But Liz Herbert of Avoca Beach said her machine had been fixed under the recall but subsequently caught fire. Fairfax Media understands there have been 17 more post-fix incidents across the country. Former NSW Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation Victor Dominello championed the implementation of the new laws in late 2015. Credit:Orlando Chiodo "Someone is going to die. Someone is going to get killed in a fire, unless they take this much more seriously," Ms Herbert, a health worker, said. "It's not good enough." Only 51 per cent of the 53,400 affected machines in NSW have been reworked or replaced under the recall, issued in April 2013, according to Fair Trading. There have been 38 fire incidents related to the faulty machines in NSW since the original recall, with a third occurring in the past three months, according to Fire and Rescue NSW.

A licensed electrical contractor with 30 years of experience said he was outraged when a technician applied the plastic bag and tape fix to his Samsung top-loader. His wife complained about the quality of the re-work to Samsung. "They took the machine and they paid us what we paid for the machine. In one phone call," said the contractor, who asked not to be named. "It is not an appropriate fix to keep the water out for the lifetime of the washing machine, which is five to seven years. An acceptable fix is the replacement of the component." But Fair Trading Assistant Commissioner John Tansey said the approved fix was adequate because the problem was related to moisture build up inside the machine. He said the replacement of a component would make no difference.

He also said of the 18 post-fix incidents, only one machine caught fire. A Samsung spokesman said if there was an issue after the re-work, the technician's work was audited and the technician was either retrained or removed. "The rework procedure is a complete solution that ... eliminates the risk of impacted top loader washing machines over-heating, smoking or catching fire," he said. "If customers with reworked washing machines still have a concern, Samsung is happy to send a technician to review the rework free of charge." The Minister responsible for Fair Trading, Victor Dominello, said if only 18 of tens of thousands of repaired machines had problems, he would give Samsung a "benefit of the doubt".

"If there are systemic issues around the repairs of the machine, absolutely I would step in," he said. "But take a look at the sheer numbers." He said it was "not acceptable" that only half of affected NSW customers had responded to the recall, and that he had reached the limits of his powers in elevating the recall to a mandatory one last month. Mr Dominello said he was satisfied Samsung had done its best within its resources to reach affected consumers and would wait to see whether the new mandatory recall triggered a spike in contacts before considering his next move. "Why people don't do it, I don't know. Maybe because people have busy lives and we all think this is never going to happen to us," he said. But consumer advocacy group Choice said Samsung was "failing to address the threat to consumers". It said Samsung's print, radio and online awareness raising efforts were not enough, and that the company needed to launch a television campaign.

"We believe the risks to the consumers should be put well above the risks to a company's reputation or bottom line," said Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey. "Samsung claim they didn't need to advertise on television to alert consumers to the danger these machine pose, so we've decided to crush that claim. Choice will be crowdfunding a television commercial the multi-billion dollar company doesn't want you to see." He said Choice believed direct contact with customers was possible. "To do this, ownership needs to be traced. Major retailers can often access this sort of information through warranty registrations, or even loyalty programs. Another option, with potential privacy implications would be to access customers' details through credit and debit card sales records," he said. A Samsung spokesman said it had worked with retailers to obtain customer data and where possible that these customers had been contacted directly either by Samsung or the retailer about the recall.

The recall affects six models of Samsung top-loaders sold between 2010 and 2013. The affected machines are models SW75V9WIP; SW65V9WIP; SW70SPWIP; SW80SPWIP; WA85GWGIP; WA85GWWIP.