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41%
2.12 

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Rs. 10,000 (Launch price)

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Bangalore India
Whirlpool washing machine catch fire!!!
Sep 03, 2012 01:04 AM 16726 Views

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Warning to all whirlpool washing machine users: Your washing machine may catch fire!!!


I had bought a Whirlpool Washing machine model No. WP65, sometime in Oct-2007


We have the usual practice of leaving the machine plugged into the socket and using the timer.


One fine day after almost 4.5yrs of usage it  suddenly caught fire around the middle of the night on 27-06-2012. It tripped the electricity and leaving the whole house in darkness. Fortunately, as I was awake, I just happened to come downstairs to check the UPS which normally should have switched on automatically (we have a duplex house and our bedroom is upstairs). To my surprise I found one of our rooms downstairs fully ablace and thick black smoke fuming out of the attached bathroom. I was shocked to see the washing machine ablaze and for a second was motionless as to what to do. I was alone at home with my two small kids who were still asleep. I quickly ran outside and called in my neighbours wne with their help we could pour water and bring the fire under control. The fire left our entire washroom including its wall to wall tiles, wardrobe, lights and ceiling including the entire painting including the attached bedroom walls in a damaged condition.


It could have caused irreparable loses/causalities risking our entire house to catch fire had I not been awake that night and taken evasive action to extinguish the fire. If it had  occurred during the day time in our absence or if in use, it would have been a big disaster burining our entire house. This incident has put a lot of mental pressure and trauma on both me and my wife and our 2 kids.


I registered a complaint with whirlpool on the subesquent day following which their field serviceman visited our house. After seeing the situation at my house, he declared that he has not seen such a disaster being caused due to a washing machine especially this model. He happened to mention that there were cases of fire with the model having a in built geyser (which was a bigh surprise for me)! He quickly checked the switched and the wiring in my house and declared that there was nothing wrong with that. If fact it there had been a problem with the wiring then all other appliances e.g. Geyser, etc. would also have gone bad. He also commented that there is a possibility of the internal PCBs touching each other leading to short-circuit and fire; which was also a know issue in some of the complaints.


He asked me to send the details with pictures and description to his supervisor Mr. Rajesh over email but he could not comment on what is possible from the company. I eventually sent all the details with pictures in an email for an appropriate resolution. I had stake claims knowing the cause of this incident, replacement of the washing maching and compensation towards the damages caused by this incident.


Initially they were very reluctant to even acknowledge or give any comments on what can be done from their side. After many follow-ups and painstaking conversations and escalations with several members of their staff, finally one Mr. Naveen (Area Manager – Bangalore) promised a replacement of the said machine without providing any answers towards the cause of the fire. To my surprise, the delivery personnel arrived at my doorstep without any notice with a replacement machine 04-Aug-2012. I had to receive the new machine and surrender my old machine which was burnt, even though I was reluctant to accept it without any proper answer from their staff towards the cause of such an incident. In fact I was surprised at the decision of replacing the machine without any questions or even analyzing the burnt machine, which lead me to the suspicion that this company is trying to cover-up some known issue with this series of machines.


What is more baffling is that in-spite of repeated follow-up with Mr. Naveen on trying to understand the cause of this incident, there has not been any commitment as to when the results of a proper fault analysis would be available.


The Whirlpoon service staff comes across with an attitude that the replacement of the machine absolves them of any further liabilities/commitments. It is close to 6 weeks by now that I have surrendered the burnt machine and I have not heard any answer from their staff on the cause of this problem.


I am now thinking of moving to consumer court to file a complaint towards claiming a proper settlement in my case and additionally if I find some support. I am also conetmplating filing a public litigation in the court against Whirplool, keeping in view the seriousness of the issue as it puts the lives of the consumers at stake. It would demand a complete product recall under the product liability clauses if a design/electrical problem is found in the machine to safeguard further mishaps with Whirlpool washing machines.


Warning: please avoid purchasing whirlpool washing machinesas your life can be in danger!


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