Boiling water tap has become dangerous
Discussion
Not a motoring question... but a legal/consumer rights type issue which I hope someone can help with.
2.5 years ago I purchased and fitted a boiling water tap to my kitchen sink. I have now noticed, that simply through ordinary use, the mechanical interlock that stops you operating the boiling water tap accidentally, has worn out and failed.
The tap features two identical handles on each side, to mimic the look of a normal 'Victorian' hot/cold mixer tap. The right hand side tap handle operates the hot/cold flow by moving it up and down, and pulling it outwards to start the flow. The left hand side tap handle starts the flow of boiling water, by being moved down. There is a small press-in button on it, that you previously had to press, to start the flow. This was the safety interlock.
I found out that this safety interlock had failed, when a guest at my house almost burned themselves when operating the tap.
As the boiling water side has a very thin red ring around the base of the tap, they thought it was the hot tap and turned it on to wash their hands. The other side tap the same ring, but in black, making it look like one side is hot and the other cold. Boiling water came out and they realised from the steam that something was wrong and pulled their hand back before touching the water.
I contacted the company who have basically told me to get lost as my 2 year warranty expired 6 months ago. I went back to them and said it wasn't a matter of warranty, it was a matter of safety, is the tap fit for purpose, why has it failed into a dangerous state and not failed safe, my child could have turned it on, and so on.
Any suggestions as to what to do next? I'm not after 'compo' but hopefully some sort of recall that informs other owners of the potential danger.
Who would I report them to for what I see as a potentially unsafe product?
2.5 years ago I purchased and fitted a boiling water tap to my kitchen sink. I have now noticed, that simply through ordinary use, the mechanical interlock that stops you operating the boiling water tap accidentally, has worn out and failed.
The tap features two identical handles on each side, to mimic the look of a normal 'Victorian' hot/cold mixer tap. The right hand side tap handle operates the hot/cold flow by moving it up and down, and pulling it outwards to start the flow. The left hand side tap handle starts the flow of boiling water, by being moved down. There is a small press-in button on it, that you previously had to press, to start the flow. This was the safety interlock.
I found out that this safety interlock had failed, when a guest at my house almost burned themselves when operating the tap.
As the boiling water side has a very thin red ring around the base of the tap, they thought it was the hot tap and turned it on to wash their hands. The other side tap the same ring, but in black, making it look like one side is hot and the other cold. Boiling water came out and they realised from the steam that something was wrong and pulled their hand back before touching the water.
I contacted the company who have basically told me to get lost as my 2 year warranty expired 6 months ago. I went back to them and said it wasn't a matter of warranty, it was a matter of safety, is the tap fit for purpose, why has it failed into a dangerous state and not failed safe, my child could have turned it on, and so on.
Any suggestions as to what to do next? I'm not after 'compo' but hopefully some sort of recall that informs other owners of the potential danger.
Who would I report them to for what I see as a potentially unsafe product?
Edited by Technotronic on Friday 31st May 11:08
Simpo Two said:
I would call it lesson learned and buy a kettle.
Boiling water out of a tap never made sense to me - too dangerous.
They are incredibly convenient, much faster than a kettle when you want a cuppa, and save a considerable amount of electricity compared to a kettle. Boiling water out of a tap never made sense to me - too dangerous.
I work from home and drink many cups of tea and coffee throughout the day, and standing waiting for a kettle to boil each time would really annoy me after the instant convenience of a boiling tap. These boiling water taps are hugely popular, and once you've had one you would be very very reluctant to go back to a kettle!
The issue is that I seem to have stupidly bought one from a brand that hasn't designed the safety mechanism very well. All the other brands seem perfectly fine for safety. Worse than that, is that I have now looked at the brand on Trustpilot and it is riddled with angry 1 star reviews about people saying their safety mechanism also broke.
It isn't really about the money as much as it is about holding them to account in some way for producing such a product that, according to Trustpilot, has burned an awful lot of people.
Edited by Technotronic on Friday 31st May 11:09
lord trumpton said:
its out of warranty so thats that.
time to move on
Irrespective of warranty, is there is no way to go after them, or report them, for producing a product that fails dangerously?time to move on
As per my above post, I'm not that bothered about the money to buy a new one, I'm keener to hold them to account for something I consider unsafe.
Trustpilot is riddled with complaints about this company, from people who have also experienced the safety mechanism failing, often getting burned.
