Product Recall Database

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 25 September 2019.

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Photo of Jackie Baillie Jackie Baillie Labour

I thank John Mason for securing the debate and drawing members’ attention to this important issue.

I have to confess that the safety of household appliances is something that we all, largely, take for granted, especially when we buy our appliances from well-known, highly reputable companies. Tumble dryers, for example, are so commonplace for most households that we cannot remember not having them—that is, until there is a fault that can have disastrous, life-changing and even life-threatening consequences.

Recalls are an important means of safeguarding consumers from dangerous goods, but we must do more to make the public aware of recalls.

We have all heard the horror stories of a faulty washing machine or tumble dryer that has resulted in a family home burning to the ground. Therefore, we would think that consumers and those in the industry would pay more attention to the quality of products and to broadcasting the recalls of items when a fault has been found. However, as John Mason pointed out, research from Electrical Safety First shows that only around 10 to 20 per cent of recalled products are returned.

I suspect that that is, in part, due to a lack of consumer education and information about which products have been recalled. More can be done. The Whirlpool recall, as mentioned in John Mason’s motion, is a colossal failing. As he said, it is a recall of all tumble dryers that were sold under the Hotpoint, lndesit, Swan, Creda and Proline brands between 2004 and 2015. Those are household names.

Industry experts estimated that, when the recall began, around 800,000 tumble dryers were at risk, yet the recall announcement has gone largely unnoticed, leaving consumers in the dark and at risk. As John Mason also said, to date, only around 65,000 tumble dryers have been returned, despite the appliance being named as the cause of at least 750 fires over the 11-year period in which it was being sold.

I am aware of comments in the media from Whirlpool executives that state that the recall has been five times more successful than an average product recall—as if that gets them off the hook. They also state that, since problems started to arise many years ago, they have resolved 1.7 million customer issues concerning those tumble dryers.

However, the fact that we need to have this debate to raise awareness of the recall shows that Whirlpool can and must do more. It must ensure that a larger percentage of the public is aware of the possible risk that the tumble dryers pose. It needs to make information about the recall easier to access. I know of constituents who have phoned and phoned but not managed to get through. It is not an easy thing to do.

Therefore, I echo the concerns of my colleague Rachel Reeves MP, who chairs the Westminster Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee. She has said that the modification process that Whirlpool offers, whereby a Whirlpool engineer comes to the person’s home and fixes possibly faulty products, is not as good as it should be. Customers who have concerns about the quality of their product, even after modification, should consider a complete replacement. When the consequences can be so destructive and severe, we can never be too careful.

Unlike the Conservatives, I welcome calls for a centrally managed product recall database. Without such a database, it is hard for consumers to check whether things that they have bought are safe, which leaves potentially dangerous, recalled products in homes and leaves consumers in danger.

A database would make it much easier for members of the public to find out whether their appliance is affected. It would also ensure that the companies engage and that people are not left hanging on the phone.

If constituents think that their tumble dryer could be faulty, the advice from organisations such as Citizens Advice Scotland is to unplug the dryer immediately, report it and get it replaced. In every other aspect of our lives, we take safety seriously. Our approach to appliances should be no different. I hope that the minister supports that co-ordinated product recall database and I look forward to hearing how he can encourage such action.