Domestic appliance manufacturers trade association Amdea has announced the launch of Register My Appliance Week, which runs from today (January 22) until Friday, January 26.
Amdea says that more than 40 million appliances in use in the UK are unlikely to be registered with manufacturers, making them extremely difficult to trace in the event of a recall or safety notice.
The association is urging all households to register their home appliances to ensure that manufacturers know where to find them. Consumers can go to registermyappliance.org.uk/registration/ to register their appliances. And it is not only new appliances that can be registered, but also older machines or machines purchased second-hand.
The Register My Appliance portal provided access to more than 70 leading brands, with most accepting registration of new and older appliances.
Amdea chief executive Paul Hide said: “The vast majority of appliances – new and not-so-new – can be registered easily and quickly. Given our growing concern that our possessions need to last longer, working safely and efficiently, it makes sense to take care to register all of our large appliances, as well as those small appliances that we’re increasingly relying on in the kitchen. When buying nearly new it’s also important to purchase from reputable sources, many of whom will supply a warranty.”
Amdea highlighted the scope of the traceability problems by quoting a new online survey by YouGov, which revealed that almost a third (32.2%) of people never or rarely register their appliances.
That means that with an estimated 133 million fridges, washing machines and ovens in use in UK homes, there could be more than 42m that are unregistered.
The YouGov survey also revealed an ignorance of the terminology sellers use to describe nearly new, pre-used or graded appliances. Amdea said it is advising consumers always to question why the product is reduced in price, check for a warranty and to ensure they buy from reputable sources.