Product Recalls
Today, we are more reliant than even on a plethora of consumer products heralded to make our lives easier and better. From the ubiquitous smartphone to complex and powerful household appliances, barely a minute goes by when we don’t interact with consumer products in one way or another. Yet, although we are getting more aware of the risks associated with faulty products, we often find ourselves unaware of our rights or what to do when a product is recalled or a safety alert is issued.
These FAQs are designed to help you understand what Product Recalls are all about and to gain an appreciation of your rights if you become affected.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Product Recall?
A product recall is a request by a manufacturer for consumers to return a product after a safety issue or defect has been found that could be dangerous. It is an important means of protecting consumers from the safety risks that can be associated with faulty products or those found to have inherent design defects. In recent years, some product recalls have been high-profile and well publicised. For example overheating phones, tumble dryers or fridges that can cause fire and defects with automotive airbags.
How will I know if a product has been recalled?
Infoo’s team is working hard to pull together various sources of recall and product information so that you can be notified about recalls affecting your products using the Infoo App. There is a great deal of information to assimilate while we have processed a lot of it, we cannot yet commit to having everything available for every product, so you can also help keep yourself informed in other ways too (see How do I research Product Recalls, below).
Infoo is working on a feature to help you seamlessly register your products with manufacturers using the Infoo App because registering your details with a manufacturer is a very good way to ensure that you can be reached by the manufacturer in the event of any product recall information coming to light.
What should I do if I learn about a Product Recall?
If you become aware that a product you own has been recalled or has any safety notice issued against it, you should follow any instructions given to you by the manufacturer. If you don't receive instructions from the manufacturer, check their website (Infoo will often be able to help by directing you to the correct landing page), or if you're concerned, stop using the product straight away.
What is the Product Recall procedure?
Key to your role in the recall procedure will be communication with you about any recall. This is why it is important to register your products and personal details with the manufacturers and/or distributors. That way, you can expect to hear directly from them in the event of a recall. You can also use Infoo’s smartphone app to help you get control of this across a broad portfolio of products.
Provided you have registered with the manufacturer you can expect that the product manufacturer will contact you about any recall and set out the process for addressing the recall safely:-
Provide information about the recall and what steps needs to be taken by you;
Give you an idea of how long the process will take;
Usually ask for proof of purchase - a receipt, for example (you can use Infoo’s App to keep track of product receipts all in one convenient place); and
The manufacturer might arrange for the product to be collected or they could send out engineers to make repairs.
How do I research Product Recalls?
Add your products to the Infoo App and we will keep you updated about recalls for any products for which we hold recall information in our database. The list of products we have details for is expanding all the time. If we don’t have any recall data for your product or product type, you you can still check with the manufacturer or consult a number of other third party resources including, for electrical and some other goods:
The UK Government website at https://productrecall.campaign.gov.uk/
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute here
Electrical Safety First’s website which lists recalled electrical products here
The EU’s Safety Gate RapEx Database website which is linked here
For automotive products:
What are the obligations for the sellers of goods in the UK?
Producers, importers and sellers of goods in the UK are required to ensure that the products they market are safe. If they become aware that a product they are trading is not safe - that there is a risk of serious injury, damage or death, they must take “corrective action”.
Such a product should be “immediately” removed from sale or recalled appropriately. This could mean that the product receives an alteration/modification, repair or undergoes some other process which removes the potential risk of harm to the consumer.
Sellers including manufacturers, importers and distributors are required to make checks to ensure that consumer products are safe. These duties are enforced by Market Surveillance Authorities (known as “MSAs”). With consumer goods we buy at shops, online or second-hand, Trading Standards Officers serve as the main MSAs (see enforcement below). Their role is to prevent unsafe products entering the country at ports, to remove products already on the market, conduct random sampling to identify dangerous products, to offer advice and assistance to businesses and investigate reports of unsafe products.
Although for convenience, there is a tendency to refer to all communications from a manufacturer about specific product safety as “recalls”, there are actually different levels of obligations on manufacturers and distributors, which derive from the type of safety notice that is issued:
Requirement to warn: The manufacturer or distributor must issue a warning about a dangerous product to past and future consumers. This is often given the description 'safety notice'.
Suspension notice: The manufacturer, distributor and retailers must not sell the goods pending the carrying out of safety evaluations, checks and controls.
Withdrawal notice: The manufacturer or distributor must withdraw a dangerous product from the market and may potentially have to warn past customers.
Recall notice: The manufacturer or distributor must recall a dangerous product from all retailers and past customers.
What about Brexit?
Consumers have continued to be protected from 1st January 2021 as there is broad equivalency between the UK’s and the EU’s current approach, although the UK may take a divergent path from the EU in the future. The position for the consumer therefore remains largely the same as it did when the UK was part of the EU. The UK Office for Product Safety & Standards official guidance states that Parliament has only altered those legal provisions in UK regulations and the EU law now incorporated into UK law that would not have worked effectively from 1 January 2021, when the Transition Period ended, without changes. This ensures a functioning regulated UK market from 1 January 2021 which remains in place with the aim of keeping us all safe from defective products.
However there will be some obvious changes. For example, although products in the EU use the “CE” marking to evidence conformity with safety standards, the UK is adopting its own marking regime and we will all come to see the UK Conformity Assessed marking “UKCA” on products in the future.
Some of the obligations of those marketing goods in the UK will change and have implications for businesses. For example, some sellers will become importers of goods into the UK where they were previously bringing goods from within the EU. This can have legal implications for businesses but should not directly impact the consumer.
The UK is committed to establishing its own database of market surveillance and product safety information which will be used in place of the EU’s RapEx (Rapid Exchange) database system.
Who enforces Product Safety in the UK?
There are obligations on manufacturers and distributors to notify the appropriate enforcement agency as soon as they become aware that they are responsible for an unsafe product being offered to consumers on the market. However, in the UK, the appropriate enforcement agency differs depending on the type of product being addressed. For example, whilst Trading Standards deal with a great deal of consumer electrical products, medicines have their own agency in the form of the Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and for foods, the Food Standards Agency are responsible. This does mean that there is no single enforcement agency for all products in the UK.
Will I have to pay anything?
Work required as a result of a recall, such as a modification or a repair, should not be chargeable to the consumer.
As an alternative to a repair, a manufacturer may occasionally offer to replace your item with a new one or to upgrade the product to a better model in return for payment of a sum of money by you. It will be a matter for you to decide whether this represents value to you, having regard to what you paid for the original product and how long you have owned it.
What are my legal remedies under civil law?
Under English law, a purchaser of consumer goods benefits from protection under the provisions of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which require products to be of satisfactory quality and fit for the purpose for which they are intended. They must also be safe and sufficiently tough for their intended use. Prior to 1st October 2015, similar protection was afforded under the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982.
It follows that if a product has been recalled or a safety notice has been issued in relation to it, there is good evidence that it will not have met the standards required under the Consumer Rights Act and you could be entitled to a repair or replacement, or possibly a full refund, depending on the particular circumstances.
If someone is injured as a result of using a defective product, suffers damage (above £275) or worse, is killed as a result, then the Consumer Protection Act 1987 provides statutory protection to the injured person even if they were not the purchaser. However, it might be necessary to bring civil court proceedings in order to achieve a suitable outcome (although most cases are settled well before trial).
You should take independent legal advice before you embark of action under these provisions but you may find that you can reach a sensible outcome by dealing with the seller or manufacturer directly.