Did you know that Whirlpool is recalling some of the tumble dryers sold under its Hotpoint, Indesit, Creda, Swan and Proline brands? If you think you might have a tumble dryer from one of these brands, you can check whether it needs to be recalled by calling 0800 151 0905 or clicking on the button below. Please note that appliances under the Whirlpool brand are not affected. I want to check the model I have If your tumble dryer is affected, you’ll get the choice either to have it replaced free of charge, to opt for an upgrade from £59, to have it fixed by an engineer or to choose a refund, which will be dependent on the age of your tumble dryer. In the meantime, please unplug and do not use the tumble dryer until it has been replaced or modified. The Whirlpool safety team

A message from our Vice President, Jeff Noel

Dear valued customer,

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.

We are honoured that our brands have been a part of British homes for more than a century and we are immensely proud to still be manufacturing our appliances in the UK. We recognise the huge responsibility we bear and always strive to do the right thing.

We work continuously to build better, safer products and help to drive change that improves safety across the industry.

When we bought Indesit in 2014, we didn’t just acquire a great British company, we welcomed its 5,000 employees and pensioners, and its millions of loyal customers in the UK into the Whirlpool family. With that comes a duty of care for their safety that is of the utmost importance to us.

The safety of Indesit’s tumble dryers was consistent with other brands’ appliances in the market. They met all UK and European regulations too, but Whirlpool demands higher standards, so, we applied our own safety policies to review Indesit’s products. Our review found a potential safety issue in Indesit’s tumble dryers concerning the build-up of lint. It affects certain models made between 2004 and 2015 that were sold under the Indesit, Hotpoint, Creda, Swan and Proline brands.

Even though evaluations under the EU’s official risk assessment system identified this as a low risk issue – its lowest category – we were not satisfied. Shortly after purchasing Indesit, we raised our concerns with the UK regulator and launched a campaign to fix the problem.

We did that because we believed it was the right thing to do to for people’s safety.

We are the first to admit we got some things wrong and could have done some things better. Due to the scale of the challenge, we left many consumers waiting too long and did not provide the level of service we expect of ourselves. That should never have happened and we apologise.

We did everything we could to put that right, hiring thousands of additional engineers and customer advisors to meet demand.

As a result, we have resolved the issue for 1.7 million people. This represents a success rate of up to five times the UK average for a product recall, but we recognise we have more work to do. There may still be people out there with affected dryers who have not responded. It’s vital that we find and resolve those remaining dryers.

To help us achieve that, we are redoubling the efforts of this campaign by issuing a full recall of all unmodified dryers.

That means anyone with an unmodified dryer is entitled to a free replacement, a free modification, a refund based on the age of their appliance, or the opportunity to upgrade to a superior model for a fraction of the retail price.

We’ve worked with the UK Government to agree on these next steps and together we believe this is the right action to encourage any remaining owners of unmodified dryers to come forward.

For anyone who still has an unmodified dryer, please call us immediately on 0800 151 0905 or visit safety.hotpoint.eu/dryercheck.

We thank the millions of people who have already engaged with us; for your time, for your patience, and for your understanding. Nothing matters more to us than your safety and we are truly sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Yours faithfully,

Jeff Noel, Vice President