The Death of the Local Repairer?
Many of our readers may have seen the BBC Breakfast team today highlight the Electrical problems with Cheap Phone Chargers.
We know from our own discussions with some manufacturers that “dodgy parts” can also be the reason why appliances can be the cause of house fires. They state that “only genuine Manufacturers Spares should be used in Appliance Repairs” and Electricians are not regulated to ensure this is done. EEESafe Registered Competent Persons are obliged to do this and some levels are audited to ensure this. We have met with a few Manufacturers who have told EEESafe that this could be a reason why some household fires have been started.
There were 2000 fires recorded by Government in 20011-12 which were directly caused by Faulty Large Domestic Appliances, and we’re pretty sure that everyone will agree that one fire in this scenario is one fire too many. Nobody expects it to happen to them and so it’s treated less seriously and because we’re creatures of habit, we probably leave all our appliances on during the night. This could be Phone Chargers but some people put the dishwasher on before going to bed as well, and even leave Appliance plugged in. We recommend, like the Fire Services, to put all appliances off before going to bed so you are on the safe side. Watch what happened to someone during the daytime, if you’re not yet convinced.
However, with timers on Washing Machines and Cookers and many other appliances people find timers useful and therefore nip out to Church or for a quick shopping trip, this too can be an increased risk if you don’t have the original parts.
This is particularly risky if you purchased an Appliance that has been refurbished as it may have been fitted with Spares purchased from unregulated sources like EBAY. Some suppliers may tell you it’s genuine, but how do you know, which is where we can help as we’re beginning to regulate the sector, and also help in preventing waste to help poorer communities.
We believe that there are some great repairers out there and probably some excellent sources of genuine spares, so we are not throwing the baby out with the bathwater here. This is also a lot to do with keeping these items local, and giving consumers the lowest cost option with something they can recognise as being a spare part that supports a lower risk of dealing with a rogue trader.
But there can be no doubt there is an increased risk from purchasing spares or appliances from unregulated sources with no independent proven competent repairers. to do the actual repair. We want to work with Professional Spares suppliers on this and continue to engage them as major stakeholders in our vision of a standard aligned and support a Circular Economy Model.
You can give yourself some additional protection by allowing the National Appliance Safety Register to check and provide ongoing monitoring of your Large Domestic home appliances. Its a Free Service and our hope is that you will become aware of how we also benefit Society, the natural environment and those who cannot afford a New Appliance.
When you dispose of your appliance, our hope is that you offer it to EEESafe who will GIVE it to a local repairer, to generate income for them and enable Charities and other groups to offer low cost Appliances to your own local communities. This is also a service for businesses to register their appliances on behalf of their customers, affording them extra peace of mind and hopefully bringing them more repair work to grow their business and regenerate their community.
If you’re looking to purchase an EEESafe Approved Refurbished Appliance, which means it’s repaired by a Registered Competent Person, then look for the labels. Some Fire Services are now publicising our Free Safety Alerts on Social Media, and we’re looking to work more closely with all Fire Services in the United Kingdom.
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