Page 1 of Wharfedale deathtrap

My Wharfedale TV decided to just burst into flames today, I thank god that no damage to myself or to the house was done, but this is outrageous!!

Was sitting watching the telly, when all of a sudden smoke started coming out of the back of the TV.

Upon close inspection i saw that there were flames inside the telly, which were getting larger.

So in an adrenaline fuelled frenzy I unplugged everything and grabbed the 28 inch screen TV which is under a year old and managed to get it out of the house, whilst the flames were getting huge!!

as soon as it was out side, the fire got worse.

The firmen had to put it out.

The scarey thing is, if it had been inside even 2 minuites longer the house would have been on fire!!

To be honest I dont Know how i managed to get it out so quick on my own, but thank god I did.

I suppose it serves me right for buying a cheap Wharfedale from tescos....

But honestly speaking, I am Livid! How can they make TV`s in this day and age that just burst into flames like that!!!

i do remember that tesco`s had a recall on warfedale widescreen tv`s
obviously you did not hear about it?

There have been product safety notices in Tescos stores, their website and on the Wharfedale website for months about having these TVs checked. The problem, I believe, is with a soldered connection which was found on some to be inadequate and overheated causing the problem you have experienced.

Contact the Tesco helpline, who I am sure will make good the situation. After all they are responsible for the goods they sell and have admitted the problem with the safety check notices. It doesn`t matter how much or little you paid for the TV, you have a right to it operating safely. Make sure they pay for any damage caused rather than your insurance company!

Thanks guys!

I will definately contact the tesco helpline,

lest see what they say.

Deadly.

Wharfedale 28 Inch Widescreen Televisions Models 890 And M8
Safety Notice: 6th May 2001

The following notice has been published in the national press:

URGENT SAFETY NOTICE
Wharfedale 28" Widescreen TVs (Model 890 and M8)
As a precautionary measure, Profilo Electronics is modifying some 28" widescreen TVs which may contain a faulty component. In some circumstances the fault could cause overheating and a fire risk. The faulty component is only contained in the following Televisions:

Wharfedale 28" Widescreen TV Model 890 (Black)
Wharfedale 28" Widescreen TV Model M8 (Silver)

The model number can be found written on the back of the Television and in the instruction booklet.

If you have not yet contacted us you must without delay:
Those customers who have had this fault rectified by our engineers do not need to contact us again.

* Turn the set off and unplug it.
* Do not use the TV.
* Contact the customer helpline on the number below.
A free of charge home visit will be arranged to check, and if necessary modify your set.
No other sizes or models of Wharfedale TV are affected.

Freephone 0800 0732473
Lines are open from 9.00am - 5.00pm

Profilo Electronics apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Mine was not a Widescreen Model 890 or M8!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mine was a normal 4:3 Televsion. Model: TV-550, which is not part of the recall!

This item was edited on Tuesday, 18th December 2001, 23:26

Phoned the Tesco where I got the TV from today, spoke to a nice lady on the customer services desk, who asked if I could bring in the remains of the TV in to the store.

So I shovelled the remains of the TV into it`s original box, put it in my car and set off for Tescos. I happened to first go to the wrong Tescos in Feltham, and therefore had the displeasure of meeting their `customer service` staff,

After telling the lady on the counter what had happened, she replied to my horror: "so what, it`s an electrical thing, you can expect it to happen".

Her manager then comes and tells me; seeming unconcerned about my story that Tesco had done all they could by advertising a recall for the affected models with a known defect. She said she couldn’t help me.
ALL OF THIS WITHOUT ASKING WHAT MODEL I HAD PURCHASED.

She then pointed out upon looking at my receipt that I had purchased the TV from the other Feltham Tesco.

So I prodded along to the other Tesco, totally disillusioned, and demoralised.
Thankfully I met the lady I had spoken to on the phone. She was shocked to hear how her colleagues had acted. She looked at the box I had bought in, and told me straight away that the model I had bought (TV-550) was not part of the recall!!!!

She was seemed genuinely concerned about what had happened with my TV and promised to take this up with Wharfedale.
She also said that I can have a replacement TV of my choice up to the same value, and I can guarantee you I will never touch a Wharfedale again personally.
Thanks to this lady this issue is going to be treated how it should, and I will be allowed to take this serious matter further with Wharfedale, and also my faith in Tesco has been resolved.
Hopefully this will never happen to anyone again, especially if they cannot physically throw it out of their house before it burns down!!!!!

You could have taken the `aul hose out and extinguised the flames in a naturally sterilising way............(!!!!!)

The problem with the Wharfedale electrical products is that the Huntingdon-based firm simply badge them, they don`t actually manufacture them.

I suspect these players are of Far East origin. It`s still worth letting them know about it, but they`ll advise you that overall responsibility for the supply and distribution of their TVs and DVD players rests with Tesco.

That surely was some shocking treatment from Tesco, mind...

When i was younger i thought Wharfdale was one of the exclusive brands for HI-FI etc ???????
Now it seems to produce is cheap cr*p.