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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to still be furious with Hotpoint/Whirlpool about their refusal to deal with their lethal tumble dryers?

30 replies

TheHodgeoftheHedge · 30/05/2018 16:15

So I'm one of the idiots who spent several hundred pounds on on a Hotpoint tumble dryer a few years ago. The ones that have been proven to burn down your house even if you just leave them plugged in.
I've gone back to arguing with Whirlpool about what to do with it. They are still offering the free modifications but I've seen many people posting about how rubbish their machines have been since their modifications and BBC Watchdog don't even believe these modifications make the machines safe.
Personally I don't trust a company who genuinely don't seem to care that people have lost their homes and lives over these machines. How are they still getting away with this shit? Even despite the fact that one of their fridges caused the Grenfell fire, they are still trading and not giving a damn.

I don't want one of their machines in my house. I've already survived one house fire in my life. I've written to them demanding they remove it. I think it's the least they can do. But they're refusing. Does anyone have any ideas how I make them comply? Or how we raise this issue? There are still thousands of people out there with these death traps who might not know anything. It's appalling.

OP posts:
OP posts:
ConciseandNice · 30/05/2018 19:01

I bought a hotpoint tumble dryer 3 months ago. Was this a disastrous mistake???

Original poster
TheHodgeoftheHedge · 30/05/2018 19:10

In theory, no ConciseandNice in that it isn't one of the known deadly ones. However, seeing as Hotpoint really don't give a shit that their appliances are actually lethal, I certainly won't give them a penny in the future. Although that's easier said than done as they own nearly all the white good brands.

OP posts:
ConciseandNice · 30/05/2018 19:11

Wow. Well thanks OP. I shall be more aware now. I had no idea.

SluttyButty · 30/05/2018 19:14

I saw a programme on Beeb1 this morning, can't remember the name, but a lady had videoed her dryer when it caught fire and it reminded me of this. It was scary to watch so god alone knows how scary it was with your daughter and cats in the house.

Buster72 · 30/05/2018 19:20

Why must they remove it? Are you incapable of shifting it to a recycling yard or dump?

Original poster
TheHodgeoftheHedge · 30/05/2018 19:29

@Buster72 because it's the least they can do after I spent several hundred pounds on a machine that I can't use and had the potential to kill me and destroy my house. It's the principle of the matter.

OP posts:
Original poster
TheHodgeoftheHedge · 30/05/2018 19:31

And yes, apart from the physical inconvenience, our council charges over £80 for dumping a tumble dryer.

OP posts:
truckdrive · 30/05/2018 19:33

Seems a lot of faff over nothing really.

If you really don't want it then get someone to shift it if you can't do it yourself.

Or let them modify it and see what happens.

Stop being a drama queen over it.

Littletreefrog · 30/05/2018 19:34

Did they not give you the option of having it replaced with a different model rather than modifying it? They gave us the choice and we only had to pay £40 to have the old one taken away and a brand new one delivered.

UnimaginativeUsername · 30/05/2018 19:36

I wouldn’t pay them £40 to replace a genuinely dangerous piece of equipment. They should definitely be doing it for free. And should have done as soon as they found out about the issue.

bnmc · 30/05/2018 19:39

I got the replacement for £99 and it broke down 4 times in 6 months. The first breakdown was within a week.
After that I tried to get a refund with no luck, they agreed to refund the £99 but no more, possibly because our original machine was 7 years old and not working at the time it got exchanged. We eventually settled on a replacement upgraded whirlpool model and that has been fine so far.

Littletreefrog · 30/05/2018 19:41

Our original tumble drier was very old and on its last legs anyway so seemed a good deal to me.

Original poster
TheHodgeoftheHedge · 30/05/2018 19:57

Or let them modify it and see what happens.

Stop being a drama queen over it.

Except Watchdog and Witch (who are generally pretty well trusted) say the modifications aren't safe?

