faulty washing machine a fire risk

fireblobby

bought a washing machine 3 years ago the suppliers contacted me recently saying they had identified a component that was faulty and could cause a fire. to rectify this they were sending an engineer to replace the faulty item.
I informed them that I had taken the machine to my house in Spain, what should I do. they wrote back saying that as the voltage in Spain was 240v and only 230v in England the machine was safe and to ignore their first letter.
I wrote back informing them that their information was incorrect and Spain's voltage was actually lower than the UK's
they then wrote back saying they would do nothing unless I brought the machine back to England and then they would repair it and as they had informed me of the problem it was now my responsibility.
to transport the machine back to the UK and then return it to Spain would cost more than a new one.
can anyone suggest a solution?


thanks

neilmcl

There is not other solution. It's not the manufacturer's problem you decided to take the machine out of the country it was supplied.

RedFraggle

Ask them to send you the part. Get someone in Spain to fit it, at your cost, but cheaper than a fire.

pinkshoes

I'm not sure what you expect them to do? They're offering to repair the UK washing machine for free in the UK.

Short of asking them to send you the part, then you paying to have it fitted, then you can't really expect much more from them.

JournalGirl

surely their first point stands - they just explained it incorrectly.

As the voltage in Spain is LOWER than the voltage in UK - the machine is safe.

But if you are concerned you can transport it back to UK for a free repair.

DevCoder

Actually the acceptable range for voltage variation in the UK is 216.2V to 253V (+10%, -6%), Id assume every country has the same variation so not sure how a 10V difference would make it any safer as potentially Spain would exceed this in an over voltage variation.

fireblobby

RedFraggle wrote: »

Ask them to send you the part. Get someone in Spain to fit it, at your cost, but cheaper than a fire.

great common-sense answer!
I was totally thrown when Argos quoted DANGEROUS rubbish about different voltages rendering a faulty machine safe, but hey why should they have concerns about my safety

dogshome

It's quite possible that the manufacturer also distributes this machine in Spain,
maybe a letter to the UK distributor asking who the distributor is in Spain so you can contact them will help

The letter itself puts the UK end on the spot - They have issued a re-call, you ask for the details of the Spanish distributor to effect the required repair - If they don't reply or say no and then there is a fire ........ !

George_Michael

dogshome wrote: »

- They have issued a re-call, you ask for the details of the Spanish distributor to effect the required repair - If they don't reply or say no and then there is a fire ........ !

If they don't reply or say no and then there is a fire ........ then there is a good chance that their insurance company and/or the courts will ask the OP why they continued to use the appliance despite them being aware of it being a fire risk.

mattyprice4004

Good idea about getting the part and having it fitted over there, that's the best solution.