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The Range Product Recall....am I entitled to return it? The Range says no!

sunseeker84
Posts: 7 Forumite

Approx. 4 years ago I bought a light up Vanity unit from The Range. Never had an issue with it other than one of the bulbs never working despite changing the bulb.
Last week I was thinking of getting a new hollywood mirror and put my vanity unit on FB marketplace. I received a nice message from someone kindly informing me that this product had been recalled due to safety hazard.
So I go on the gov link and yes she was correct 4 batch numbers of this item had been recalled in 2023. I go to check on my unit for the batch no. but the label from the wire has come off so no idea if my is one of the affected.
I emailed The Range to explain the situation and this is the reply I received-
"Thank you for your email, I am sorry to hear about the issues with your 319774.
As this item is over 6 months old, we would require for this to be assessed by an independent VAT accredited third-party company sourced by yourself to determine whether this is due to a manufacturing fault.
Once the assessment is done, if it is deemed a manufacturing fault, please provide a copy of the report and we would look to assist you further.
Kind regards"
Can anyone enlighten me as to where I stand with this please?
Much thanks 👍
Last week I was thinking of getting a new hollywood mirror and put my vanity unit on FB marketplace. I received a nice message from someone kindly informing me that this product had been recalled due to safety hazard.
So I go on the gov link and yes she was correct 4 batch numbers of this item had been recalled in 2023. I go to check on my unit for the batch no. but the label from the wire has come off so no idea if my is one of the affected.
I emailed The Range to explain the situation and this is the reply I received-
"Thank you for your email, I am sorry to hear about the issues with your 319774.
As this item is over 6 months old, we would require for this to be assessed by an independent VAT accredited third-party company sourced by yourself to determine whether this is due to a manufacturing fault.
Once the assessment is done, if it is deemed a manufacturing fault, please provide a copy of the report and we would look to assist you further.
Kind regards"
Can anyone enlighten me as to where I stand with this please?
Much thanks 👍
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Comments
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Sounds like a canned response to me intended for all orders over a certain date. I would reply, linking the government advice, and confirming that it is still their policy that they need an independent person to tell them the product was so flawed it was in fact recalled. Also confirm that if they do require this, and the independent assessor confirms the product was unsafe (which, of course, they will, very quickly I would imagine) will they reimburse for the cost of their assessment.Did you purchase on a credit card? Was the cost over £100?1
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Caveat to the above: 4 batches of the item were recalled. How likely is it that your unit was one of those affected?
If it's 4 batches out of 4, then 100%. If it's 4 batches out of 1000, it's 0.4%
If *all* batches of a product were faulty, then the recall probably wouldn't reference the batch numbers, which suggests it's not 100%.
It's unlikely the govt website would have that information - is it possible that The Range might know?
Alternatively, is it possible to identify affected units without knowing the batch number.
Otherwise you risk spending money on an assessment only to be told: This one is fine.
EDIT: I also don't agree that a fault that triggers a recall would necessarily be obvious or even detectable but someone examining the item. It could be that the batch of paint used had too high levels of some particular compound. Or some electrical component has an unacceptably high risk of catching fire under certain circumstances. Without knowing exactly what caused the recall it's quite likely to not be detectable.1 -
Ergates said:Caveat to the above: 4 batches of the item were recalled. How likely is it that your unit was one of those affected?
If it's 4 batches out of 4, then 100%. If it's 4 batches out of 1000, it's 0.4%
If *all* batches of a product were faulty, then the recall probably wouldn't reference the batch numbers, which suggests it's not 100%.
It's unlikely the govt website would have that information - is it possible that The Range might know?
Alternatively, is it possible to identify affected units without knowing the batch number.
Otherwise you risk spending money on an assessment only to be told: This one is fine.
EDIT: I also don't agree that a fault that triggers a recall would necessarily be obvious or even detectable but someone examining the item. It could be that the batch of paint used had too high levels of some particular compound. Or some electrical component has an unacceptably high risk of catching fire under certain circumstances. Without knowing exactly what caused the recall it's quite likely to not be detectable.The product presents a risk of electric shock. The internal wiring and lamp holder construction within the sealed units do not meet the required safety standards. In instances where there is incorrect wiring of the lamp holder’s live and neutral connections, the threaded metal casing of the Edison Screw (ES) light bulb would become live. There is possible access to live parts should any thin metal item be inserted into the lamp holder with the bulb fitted or not, and if the vanity light is not switched off at the wall when the light bulb is unscrewed.It seems like a whole lot of "if's."
The product does not meet the requirements of The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016.1 -
dumpster_fire2025 said:Ergates said:Caveat to the above: 4 batches of the item were recalled. How likely is it that your unit was one of those affected?
If it's 4 batches out of 4, then 100%. If it's 4 batches out of 1000, it's 0.4%
If *all* batches of a product were faulty, then the recall probably wouldn't reference the batch numbers, which suggests it's not 100%.
It's unlikely the govt website would have that information - is it possible that The Range might know?
Alternatively, is it possible to identify affected units without knowing the batch number.