Lol yes. I must really stop being a drama queen over things I've bought in good faith that are likely to burn my house down. ;)

OP posts:
Original poster
TheHodgeoftheHedge · 30/05/2018 19:59

And exactly @UnimaginativeUsername. I've already wasted several hundred, they shouldn't get a penny more. The least they should have done is recall and replace all the machines when these faults were realised.

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HyacinthsBucket70 · 30/05/2018 20:09

We bought a Hotpoint drier, think it was around £350 and it was one of the faulty models. We'd only had it a few months when we got the letter, and they said there was a 6 month wait to get it modified so we paid £99 to get a replacement model and the faulty one taken away. What we didn't realise was that if the replacement was faulty (ours was) they would only refund you the £99 so we were effectively out of pocket by £350. I still can't believe that Trading Standards thought that was acceptable.

I won't ever buy anything else from Hotpoint. Their customer service is absolutely appalling. We replaced with a Zanussi but I must admit it's never left on even if I'm just going out with the dog, and we never use the drier, washing machine or dishwasher last thing at night and go to bed. It's made me much more safety conscious.

yetea · 30/05/2018 20:13

Kick off and then kick off some more. We got a new tumble from them instead of the modification because we just emailed incessantly. Even if you don’t want one of their tumbles, kick off, kick off again, get the new one (they took away our old one), flog it and buy a different brand. You aren’t endangering anyone else’s life as the new ones are apparently safe.
Our old tumble was actually bought secondhand so we were being serious cheeky fuckers but hey it worked. And the company are a bunch of awful shits so I didn’t really mind robbing them of just money, compared to the lives they’re willing to take.

yetea · 30/05/2018 20:14

Oh, we didn’t pay the £99 either. They originally said we had to but I think we got on their nerves so much they gave up.

yetea · 30/05/2018 20:16

(Clearly our time is very cheap, and we are very determined Grin)

Original poster
TheHodgeoftheHedge · 30/05/2018 20:20

@yetea Thanks! I will do :)

@HyacinthsBucket70 that's appalling.

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DorothyGarrod · 30/05/2018 20:21

I read about this issue and took notice - none of our white goods in our new home were bought from them. How companies deal with issues should affect their income.

Hygge · 30/05/2018 20:32

We had one of their tumble dryers and reported it when the story first broke about them being dangerous.

They booked us a modification appointment for six months later, but getting that appointment booked was so difficult that we lost faith in them actually fixing it and we decided to just buy a new one. Luckily we had the money at the time to replace it.

We cancelled the appointment immediately. Then they rang to confirm the appointment and we told them it was cancelled. Then they sent a text and we rang to tell them it was cancelled.

Then they turned up on the day of the appointment to do the repair, and we sent them away. Then they rang up to rebook the appointment and we told them it was cancelled because we didn't have the machine any more.

Then they sent several more letters and texts and made more phone calls to rebook the appointment.

Then I posted on their facebook page to complain and they said that they would stop trying to book appointments, then they sent more letters.

I don't think they have a clue what they are doing.

Knittedfairies · 30/05/2018 20:39

I’m another who refused to pay the £99 for another machine; mine was still under guarantee so must have been sold when the issue was known. My husband dug around until he found an address and wrote to them - a new one was delivered quite quickly.

UnimaginativeUsername · 30/05/2018 21:01

I don't think they have a clue what they are doing

I think it’s abundantly clear that they don’t. It’s like a case study in how to do absolutely everything wrong in customer service. I’m amazed they’re still in business. I certainly would never buy anything from them again.

NotAnotherUserName5 · 30/05/2018 21:06

I had mine fixed, but I've lost trust in the thing.
I'm thinking of taking mine down the tip.
Yanbu. Won't be buying this brand again.
Didn't realise it was on of their appliances that caused the Grenfell fire Shock
I do remember hearing they knew about the issue of them setting on fire years ago, but didn't do anything Angry

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