Washing Machine Fire

unholyangel

OP people aren't being mean in their replies, its just the way the law is. You can't claim for something that never happened. So what could have happened is irrelevant, whats relevant is what actually did happen and what losses you actually incurred. And keep in mind the law dislikes the idea of betterment - there generally is no "new for old" except in limited circumstances. So if your tumble drier is 8 years old for example, the claim for damages would be proportionate to reflect that.

Given what you've posted, it may surprise you to learn that thousands of washing machines go on fire every year. They apparently account for around 14% of fires caused by appliances. Any electrical appliance has a risk of fire but I imagine that risk is greater when the appliance is running water through it.

bod1467

I'm very disappointed ... no mention of nuns with baskets of kittens.

SHAME ON YOU!

Chucky1234

Looking for advice on the next step I should take

Firstly you should start by letting them know you still have the fire damaged unit as per

Following the engineers inspection we would ask firstly if you still have the fire damaged unit? If you do we would like to arrange collection, so we can carry out a further full inspection by our engineers.

Next, you should write down all quantifiable losses you incurred due to the unit setting on fire. Include all your launderette costs, costs to clean up the water which spilled on the floor and costs to repair/replace whatever was damaged by the fire. I assume you have kept all the receipts for these. You may also want to include the cost of your wife's therapy if she doesn't recover from her fear of the washing machine. Contact them with this, you may have to provide receipts and I would recommend either scanning it or photocopying it so you have a copy your end. You should also contact them to tell them you have not yet passed it on to your home insurance provider.

Secondly we would also like to ask if you have passed this onto your insurance company to handle, if so they will contact us directly. If not please could you provide a breakdown, including amounts, of your losses that you would like us to consider, so we can decide if we can process the matter internally or if we need to pass it onto our insurance company to deal with.

The more unreasonable you are being, the harder they will probably be to deal with. I'd keep it short, sharp and to the point.

Once you have done what they have asked, they will make an offer which you can either accept, negotiate or decline. It's up to you to decide what you want to do with it then.

susancs

Chucky1234 wrote: »

Firstly you should start by letting them know you still have the fire damaged unit as per



Next, you should write down all quantifiable losses you incurred due to the unit setting on fire. Include all your launderette costs, costs to clean up the water which spilled on the floor and costs to repair/replace whatever was damaged by the fire. I assume you have kept all the receipts for these. You may also want to include the cost of your wife's therapy if she doesn't recover from her fear of the washing machine. Contact them with this, you may have to provide receipts and I would recommend either scanning it or photocopying it so you have a copy your end. You should also contact them to tell them you have not yet passed it on to your home insurance provider.



The more unreasonable you are being, the harder they will probably be to deal with. I'd keep it short, sharp and to the point.

Once you have done what they have asked, they will make an offer which you can either accept, negotiate or decline. It's up to you to decide what you want to do with it then.

Excellent advice.

LABMAN

OP Zandoni and ThumbRemote will no doubt be along sometime soon..I'd happily suggest you ignore them.

BrentMeister

No offence, but a lot of the stuff you posted sounds like a load of old flannel. However a couple of points spring to mind.

If I walked into the kitchen and saw my washing machine on fire, the last thing id attempt to do is try and move it out of the property. So in your case, you single handedly moved a washing machine that was on fire?

Im presuming you have smoke alarms throughout your property and correctly trained your kids what to do should one of these go off and also have a fire escape plan that everyone knows about?

You ask what you should do, well how about replying to the email you received answering the questions they asked, that's a pretty good start.

System

Claim on your insurance. They will not be impressed that you didn't immediately inform them. This could make things tricky.

Liability for defective goods sits at the retailers door, so sue Comet, I hear they have loads of cash these days, so that should go well for you. If you bought on credit, the joint liability of the provider may also be an approach you could look at. It sounds as if years have passed since purchase, you may be out of time. You may also have to prove the defect, though as there is a recall in place this may be easier.

If the manufacturer issued a recall and made the attempts they have listed to identify customers, I doubt you'll get anywhere further with them. It sounds like they have acted entirely responsibly.

Your losses appear to be a bit of worktop and some floor repairs. Fear of washing machines isn't worth much. Neither is an old machine with a "catches fire" recall notice on it, so don't expect much for that.

If you did receive a "Safety Notice" and didn't respond to it... well...

DCFC79

pinkshoes wrote: »

Surely your compensation would need to be claimed from Comet??

Pigs will fly lol

comeandgo wrote: »

Why are you leaving the washing of clothes to your wife? Can't you help? I also agree in telling your insurance, let them deal with the house repairs.

The OP was told to get this done in the communication he received.

OP call your insurers asap.

AnnieO1234

When I was 10/11 I walked in to the kitchen to find the Ariston washer dryer on fire. It was a Saturday morning, my mom was in hospital. My dad out the fire out. Claimed on insurance for new machine, worktop, cupboards and flooring. Should I have received compensation for such a horrifying incident? I mean especially as six weeks before I found my mom after her stroke. Surely that means I must deserve more money?!

Move on. Fires are scary things. I had a minor kitchen fire a few years ago (my own fault), I dealt with it. Yes afterwards I downed half a litre of whisky when it hit me what could have happened. But it didn't. Wasn't even worth claiming for that one.

Call your home insurer and explain the problem, you'll need a new machine obviously, any clothing that was damaged will need replacing plus any worktops or cupboards that might have been damaged will need replacing.

Oh and ground coffee will get rid of the smoke smell, stick it into bowls around the kitchen and it will soon clear.

Xxx

PasturesNew

Washing machines are well known for fires. They do say never go out, don't leave it unattended, to be honest I don't like having one inside the house - indeed, I'm about to build outside to house mine as it petrifies me and I am unable to use it.