Hotpoint to recall some tumble dryers over fire risk

Does that mean that have nothing to prove that you registered it ? If so that could be handy for them if you have a fire

I had an email confirming the registration, this is what it said, that was on the 23rd of November, heard nothing since re a visit.

Hasn't caught light since we bought it in 2009 so hopefully it wont now although they are now I reckon liable having admitted the fault

Thank you for registering your details.We will be contacting you as soon as possible to organise a convenient time for one of our engineers to visit your premises and correct your appliance.

Please note in the meantime you can continue to use your product, although we recommend that appliances are not left unattended whilst operating
 
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Same here, they said to always make sure it is allowed to perform its cooling cycle in the meantime.
 
Congratulations! You've discovered the REALLY dry charcoal setting.
 
To be honest when I registered mine, I did get an acknowledgement email saying allow about 5 weeks.

Not unduly concerned as mine is in the garage, we keep the filter cleaned and it is vented outside.
 
Had an email today apologising for their tardiness and said it would be modified in February.
Also offered an alternative of a new tumble dryer at the reduced price of 59 quid.
That was 160 less than the rrp, only a basic model though and lacking a few handy features
we have on ours.
Decisions, decisions?
 
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Our dryer is due to be fettled sometime in the next 8 weeks. We can still use it but they said not to leave it unattended.

What a shambles.

If companies wont employ people skilled enough to have at least a fighting chance of the kit being safe to bring to market independent testing and certification should be mandatory. This would slow the process down but so what if we have to wait a few additional months for the next new model.

At the moment much of the approval process is pretty much on trust with some appalling stuff entering the market (and some good stuff becoming appalling over time as suppliers / components change) and only being discovered when the competition reports it or when Joe public has his house burnt down.

As I said... what a shambles.
 
Went for the new one in the end, can't complain for 59 quid which includes delivery and the old one taken away too.

Website is very unreliable though and keeps crashing, rang up Hotpoint and they just said keep trying, also said its not possible to pay over the phone.

I think this tumble dryer business has completely overloaded them, reminds me a bit of the Hoover free flights fiasco
 
M'eh. The replacement hotpoint drier sent to me on the 10th Dec has now stopped functioning (no longer producing hot air to dry the clothes out). Have kept the filter free of lint and the vent tube is brand new and is only 10 feet long. This is the second such brand new machine to go wrong in three months. Getting a bit bored of it now, just sent Hotpoint an email so hoping they'll pick up on it soon.
 
Anyone had the modification yet?

Yep, all working fine (it was anyway)
Engineer said it was not one of the models with the offending parts, but replaced them anyway.
Apparently the model number was one of the 'improved ones'
No problems with customer service at all!
 
not one of the models with the offending parts, but replaced them anyway.
Are the dodgy parts just a panel and seal? Apparently Whirpool are taking on people specifically to replace them in the home.
 
He said it was a more robust fire resistant something or other at the rear and a new type of filter to prevent fluff from entering the heater. Couldn't get much out of him really. The warranty still only stands from the original 12 months though. Still, we have the worksheet with date on so if anything goes wrong we will work from that.
 
I gave up on them and threw the drier away. I kept getting emails saying they be in touch regarding repair but never an email saying that they were coming. I the end I just couldnt be bothered messing about any more so bought a new one from a different manufacturer. Emailed them and told them to take me off the list as I'd bought something I could trust instead. Two weeks late had another email saying they be in touch with a date for repair. I didn't reply.
 
In the end I went with the option of a replacement one rather than waiting any longer for an "engineer" to replace bits. They'd sent me an email to say that if I dropped mine of at my local Currys then they'd swap it for what is basically the modern equivalent of mine for £19. Seemed like a good deal to replace a 4year old drier.
Out of interest it's 4 years old because it was a replacement after the previous washer or dryer did this at 4am...
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Out of interest it's 4 years old because it was a replacement after the previous washer or dryer did this at 4am...

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: 'kinell!!!!!!!!!!!!! :wideyed:

Was it proved to be the cause & did they have to compensate your insurers?
 
Forgot about this thread. The engineer has been and done the modification, he also said he put new bearings in.
 
To be honest when I registered mine, I did get an acknowledgement email saying allow about 5 weeks.

Not unduly concerned as mine is in the garage, we keep the filter cleaned and it is vented outside.

Mine is in a shed 25 metres from my house and also externally vented. Not read exactly what the defect is, but I noticed that despite always cleaning the filter after every use there is a collection of clothing fibres at the bottom of the slot that holds the filter (need a torch to see into it). It can be cleaned with long rod about knitting needle dimensions and blown out with a hoover on reverse thrust or a garden blower.
 
Actually got a replacement for £59 a couple of months ago.
 
:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: 'kinell!!!!!!!!!!!!! :wideyed:

Was it proved to be the cause & did they have to compensate your insurers?
The fire brigade didn't do much investigating to be honest. There was a washing machine and a tumble dryer out there and they just said that it would have been one of those. The tumble dryer had been used until about 8pm but we'd forgotten to take the clothes out (which is when we also empty the lint filter), so we believe it was that. The fire brigade and insurance company took details of the appliances as they say they look for trends in any issues, but I doubt the insurance company would have got money back from the manufacturer as I don't think it was ever categorically proven what happened.
 
