Recall of Tumble Dryers Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Gerald Jones
Main Page: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)Department Debates - View all Gerald Jones's debates with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Recall of Tumble Dryers
Gerald Jones Excerpts(4 years, 10 months ago)
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Kelly Tolhurst
I thank the hon. Lady for that suggestion. I will commit today to making that a topic for discussion at the Consumer Protection Partnership, which is the group of organisations that sit together to consider consumer protections. Perhaps we can look into whether that would be more beneficial for consumers. I reiterate that the Government have a recall website that gives the details of all white goods that are subject to recall or fire risk. All consumers should register their appliances. It is down to the manufacturer to make sure that the products are safe, but if consumers take the simple step of registering their goods in the first instance, when they buy them, before any changes are made, that is the best way forward.
Gerald Jones (Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney) (Lab)
Might not many of these tumble dryers have been resold in the second-hand market? If so, what is the Minister doing to assess the dangers of the resale of such machines, bearing in mind that local authority trading standards have been decimated by Tory austerity cuts?
Kelly Tolhurst
As I have outlined, it does not matter whether the product is second hand or has been with its original owners since purchase. If a dryer is affected and is unmodified, consumers should contact Whirlpool. I reiterate that when the OPSS carried out its review of the modification programme, it took all the data into consideration and the risk was deemed to be low and further reduced for modified tumble dryers. I therefore urge any consumer with a tumble dryer in their home to look to see whether it is one of the products affected and make contact with Whirlpool.