On 17/12/2019 Whirlpool has recalled more than half a million washing machines as it is feared their door locking systems present a fire risk. Advice to owners is to check if their machine is affected and immediately unplug their appliances; they must register with Whirlpool for a free replacement machine or a free-of-charge in-home repair of their existing appliance.
It is believed that 20% of the Hotpoint and Indesit washing machines sold between October 2014 and February 2018 are affected by the safety fault that could lead to their door locking system overheating and spark a fire. Up to 519,000 washing machines sold in the UK are thought to be effected.
79 fires have been caused by this fault so far which has “developed over time” with no serious injuries having been reported, according to Whirlpool.
The safety alert will be an issue over the Christmas period as millions of people will have no washing machine and questions have arisen over how long Whirlpool knew about this fire safety issue. It comes after a fault inside the door of a Hotpoint tumble dryer was the cause of a fire that killed 2 men in October 2014.
The affected washing machine models are (based on information released on 17/12/2019)
FML 742P UK Hotpoint, WMAOD 743G UK Hotpoint, WMAOD 743P UK Hotpoint, WMAQB 721P UK.M Hotpoint, WMAQC 641P UK.M Hotpoint, WMAQC 741G UK Hotpoint, WMAQC 741P UK Hotpoint, WMAQC 741P UK.M Hotpoint, WMAQF 621G UK Hotpoint, WMAQF 621P UK Hotpoint, WMAQF 641 P UK.M Hotpoint, WMAQF 721G UK Hotpoint, WMAQF 721P UK.M Hotpoint, WMAQL 621G UK Hotpoint, WMBF 742G UK Hotpoint, WMBF 742K UK Hotpoint, WMBF 742P UK Hotpoint, WMBF 742P UK.M Hotpoint, WMBF 763P UK Hotpoint, WMEF 722 BC UK Hotpoint, WMEF 742 P UK Hotpoint, WMEUF 722P UK Hotpoint, WMEUF 743G UK Hotpoint, WMEUF 743P UK Hotpoint, WMFG 741P UK Hotpoint, WMFG 741P UK.M Hotpoint, WMFUG 742 P UK.M Hotpoint, WMFUG 742G UK Hotpoint, WMFUG 742P UK Hotpoint, WMFUG 842P UK.M Hotpoint, WMJLF 842P UK Hotpoint, WMJLL 742P UK Hotpoint, WMSAQG 621P UK Hotpoint, WMXTF 742G UK Hotpoint, WMXTF 742K UK Hotpoint, WMXTF 742P UK Hotpoint, WMXTF 742P UK.M Hotpoint, WMXTF 842P UK.M Hotpoint, WMYL 7151PS UK Hotpoint. XWA 81252X K UK Indesit, XWA 81252X W UK Indesit, XWD 71452X K UK Indesit 171418.
On 18/12/2019, Whirlpool have issued an apology statement as customers trying to access their website have been unable to do so as it has crashed. Whirlpools statement read:
"We are truly sorry for the technical issues customers have been experiencing on our website. One of our third-party service providers suffered an issue which affected our recall website," a Whirlpool spokesman said.
"We've been working with them through the night and have built a new online system to fix this. The system is being tested, so the website is still suspended for the time being but is due to be up and running shortly."
An alternative phone line has also been set up - on 0800 316 1442 - although, as it connected to the same system, some customers are facing difficulties accessing that too. The company had taken 17,000 calls this morning.
For more information, to review if your product is effected & updates please visit: https://washingmachinerecall.whirlpool.co.uk/
