Owners of fire risk dryers face 11 month wait for repair

Owners of potentially faulty tumble dryers are being told they may have to wait as long as 11 months for a repair or replacement.

Last November, Whirlpool - which owns the Hotpoint, Indesit and Creda brands - warned customers that fluff could build up in the dryers and come into contact with the heating element, leading in rare cases to a risk of fire.

Last month, the warning was extended to include a further 58,000 dryers from the Proline and Swan brands, sold through Shop Direct and the KESA Group.

The problem affected over three million dryers, bought between April 2004 and September 2015. And because of these enormous numbers, Whirlpool appears to be struggling to cope.

Customers contacting the company are being told that they'll have to wait ten weeks before they are even given a date for a visit from an engineer - and when they get that date, it's as much as nine months away.

In the meantime, customers are being warned that they shouldn't run their dryers unattended, something that's not always easily managed.

As Joe and Lesley Crawford tell the BBC, "The dryer is in the garage, so am I supposed to sit out there when it is on?"

And while customers who bought their dryer in the last year are getting a free replacement, those owning older machines are simply being offered a repair - or money off a replacement.

While Hotpoint says it's safe to use the dryers as long as the lint is regularly cleared out, this isn't a view shared by safety organisations.

"It has come to our attention that those with an affected appliance may have been advised that they can continue to use the product as long as it is supervised during operation," says Electrical Safety First.

"Electrical Safety First does not share this view. If you have an appliance that has been recalled, we advise you to stop using it until it has been inspected and declared safe to use by a manufacturer's engineer."

Whirlpool says it is working hard to catch up, and that it hopes to recruit and train an extra 350 engineers by the end of this month.

You can check whether your tumble dryer is affected at http://safety.hotpoint.eu or http://safety.indesit.eu, and register for an engineer's visit. Alternatively, you can call the company for free on 0800 151 0905.