How to deal with dangerous goods: Consumer expert explains your rights when items are recalled
From BMW cars that suddenly stalled to Whirlpool dryers that bust in to flames, product recalls are a serious business – this is what you need to know
What happens when you buy something – then later realise it’s been recalled or could potentially be dangerous?
From BMW cars that suddenly stalled to Whirlpool dryers that bust in to flames, product recalls are a serious business.
Big businesses are often slow to respond when it becomes clear that there’s a serious fault with the goods that they sell for obvious reasons – the cost can run it to millions.
But there’s a big difference between a product that’s faulty and one that’s dangerous. When a business discovers that a product it has sold has a dangerous fault, it needs to establish whether the problem is limited to a batch or applies to the product completely.
As soon as that’s clear, they have a moral responsibility to act quickly and decisively.
The business should contact every person who can be traced who bought a faulty product and give clear instructions about the risk the product poses and what they should do next, whether they will be given a replacement or refund and how the affected goods will be collected.
This can involve operations on a massive scale – and while it’s not realistic to expect this to happen overnight, speed is of the essence.
Depending on when an item was sold and things like your manufacturers guarantee or warrantee, the replacement of the item should happen in a ‘reasonable’ amount of time
In situations like this, I believe it’s vital that each and every person should be fully appraised of the risk and given the option to go to another supplier if a replacement can’t be provided on time.
Businesses should commit to refunding the costs incurred in doing so. The focus also needs to be on removing a defective item as soon as possible, even if there’s no replacement – otherwise, the temptation to use it may be too high.
These days technology is constantly in our lives, and anything that needs an energy supply – from white goods to vapes and mobile phones – needs to have been through endless safety checks before we plug it in or charge it up.
The focus of any business has to be on safety when a dangerous fault is discovered, because the faster a firm can act, the less risk we face.
News Source: The Mirror
