they are not left unattended. | There has been criticism of the speed of these modifications and of the company's advice that the machines can still be used as long as they are not left unattended. |
| At times earlier in the year, there were cases of people being told they must wait well over a year for an engineer to visit. | At times earlier in the year, there were cases of people being told they must wait well over a year for an engineer to visit. |
| Now Which? has criticised the company for call handlers quoting six to 12 weeks for customers to simply receive an ID number. | Now Which? has criticised the company for call handlers quoting six to 12 weeks for customers to simply receive an ID number. |
| A customer ID number needed to be issued before anything could happen in the repair or replacement process, the consumer group said. | A customer ID number needed to be issued before anything could happen in the repair or replacement process, the consumer group said. |
| "It is absolutely unacceptable that one year on, Whirlpool customers are still seeing slow, poor service and potentially receiving incorrect and dangerous advice," said Alex Neill, from Which?. | "It is absolutely unacceptable that one year on, Whirlpool customers are still seeing slow, poor service and potentially receiving incorrect and dangerous advice," said Alex Neill, from Which?. |
| "Its modification programme is clearly not progressing as fast as it should." | "Its modification programme is clearly not progressing as fast as it should." |
| 'Safe and timely' | 'Safe and timely' |
| Emma Drackford, from charity Electrical Safety First, said: "We believe that [Whirlpool] should put their customers' safety first and advise people not to use their machine, whether the consumer is in attendance or not. It is simply too dangerous." | Emma Drackford, from charity Electrical Safety First, said: "We believe that [Whirlpool] should put their customers' safety first and advise people not to use their machine, whether the consumer is in attendance or not. It is simply too dangerous." |
| Whirlpool said its priority was the safety of its customers and it was doing everything it could "to ensure that the tumble dryer modification programme is carried out in a safe and timely manner". | |
| In a recent letter to the Commons Business Select Committee, it said: "We have made significant progress in improving our response times. | In a recent letter to the Commons Business Select Committee, it said: "We have made significant progress in improving our response times. |
| "From the moment of registering an affected dryer with us, in the vast majority of cases customers are now contacted within a few days to offer an estimated modification date. The maximum waiting time for this, in exceptional circumstances, is two weeks," wrote Whirlpool UK managing director, Maurizio Pettorino. | "From the moment of registering an affected dryer with us, in the vast majority of cases customers are now contacted within a few days to offer an estimated modification date. The maximum waiting time for this, in exceptional circumstances, is two weeks," wrote Whirlpool UK managing director, Maurizio Pettorino. |