crichbish Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 Just wanted to make everyone aware that the advice being dished out by Hotpoint, Indesit add Creda regarding their tumble dryers is potentially dangerous. I have one of the models which has recently been in the press regarding a fire risk. The process for those who don't know is you check your model and serial number on the Hotpoint website and they will let you know if you have one of the models which is at risk. I did this a couple of months ago and was told that an engineer would come to make modifications in the next 8 weeks, but I could continue to use the dryer so long as the filter was cleaned after every use and that the dryer should not be left on when no one was in the house or when going to bed. Following their advice we continued to use the dryer until last Saturday when the main circuit breaker tripped and I opened the cupboard to find it full of smoke which was coming from our dryer. I duly chucked the thing into the back garden where it stayed until it stopped smoking. My warning is not to follow the manufacturer advice of continuing to use the dryer. I know this is inconvenient but there is a significant risk that you could lose your house or worse someone could lose their life. If you have one of the effected models, good luck in dealing with Hotpoint, I have had promise after promise of a callback since this happened but have not been able to speak to anyone in authority. I have spoken to citizens advice and trading standards and they have shown some interest, but citizens advice have told me to go back to the retailer, I can't find the receipt and can't remember where I bought it. Please share this as I would hate for someone to die as a result of not knowing what the real risk was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul1966 Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 we have one too and am awaiting either a repair or they are also offering some people a new one at a reduced price of £99. in the meantime i have took the heater section off the back and checked for any fluff in there, there was none inside it so i have continued to use the dryer but have put a smoke detector above it just in case, and i will check inside it again soon. they told me i should hear back from them by the end of march, we'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billytheghillie Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 I reported mine in December, engineer came in January and was there about 2 hours, sorted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chancer2 Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 I've got one but an Indesit. Don't think a cupboard is a good place to put it as the scare is about free circulation of air so it won't overheat. overheat.David. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 We reported ours in January, now it's started squeaking. I've banned my wife from using it unless we are in the house I suspect that we will hold out for the £99 offer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewi76 Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 We've got the same tumble drier , the missus rang there hot line only to be told a repair would take place within twelve weeks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peck Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 Reported ours 24-11-2015, told it would be 8 weeks, reported again 22-01-2016 told it will be April. I will not be asking for £99, i want either a repair, new drier or complete refund. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul1966 Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 I reported mine in December, engineer came in January and was there about 2 hours, sorted how old was yours, it seems that if they are a few years old they are more likely to offer a discounted new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVB Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 Reported ours 24-11-2015, told it would be 8 weeks, reported again 22-01-2016 told it will be April. I will not be asking for £99, i want either a repair, new drier or complete refund. We were also told we would be contacted in 8 weeks for an engineer to arrange a repair. That was on 2nd February. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polester Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 We reported ours before Christmas and got an email couple of weeks ago saying April for repair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruno22rf Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 Woman on BBC 3CR has successfully returned hers to the supplier and got a full refund under the "not fit for purpose" Consumer Rights Act. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crichbish Posted February 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 I've got one but an Indesit. Don't think a cupboard is a good place to put it as the scare is about free circulation of air so it won't overheat. overheat.David. The cupboard is more of a utility room,8ft x6ft with 9ft ceiling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polester Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 I might be wrong about this but I'm sureI read it was because of all the fires caused by dryers over the last 10 years that Hotpoint looked into it more and found the cause was a bad design that had been used by themselves and their sister companies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crichbish Posted February 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 That's my understanding, the cause is the fibres from the filter coming into contact with the heater elements and igniting. It's a fundamental design issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr smith Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 We reported ours in January, now it's started squeaking. I've banned my wife from using it unless we are in the house I suspect that we will hold out for the £99 offer Could be the bearing at the back of the drum has worn,easy to replace and cheap.However if the spindle that runs in it has been damaged it will run through the new bearing in no time.We had the same problem so with the amount of use it gets and it being well out of warranty we decided to go for the £99 job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBS Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 A friend of mine has a dryer that's only 5 weeks old and started smoking while in use, engineer said it's not one of the affected models and couldn't find anything wrong but it happened again a week later, this time they want to charge to look at it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVB Posted February 26, 2016 Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 Could be the bearing at the back of the drum has worn,easy to replace and cheap.However if the spindle that runs in it has been damaged it will run through the new bearing in no time.We had the same problem so with the amount of use it gets and it being well out of warranty we decided to go for the £99 job. The engineer who fixes our white goods (who I trust) said that often nowadays replacing the bearing isn't an option as it is glued in place. The only option is to replace the drum and that, often, makes it uneconomical. Another example of throwaway goods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr smith Posted February 26, 2016 Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 The engineer who fixes our white goods (who I trust) said that often nowadays replacing the bearing isn't an option as it is glued in place. The only option is to replace the drum and that, often, makes it uneconomical. Another example of throwaway goods. Quite a lot of the Hotpoint/indesit dryers use the same bearing,usually five or six pounds to buy and three screws to come out.You can also buy the spindle kit for the back of the drum though obviously that needs a fair bit more work.Probably about the only decent bit of design on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twistedsanity Posted February 26, 2016 Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 Just read this and as a result checked mine, I also have the tumble dryer of death!! Mines an indesit and the website says someone will contact me in ten weeks!! If I can remember where I got it the sale of goods act will be used for this one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fse10 Posted February 26, 2016 Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 Whirlpool have just taken on 350 engineers & more call center staff to try & get on top of the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunhills Posted February 26, 2016 Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 We bought 2 in October, one for us & one for my parents, Ive regersited both appliances & still waiting for the repair I've had two emails one said Febuary but still heard nowt. I think the service is appauling & won't be buying any of there brands again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullet1747 Posted February 26, 2016 Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 They came out last week to repair the wife's , turned up stripped it then shock horror parts didn't fit , put it all back together said they would be intouch wife went to use it and yes it doesn't work no heat , can't get hold off any one only by email trying to tell us it's out off warranty worked fine before the engineer got his tools on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike737 Posted February 26, 2016 Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 We had one of the affected ones (Hotpoint), just 12 months old when I checked the serial number. Promised repair in 5 weeks, but after waiting 2 months and not hearing anything, I registered it again (as being the easier option rather than hanging on the phone being told repeatedly that my call was important to them...) Then we got an email saying repair would be in May, but the same advice re. using it as above. We also got the offer of a reduced price replacement, but only £69.00, so we went for that. Then checked and found that the new one's model number is also one of the affected ones, presumably already modified... Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted February 26, 2016 Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 I know one of their engineers and he expects to have this sort of work for several years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bear-uk Posted February 26, 2016 Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 I tried the sale of goods act in an email about two weeks ago but still no reply yet. It states that goods should be repaired in a reasonable time period. Its going to 6 months from confirming fault to planned repair. Total set of tossers. Loads of horror stories about customers phoning in and being passed all over the place for hours. So im reluctant to go down that route. One thing is that I dont have to be in for the repair as its sat on the bloody drive catching some rays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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