Must have been a very frightening experience, Tim. Hopefully there were no injuries & you eventually got everything sorted.
 
Must have been a very frightening experience, Tim. Hopefully there were no injuries & you eventually got everything sorted.
It was all a bit surreal really, our neighbour woke us up at 4am as he'd got up to go to the toilet and seen flames out the window!
Luckily it's a utility room that's not attached to the house so we were all safe but it's was a very strange feeling being so helpless and just having to stand and watch until the fire engines arrived.

Makes me wonder about the manufacturer's advice to only use the dryer when you're at home - unless you catch it whilst it's only smoking then I'm not sure what you'd do if it was ablaze in your kitchen as you're not going to be chucking water on an electrical fire (who has a CO2 fire extinguisher at home?!)
 
Makes me wonder about the manufacturer's advice to only use the dryer when you're at home -

tbh, we don't even use the washing machine if we're not in & never at night.
We've never had a drier....... but mainly because I'm tight! :D
 
The Hotpoint situation was described on LBC legal hour last night by their regular barrister. The problem with the machines is that the heating elements are too near the fluff filter.
The time taken to alter existing machines has now been deemed to be excessive. In respect of machines purchased with a credit card it has previously, for some reason, not been possible to claim a refund from the CC company (somehow they rejected liability). This is not now the case and a refund can be pursued.
 
seems Whirlpool have now decided these are not safe to be left plugged in, let alone used. credit card companies are paying out according to some, as they're not fit for purpose
 
Seeing this thread poop back up reminded me to set our tumble drier going for another 1/2 hour session on some particularly fluffy blankets from Mrs Nod's studio. Due to the fluffiness, I've done them in 3 sessions, clearing the filter out to prevent overheating.
 
Try being told that you have a brain tumour...
 
An engineer came to repair ours a few months ago but the guy brought the wrong back panel. It didn't have any vents, not really a good idea when the whole purpose was to avoid overhearing! He then said that we'd need to take up their offer of a new one for £100!

So Mrs fabs wrote them a letter. They replied saying that the engineer was a contractor and they'd send out one of their own engineers. Couple of weeks later, engineer turns up with all the correct bits and even fits a new drum (our dryer is rather aged). Turns out he was a contractor and the first guy was the Hotpoint engineer! Apparently, the Hotpoint engineers do this quite a lot as they get paid whether or not they do the job. Contractors only get paid if they do the job.

Wonder how many £100 dryers Hotpoint have sold. :rolleyes:
 
Just out of interest how many of you have your dryers serviced ?

How many of you empty the lint catch after every drying load has finished?
 
Just out of interest how many of you have your dryers serviced ?

How many of you empty the lint catch after every drying load has finished?
Serviced no, empty each time yes. Both filter in the drum and the larger one underneath it.

I bought a dryer in Sept '15 and having realised it was on the at risk list a modification was booked in Feb' 16. Fairly quick and simple job it seemed. Jan this year (a monday) it began to smell like something was burning or more a melting smell. No signs of flames or smoke but unplugged it and contact Hotpoint, engineer booked for the Saturday, who changed the heating element. Commented it was one of the cleanest he'd dealt with but would change the element to be on the safe side. Dryer worked fine Saturday & Sunday, Monday though the same suspicious smell so again unplugged and contact Hotpoint. Booked me an engineer visit to inspect it even though I stated I didn't want one. Took my complaint higher up the chain of command and agreed a free replacement to be delivered on the Saturday. Friday the engineer visited regardless of what had been said and arranged. Saturday the new dryer delivered, unpacked and old one taken away along with the new packaging. So far so good 6 weeks on, fingers crossed!
 
Just out of interest how many of you have your dryers serviced ?

How many of you empty the lint catch after every drying load has finished?

No service, but emptied every time.

Chap who took our old dryer away when he brought the 59 quid replacement commented on its clean condition. Said it would have been fine and he could tell straight away the ones that had been neglected and full of fluff
 
Just out of interest how many of you have your dryers serviced ?

How many of you empty the lint catch after every drying load has finished?


I clean out the lint filter after every load and the water container. I clean the bottom condenser/filter box once a month.
I found out two weeks ago that our Hotpoint tumble dryer is one of the affected ones. I contacted them immediately but have heard nothing since.
Considering this is a potentially dangerous siuation, I don't think that is a very good response.
 
I clean out the lint filter after every load and the water container. I clean the bottom condenser/filter box once a month.
I found out two weeks ago that our Hotpoint tumble dryer is one of the affected ones. I contacted them immediately but have heard nothing since.
Considering this is a potentially dangerous siuation, I don't think that is a very good response.
If you have done that from new, you have nothing to worry about. I registered mine online, but it was nearly two weeks util the email to book a preliminary date came through. I think they have improved, but it does depend on the area you live in.
Turns out he was a contractor and the first guy was the Hotpoint engineer! Apparently, the Hotpoint engineers do this quite a lot as they get paid whether or not they do the job. Contractors only get paid if they do the job.
Wonder how many £100 dryers Hotpoint have sold. :rolleyes:
I wonder if that is a regional thing, as subcontractors I've heard about get a flat rate, whether they complete jobs or not.
 
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