Dedicated advice website crashes after Whirlpool recalls half a million washing machines

Whirlpool have admitted having technical problems with a website set up to help families whose washing machines have been recalled.

The Peterborough firm said as many as 519,000 Indesit and Whirlpool models could be a fire risk, and told owners to unplug them.

The issues affects certain machines sold between October 2014 and February 2018.

A website was set up to handle customers' enquiries, but it promptly crashed due to volume of traffic.

On Wednesday morning, the company tweeted to say they're working with their third party provider to fix the website issues.

Those who chose to continue using their machines should only use cold water cycles of 20 degrees or lower as this significantly reduces the risk, Whirlpool said.

This is because the issue is associated with the washing machine's heating element being activated during washing cycles above 20 degrees.

Under the recall, all affected customers will have the choice of either a free-of-charge like-for-like replacement washing machine, or a free-of-charge in-home repair of their existing appliance.

Whirlpool Corporation vice president Jeff Noel said: "We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and concern this may cause to our customers, particularly over the Christmas period, but we hope people will understand that we are taking action because people's safety is our top priority.

"Preparing for a recall of this scale is a complex operation and we are working tirelessly to ensure we are ready to start offering replacements or repairs to our customers from early January."