OAN’s James Meyers
12:15 PM – Friday, August 25, 2023
Whirlpool has agreed to pay an $11.5 million civil fine on Thursday over dangerous cooktops for their consumers.
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The fine comes after the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) stated, Whirlpool failed to immediately report that its glass cooktops could turn on by themselves, posing burn and fire hazards.
The settlement included 17 models of electric radiant heat cooktops from brands KitchenAid, Whirlpool and JennAir.
According to the CPSC, the complaints from customers began in November 2017 and continued until 2019.
The customers claimed that their cooktops would turn on by themselves, which could cause a hazard, leading to serious injury or death.
The CPSC claimed that the appliance brand did not do anything about the issue until they received 157 reports, which included 14 for property damage, four of objects igniting, and two for minor burns.
In August of 2019, Whirlpool and the CPSC announced a recall of 26,300 cooktops. In a statement, Whirlpool claimed they acted “appropriately” when they identified the issue, and recalled it in a timely manner under the CPSC’s Fast Track Recall Program.
Under the settlement agreement, Whirlpool agreed to ensure the products are within compliance with federal consumer product safety laws.
Furthermore, the appliance brand said they reached out to its customers and offered to replace the faulty appliances for free.
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By: OAN
