Tumble drier warning

I contacted the helpline in November when this was first announced and was told my dryer would be modified within six weeks no one came contacted them again mid Jan and was told it would be done end Jan last week received an email saying someone will contact me at the end of march. It's not practical for me to monitor it while in use as it is in the garage so I can't use if at all in what has been a very set winter. Hotpoint seem more interested in trying to sell me a new one rather than fix the fault. I am fuming at the customer service and certainly won't be buying any more of their products

The ones faulty are the condenser dryers.

You don't have to worry about the non-condenser ones.

My Hotpoint tumble drier bust into flames late one Sunday night about 14 years ago during the 'Firemans Strike' by the time the Green Goddesses trundled up the road my kitchen was completely burned out. Fortunately I shut the kitchen door and that managed to keep the flames contained but the rest of the house had a lot of smoke damage all the same. I got both my children out of the house (all in our PJs) and at the time I had 2 dogs and 2 cats, so I literally threw the cats and dogs together into the car and moved the car into the next street (goodness knows what they were thinking but they were all safe). Never ever leave your tumble drier on at night when you go to bed or leave the house. It was a really frightening experience that I never want to repeat.

I have had a Creda autodry 462 tumble dryer for over 20 years, it has never let me down in all those years, and still going strong. Would not be without it. saves on ironing. brilliant.

antheacarol that is unbelievable! How long do they expect you to stay on hold before you can speak to them, but they will not wait a few minutes.
I think companies should rename their customer service departments as it is misleading - no service!

My Hotpoint is one of the faulty ones, but is not a condenser dryer Gilla01
I registered mine on line but was not given a reference number, so just did it again in case it hadn't gone through. Again I was not given a number! I wonder if I have doubled my chance of a reply, especially as I received 2 letters as well!

Thank you loopylou and elderlyfirsttimegran for suggesting cleaning beneath the filter. I have just vacuumed mine and huge wads of fluff came out!

I am assuming we are only talking about tumble dryers not washer/dryers?

Yes, tumble dryers only.

My drier is a Bosch but I'm diligent about cleaning out the fluff after every use. It's on at least once a day currently because the awful weather means I'm washing 3 dog towels at least once a day.

I once had a Samsung fridge freezer that was on the alert list, "likely to burst into flames". I'd lost the bit of paper with my model number on it and spoke to three Samsung employees who simply refused to send an engineer because it was "your fault" you lost the number. I put a post on their Facebook page asking for help, commented I was certain they wouldn't want my product to burst into flames. An engineer was at my house within 24 hours and fixed the problem.

It's not just tumble dryers many other domestic appliences are just as damgerous.

You should always register your washing machine, dish washer, tumble dryers, etc so if there is a recall you can be contacted.

Mine is one of the Hotpoint numbers given. I registered it and received an email and link but got no further. Decided to give it a good going over myself. I always clear the pull up filter but found something on YouTube where the chap cleaning one out, put his hand down the vent and pulled a load of fluff out. We pulled the machine out and unplugged from the wall. He must have had long fingers as no way would my little short fingers reach. I bent a piece of wire into a hook and yes there was loads down below the filter. I did have to use a torch and stick my head into the hole!! Next because I was paranoid about getting rid of all the fluff I got my husband to remove the hot air outlet hose which I hoovered. That wasn't bad but the thing that shocked me was when I looked up the hole into the machine it was solid with fluff. I stuck the hoover up inside and boy, did I get a load out. It suddenly came out with a big "glug". Satisfied that it was now OK, I shall fully clean it again in a couple of months. I never leave it on and go out. Hotpoint only say to clean the filter but don't mention that it needs to be much more thorough than that.

A week previous to this, our Hotpoint dishwasher nearly set on fire. I was watching TV and (thankfully having good hearing), I heard what sounded like foil crackling. On investigation I was met with a horrible smell and smoke beginning to appear from under the sink next to it. I quickly got a wooden rolling pin and pressed the mains switch off. I dread to think of the consequences had we been out or if my husband had been in alone as his hearing is poor. I have gone back to washing up by hand and now have a new cupboard in place of the machine.

Mine isn't a condenser one but it is on the list!

My daughter was offered a brand new one for £99 which she has accepted. Ours is only 2 years old so not sure if we will have the same opportunity.

We had same model which was 8 years old. Got an email from Hotpoint saying problem with that model. Told to check their website to confirm our model had the problem. Did so and registered with them. They said they would be in touch and to carry on using dryer but clean fluff every time. Couple of months later got email asking us to click link re an appointment for engineer to visit. At bottom of this email there was also a link to purchase new dryer instead, worth £299, for £99. They would deliver, install and remove old dryer at same time. This seemed a bargain, so we did so a few weeks ago.

They seem to be offering people different things - one family we know had three members with recall machines - two were repaired and one replaced free of charge!

We had a vented dryer which turned out to be one of the faulty ones. I registered it in November, and got an email in January telling me they could repair it in May! But they also offered a condenser dryer for £99 (reduced from £299) so we were pleased to take this offer. The new one was delivered and the old one taken away within three days. We were happy as we were considering buying a condenser dryer anyway.

I know I've already posted a link but washing machines cause more fires than tumble dryers.

Be careful about the £99 offer of a new appliance. Rang them today and asked when my repair would be done (June) they then asked if I would like a new tumble drier, a Hotpoint condenser, for just £99. Mine is 3 years old, so a good offer.I said I would look at it on their website first. OMG, it is the ugliest machine I have ever seen, no way would I ever buy it!Instead of the whole door opening, it's a vast porthole with a huge handle on it.Now, if you have a tucked away utility room you may not mind this, but for the kitchen, I can't believe anyone would buy it.I will wait for the repair, and be careful to keep an eye on it.

It's only offered in white, as well.

It's true that the condenser on offer isn't attractive, but it's tucked away in the utility room, so not a problem.

It's true that the condenser on offer isn't attractive, but it's tucked away in the utility room, so not a problem.

Sorry Blinko have only just read your post ( where you say you have bought one) as I was in a hurry.Otherwise I would have been more diplomatic But of course, tucked away, it doesn't matter what it looks like.

Mine is due to be delivered back to me tomorrow - I shall test for noises before I unlock the door to allow the delivery man back out!
Hotpoint have a new washing machine model with what looks like a large porthole door. I think the door is probably the same size but the frame around the glass is much thinner than the old style and it is also edged in black. I quite liked it when I gave it an inspection in a shop (as may be needing to replace my machine soon). I suppose the two would then match. I have my appliances in a utility mainly because I absolutely hate the noise of them.

I received an email last month to say that my tumble dryer would be repaired in April but was given a link to purchase a new one (my faulty one would have been 2 years old this month). On the link I was offered a vented machine for £59 or a condenser for £89. I chose the vented and selected a day for delivery that suited me the following week. A new machine, old one removed and new one fitted for £59. I think that is okay.