Candy, a PLC and wholly-owned subsidiary of the Haier Group, has been under close scrutiny. This announcement follows the manufacturing variations the company found in some of its integrated heat pump dryers. These defects can create short-circuiting and fire risks, leading safety regulators to take unprecedented emergency measures. An estimated 17,000 tumble dryers from a number of brands are impacted, including Baumatic, Caple, Haier, Hoover, Lamona, Iberna and Montpellier.
In March Candy was forced to tell a quarter of a million customers to stop using their tumble dryers with immediate effect because of these urgent safety concerns. The UK’s Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has called these dryers “dangerous.” This has led to an urgent need for Haier to inform customers that there are serious risks associated with continuing to use them. Affected customers were notified as late as August 1, telling customers to unplug their machines.
One individual told the watchdog that they bought a £529 tumble dryer, which has now caught fire and can no longer be used. She noted the engineer who came to address the issue showed up within three weeks. What they encountered in the resolution process was terribly frustrating inefficiency. Plus, Candy has already scheduled and then cancelled four appointments to repair this customer’s machine, adding insult to injury.
That original OPSS has explicitly acknowledged that the modification program instituted by Candy was “not adequate.” The rapidly accumulating affected customers are getting more and more unhappy. They’re among those who are still waiting for repairs to their faulty tumble dryers.
This threatens to cut Haier Group’s operating margin in half, the challenges are severe for the Chinese multinational conglomerate. The company is being pressured not just to fix the short-term safety issues but to even come close to winning back customer confidence. With more than 10,000 consumers still on a waiting list for their machines to be repaired, the importance of this issue is magnified.
According to a recent report, one very lucky technician was able to make it to an appointment with a few hours’ notice. This has created a tense relationship for customers, who are understandably upset with the level of service they are getting. The company is still dealing with the consequences of this egregious public health disaster. It’s unknown how many customers’ dryers will ultimately take to get them repaired and as an independent company, they’re not letting on.