Manufacturer launches £1m recall of faulty tumble dryers

The white goods giant, which employs 1,500 people at its UK headquarters in Morley Way, Woodston, has begun a new drive to track down the dryers manufactured between 2004 and 2015.

The move comes in the wake of a criticism from MPs and consumer groups for the time it is taking the company to deal with the issue, which it first brought to light four years ago.

Ian Moverley, Whirlpool’s UK director of public affairs, said: ”We are absolutely committed to finding as many of these faulty dryers as possible.

“We are running the recall campaign across the summer.

“We will either repair the machine for the customer or take it away and replace it for free.”

Concern about the faulty dryers was raised shortly after American-based Whirlpool acquired Indesit in 2014.

Since then the company has made a number of appeals to find customers who may have the faulty dryers.

Mr Moverley said: “Our review of products found a potential safety issue in Indesit’s tumble dryers around the build-up of lint near the heater.

“We immediately made the issue public.”

The recall concerns tumble dryers that were sold under the Hotpoint, Indesit, Creda, Swan and Proline brands.

If anyone thinks they have one of these dryers they should contact Whirlpool immediately on 0800 151 0905 or by visiting safety.hotpoint.eu/dryercheck

Apologising to customers, Whirlpool vice president Jeff Noel said in a statement on the company’s website: “Safety is our top priority and tackling the issue with our tumble dryers has been one of the biggest challenges we have ever faced.

“We value our customers more than anything and we recognise that we let many of you down.

“You deserved better from us and for this we apologise to you all.”