Otherwise you risk spending money on an assessment only to be told: This one is fine.
EDIT: I also don't agree that a fault that triggers a recall would necessarily be obvious or even detectable but someone examining the item. It could be that the batch of paint used had too high levels of some particular compound. Or some electrical component has an unacceptably high risk of catching fire under certain circumstances. Without knowing exactly what caused the recall it's quite likely to not be detectable.The product presents a risk of electric shock. The internal wiring and lamp holder construction within the sealed units do not meet the required safety standards. In instances where there is incorrect wiring of the lamp holder’s live and neutral connections, the threaded metal casing of the Edison Screw (ES) light bulb would become live. There is possible access to live parts should any thin metal item be inserted into the lamp holder with the bulb fitted or not, and if the vanity light is not switched off at the wall when the light bulb is unscrewed.It seems like a whole lot of "if's."
The product does not meet the requirements of The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016.
Which leaves the question of: What proportion of all batches were impacted, i.e. how likely is it that the OP's unit is one of those.0 -
WillPS said:Sounds like a canned response to me intended for all orders over a certain date. I would reply, linking the government advice, and confirming that it is still their policy that they need an independent person to tell them the product was so flawed it was in fact recalled. Also confirm that if they do require this, and the independent assessor confirms the product was unsafe (which, of course, they will, very quickly I would imagine) will they reimburse for the cost of their assessment.Did you purchase on a credit card? Was the cost over £100?
I have replied so I will see what they come back with.0 -
Ergates said:dumpster_fire2025 said:Ergates said:Caveat to the above: 4 batches of the item were recalled. How likely is it that your unit was one of those affected?
If it's 4 batches out of 4, then 100%. If it's 4 batches out of 1000, it's 0.4%
If *all* batches of a product were faulty, then the recall probably wouldn't reference the batch numbers, which suggests it's not 100%.
It's unlikely the govt website would have that information - is it possible that The Range might know?
Alternatively, is it possible to identify affected units without knowing the batch number.
Otherwise you risk spending money on an assessment only to be told: This one is fine.
EDIT: I also don't agree that a fault that triggers a recall would necessarily be obvious or even detectable but someone examining the item. It could be that the batch of paint used had too high levels of some particular compound. Or some electrical component has an unacceptably high risk of catching fire under certain circumstances. Without knowing exactly what caused the recall it's quite likely to not be detectable.The product presents a risk of electric shock. The internal wiring and lamp holder construction within the sealed units do not meet the required safety standards. In instances where there is incorrect wiring of the lamp holder’s live and neutral connections, the threaded metal casing of the Edison Screw (ES) light bulb would become live. There is possible access to live parts should any thin metal item be inserted into the lamp holder with the bulb fitted or not, and if the vanity light is not switched off at the wall when the light bulb is unscrewed.It seems like a whole lot of "if's."
The product does not meet the requirements of The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016.
Which leaves the question of: What proportion of all batches were impacted, i.e. how likely is it that the OP's unit is one of those.
OP bought it about 2 1./2 years before the recall so it seem unlikely it was in an affected batch. Additionally, it does seem that not all of the ones in each batch were actually affected. "In instances where there is incorrect wiring of the lamp holder’s live and neutral connections" implies that they were not all wired wrong.
If the OP had one with the batch number on it that would be enough, but lacking that they appear to also need to have one that's wired incorrectly.
I think for a £50 item that seems to have reached the end of its useful life for the OP, chasing this seems like a bit of a waste of time, and possibly money.1 -
This is probably a stupid question, but how exactly do product recalls work from the POV of a consumer?
If the government issue a recall who does it go to and what is the recipient (I presume a manufacturer or retailer) meant to do about it?
Are they meantt to contact customers who have bought those items?
If the OP didn't get a recall from the range does that mean their unit is not affected by the recall?0 -
Would the Range have her name and address?
Unless an item is being delivered it is not routine to give these details.
I have seen recall notices in the supermarket.
i often wondered how many people bothered to read them.
1 -
Okell said:This is probably a stupid question, but how exactly do product recalls work from the POV of a consumer?
If the government issue a recall who does it go to and what is the recipient (I presume a manufacturer or retailer) meant to do about it?
Are they meantt to contact customers who have bought those items?
If the OP didn't get a recall from the range does that mean their unit is not affected by the recall?
For cars - where they they can track things - you get a letter through the post.
For things in between.... probably more like the former than the latter.
The degree of effort they put in probably relates to how serious the cause of the recall is.
If Tesco accidentally put strychnine in all their pork pies they'd probably not just put a small poster by the door.1 -
Okell said:This is probably a stupid question, but how exactly do product recalls work from the POV of a consumer?
If the government issue a recall who does it go to and what is the recipient (I presume a manufacturer or retailer) meant to do about it?
Are they meantt to contact customers who have bought those items?
If the OP didn't get a recall from the range does that mean their unit is not affected by the recall?
It makes sense for retailers to try to contact customers, but even if e.g. supermarkets could track which customers appear to have bought affected products, I've only ever seen them stick some posters in the shops and advertise the recall online.1
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