Zip took 16 months to warn about jug fault

Press, 3 July 1986, Page 6

Zip took 16 months to warn about jug fault

PA Auckland Zip Holdings discovered a defect in its hot water jugs more than a year before warning the public of the potentially dangerous fault, the Consumer Institute reports. The institute has criticised the company for the delay, although the institute said no-one had been seriously scalded. Zip warned of the fault in the Zip Nova jug handles in May — 16 months after this was detected. Zip Holdings’ general manager, Mr lan Drysdale, said the defect was not revealed earlier because “we didn’t know what we were dealing with.” The company wanted to find the cause and extent of the problem first, he said. The fault was traced to a batch of mouldings produced in late 1984, and about 300 jugs were affected. At least 20 buyers have complained that the main body of the jug broke off the lid and handle assembly — once when a

jug was full of just-boiled water. The Product Safety Council administrator, Mr Frank O’Neill, said he was concerned the warning took so long to come and that the company planned to announce it only through the “Consumer” magazine. He said that after he approached the firm Zip immediately issued public notices in 23 newspapers. Manufacturers were not legally required to recall or warn of dangerously faulty products, he said. This should be changed when the Fair Trading Bill became law this year.