I'm not some kind of warrior for justice, but I feel like I'm happy to waste a few hours on this one complaining to whoever I have to.
Edited by Technotronic on Friday 31st May 11:13
miniman said:
Nonsense, our Quooker is so safe that when my mother is visiting we have to get the kettle out as she simply can’t comprehend the method to make it work 
This.The safety mechanism on other taps, such as Quooker, seems like it would fail completely safe due to the design. It is also extremely difficult to accidentally turn on the boiling water on a Quooker without knowing the procedure.
This one we have seems a really, really bad design once you find out how it works.
Technotronic said:
Not a motoring question... but a legal/consumer rights type issue which I hope someone can help with.
2.5 years ago I purchased and fitted a boiling water tap to my kitchen sink. I have now noticed, that simply through ordinary use, the mechanical interlock that stops you operating the boiling water tap accidentally, has worn out and failed.
The tap features two identical handles on each side, to mimic the look of a normal 'Victorian' hot/cold mixer tap. The right hand side tap handle operates the hot/cold flow by moving it up and down, and pulling it outwards to start the flow. The left hand side tap handle starts the flow of boiling water, by being moved down. There is a small press-in button on it, that you previously had to press, to start the flow. This was the safety interlock.
I found out that this safety interlock had failed, when a guest at my house almost burned themselves when operating the tap.
As the boiling water side has a very thin red ring around the base of the tap, they thought it was the hot tap and turned it on to wash their hands. The other side tap the same ring, but in black, making it look like one side is hot and the other cold. Boiling water came out and they realised from the steam that something was wrong and pulled their hand back before touching the water.
I contacted the company who have basically told me to get lost as my 2 year warranty expired 6 months ago. I went back to them and said it wasn't a matter of warranty, it was a matter of safety, is the tap fit for purpose, why has it failed into a dangerous state and not failed safe, my child could have turned it on, and so on. They have told me to jog on.
Any suggestions as to what to do next? I'm not after 'compo' but hopefully a replacement tap and some sort of recall that informs other owners of the potential danger.
Who would I report them to for an unsafe product?
Would your guest still have used the boiling tap (thinking it was only hot water) even if the interlock button worked?2.5 years ago I purchased and fitted a boiling water tap to my kitchen sink. I have now noticed, that simply through ordinary use, the mechanical interlock that stops you operating the boiling water tap accidentally, has worn out and failed.
The tap features two identical handles on each side, to mimic the look of a normal 'Victorian' hot/cold mixer tap. The right hand side tap handle operates the hot/cold flow by moving it up and down, and pulling it outwards to start the flow. The left hand side tap handle starts the flow of boiling water, by being moved down. There is a small press-in button on it, that you previously had to press, to start the flow. This was the safety interlock.
I found out that this safety interlock had failed, when a guest at my house almost burned themselves when operating the tap.
As the boiling water side has a very thin red ring around the base of the tap, they thought it was the hot tap and turned it on to wash their hands. The other side tap the same ring, but in black, making it look like one side is hot and the other cold. Boiling water came out and they realised from the steam that something was wrong and pulled their hand back before touching the water.
I contacted the company who have basically told me to get lost as my 2 year warranty expired 6 months ago. I went back to them and said it wasn't a matter of warranty, it was a matter of safety, is the tap fit for purpose, why has it failed into a dangerous state and not failed safe, my child could have turned it on, and so on. They have told me to jog on.
Any suggestions as to what to do next? I'm not after 'compo' but hopefully a replacement tap and some sort of recall that informs other owners of the potential danger.
Who would I report them to for an unsafe product?
Technotronic said:
Not a motoring question... but a legal/consumer rights type issue which I hope someone can help with.
Any suggestions as to what to do next? I'm not after 'compo' but hopefully a replacement tap and some sort of recall that informs other owners of the potential danger.
Who would I report them to for an unsafe product?
Why would you want to replace a poorly-designed tap with the same?Any suggestions as to what to do next? I'm not after 'compo' but hopefully a replacement tap and some sort of recall that informs other owners of the potential danger.
Who would I report them to for an unsafe product?
It’s really not worth the hassle, and stress. Even posting/replying here is taking your precious time - yes I see the irony in my reply…
Anyway, my point being. Replace it, move on. Life’s too short to be messing about ‘chasing’ anyone for an item of this value.
