Updated Statement Beko Response to Fridge Freezer Safety Issue

LONDON, July 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

We deeply regret any instance involving any Beko product and we are doing all we can to address these issues.  Additionally, we apologise for the frustrations people have experienced trying to reach us.

Since the issue of the fridge freezer became high profile, we have increased our call centre capacity by twenty times and have dedicated additional staff to respond to email enquiries.  We will have three call centres operating on Saturday and Sunday.  We have also increased our capacity to perform modifications by five times and have plans to increase even further.  We have already spoken directly with tens of thousands of consumers.  

Additionally, consumers can now check online if they have an affected product and submit their contact information.  We will then schedule an appointment.  There is no need to contact the call centre again and we ask that consumers please bear with us as we attempt to get back to them.  Please visit our website http://www.beko.co.uk for more details.

Over 500,000 of these products have been sold, and most have been safely in use, some for over ten years.  It is important to realise that the risk to consumers is extremely low.  You can continue to use your fridge freezer, but as with any electrical product, if you notice anything different please contact us. Our original plan, as discussed and supported by Trading Standards was for a phased approach in order to minimise consumer delay and concern.

The BEKO frost free fridge freezer models affected were manufactured between January 2000 and October 2006.  These have a serial number that begins with either 00, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05 or 06 and this information can be found on a label inside the fridge.  Other Beko branded models and all Beko frost free fridge freezers manufactured after this date are unaffected.  Some of the initial delays were caused by unaffected consumers calling the call centres.  Please check you do have an affected product before calling.

Beko is making a free of charge modification to all affected models.  This modification takes approximately 30mins and can be booked by calling 0800 009 4837 or by visiting http://www.beko.co.uk.

The safety of all our products is our highest priority.  Every one of our products is manufactured in compliance with all current EU safety standards and they are independently tested.

Again, we do apologise for the concern and the inconvenience this has caused.