Hager RCBO recall reminder

Hager Electro is reminding wholesalers and electricians that the recall of its single module RCBOs from 2012 is still open, and it will continue to offer compensation for faulty returned products.

The electrical product safety recall affects the company’s Single Module RCBO (Combination RCD and MCB) ‘mono’ range sold throughout Australia and New Zealand from July 2010, including the following products:

• AD310T — 1 module RCBO 10 A 30 mA
• AD316T — 1 module RCBO 16 A 30 mA
• AD320T — 1 module RCBO 20 A 30 mA
• AD325T — 1 module RCBO 25 A 30 mA

The company is continuing to offer compensation for each returned, recalled RCBO, including a replacement RCBO circuit breaker and an incremental payment for labour.

While the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission did not mandate the recall of the circuit breakers, given the number of faulty devices (0.15%), Hager said it implemented the voluntary recall for community safety and the preservation of its reputation in the market.

Ross Magee, managing director of Hager Electro, said that despite the recall, or perhaps because of it, Hager’s market share in this product category increased by over 30%.

“As a company, we communicated the recall extremely well to the market, especially to our wholesale partners. We also committed to compensating contractors fairly for replacing potentially faulty devices,” said Magee.

“As a result, we’ve seen a recall return rate of 23% in Australia and 32% in New Zealand, which is two and a half times the best rates of return seen in the industry’s history.

“Whilst we’re happy with this result, we’d like to do a lot better and are reminding wholesalers and electricians that the recall is still open and they should be on the lookout for any of the old, faulty product. Our hotline and online registry are still open. We’d like to see a return of above 40% in both Australia and New Zealand.”

Magee said while feedback from the recall had been positive, the bump in market share could also be attributed to the release of the next generation of products, which he said are safer and 10 times faster to install when using the company’s OneKonekt system.

“We’re known in the market for our quality and integrity. This is perhaps in stark contrast to a flood of cheap products in the market that aren’t even meeting basic safety standards,” he said.

“By and large, the industry’s self-policing regulatory system doesn’t seem to be working. This is a systemic problem and it needs to be addressed.”

Discovery of one of the products affected by the recall (installed or in stock) requires the unit to be:

• replaced with a compliant RCBO;
• registered (go to: http://www.hagerelectro.com.au/downloads-services-support/electrical-safety-recall/6862.htm);
• returned to Hager.

For more information, contact the recall hotline on 1300 786 685 or go to Hager’s recall webpage.

Image caption: Ross Magee, managing director of Hager Electro. Image courtesy of Hager.