For ref I have a Quooker Flex 3.
Anyway, my point being. Replace it, move on. Life’s too short to be messing about ‘chasing’ anyone for an item of this value.
For ref I have a Quooker Flex 3.
Technotronic said:
The issue is that I seem to have stupidly bought one from a brand that hasn't designed the safety mechanism very well.
Did you buy it directly from them? Legal liability is with the seller. Is it repairable? If not, you could try a claim on the basis of it being of unsatisfactory quality.Warranties are given to con you into believing that you have no rights once they have expired. If you read the small print they are all qualified by 'this does not affect your statutory rights.'
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 states that items must be of satisfactory quality, as described, fit for purpose and last a reasonable length of time. You have these rights for six years in England and Wales or five years in Scotland.
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 states that items must be of satisfactory quality, as described, fit for purpose and last a reasonable length of time. You have these rights for six years in England and Wales or five years in Scotland.
micky g said:
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 states that items must be of satisfactory quality, as described, fit for purpose and last a reasonable length of time. You have these rights for six years in England and Wales or five years in Scotland.
That doesn’t mean it has to last that long without being repaired - try getting a car repaired FOC once out of warranty.However if the item can’t be repaired then the CRA could be useful.
Technotronic said:
Irrespective of warranty, is there is no way to go after them, or report them, for producing a product that fails dangerously?
As per my above post, I'm not that bothered about the money to buy a new one, I'm keener to hold them to account for something I consider unsafe.
Trustpilot is riddled with complaints about this company, from people who have also experienced the safety mechanism failing, often getting burned, and getting told to sod off.
I'm not some kind of warrior for justice, but I feel like I'm happy to waste a few hours on this one complaining to whoever I have to.
The tap sounds dangerous now - how much did it cost? As you say if you’re not that bothered about the money then just get a new one. Can you fit it yourself?As per my above post, I'm not that bothered about the money to buy a new one, I'm keener to hold them to account for something I consider unsafe.
Trustpilot is riddled with complaints about this company, from people who have also experienced the safety mechanism failing, often getting burned, and getting told to sod off.
I'm not some kind of warrior for justice, but I feel like I'm happy to waste a few hours on this one complaining to whoever I have to.
Technotronic said:
They are incredibly convenient, much faster than a kettle when you want a cuppa, and save a considerable amount of electricity compared to a kettle.
How can they save any money, never mind a considerable amount, vs a kettle? Even making tea for two ours boils in the time it takes to get everything else together. We refill the kettle ( with just a bit more than 2 mugs full ) while the tea is brewing so no time lost there and it’s ready to go next time.
number2 said:
This.The product will be CE marked and so should fail safe. The manufacturer of the product should care about a failure like this, it’s not a warranty issue, but a consumer electrical goods safety one.
Sheepshanks said:
Technotronic said:
They are incredibly convenient, much faster than a kettle when you want a cuppa, and save a considerable amount of electricity compared to a kettle.
How can they save any money, never mind a considerable amount, vs a kettle? Even making tea for two ours boils in the time it takes to get everything else together. We refill the kettle ( with just a bit more than 2 mugs full ) while the tea is brewing so no time lost there and it’s ready to go next time.
I would suggest you sign up and become a member of Which?
You can then write/call them and explain the situation, to which (excuse the pun) they would investigate and contact the company on your behalf, especially if they are based in the UK.
Although the product is out of its warranty period, there is still a general expected length of service that a device should last for a while before failing catastrophically. Think TVs, washing machines etc. I would expect this tap to fall into the same category.
The fact that this is a safety issues, due to boiling hot water, they would definitely want to know more. They are not afraid to name and shame, if they can prove beyond doubt a product is dangerous.
IANAL, but Which? do have a helpful legal team that is available to their subscribers.
You can then write/call them and explain the situation, to which (excuse the pun) they would investigate and contact the company on your behalf, especially if they are based in the UK.
Although the product is out of its warranty period, there is still a general expected length of service that a device should last for a while before failing catastrophically. Think TVs, washing machines etc. I would expect this tap to fall into the same category.
The fact that this is a safety issues, due to boiling hot water, they would definitely want to know more. They are not afraid to name and shame, if they can prove beyond doubt a product is dangerous.
IANAL, but Which? do have a helpful legal team that is available to their subscribers.
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