Risk VS Register

08 January 2016

As shoppers flock to the January sales to bag bargain appliances, Electrical Safety First is urging people to register their new electrical products immediately to help ensure their worst fears don’t become a reality. House fires and electric shocks, which can be caused by faulty appliances, are amongst our biggest fears, yet most people still don’t register their electrical items and therefore manufacturers are unable to contact them in the event of a recall.

Faulty appliances alone cause £41.6 million of damage in the UK every year and 46 deaths are caused annually by electrical fires.

Unless products are registered, it is very difficult to track them down.

Our Product Registration page makes it easy for you to register all of your electrical products. You will need the brand name, model, serial number and purchase date and the registration process is very simple to follow. The manufacturer will only contact you in the event of a recall, your details will not be used for marketing.

Go to our Product Registration page to register your electrical products.

Registering an appliance ensures you receive important safety messages about the item you possess. Since 2011 there have been over 300 different recalled electrical items, including frequently used products such as phone charges and adapters, kitchen appliances, hairdryers and washing machines.

Despite 89% of people saying they would return an electrical item if they knew it had been recalled the success rate for recalls in the UK is rarely more than 10-20%, indicating people may be unknowingly living with a potentially dangerous recalled item.

Statistics

  • 46% of people did not register the last electrical item that they bought
  • 89% of people say they would return an electrical item if it had been recalled
  • 80% of people said they know a recalled item can cause a fire, shock or electrocution
  • Almost a third of people (30%) are planning to buy electrical items in the January sales, statistically suggesting at least 15 million items (14,940,000) will be bought and left unregistered
  • 2% of the population have experienced physical injury or property damage as a result of a recalled item, that’s almost 1 million people (996,000)

The most common items that are recalled include:

  1. Electrical chargers
  2. Adaptors, including those used for travel
  3. Extension and spare product leads
  4. Hairdryers, tongs and straighteners
  5. Small kitchen appliances like kettles, toasters and irons

Our advice on returning recalled products gives you further information and you can also sign up to receive an email notification when a new product recall has been listed.

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