Recommendation 8

It is unacceptable that a customer who has been through a distressing incident, such as a house fire, should not be told how that incident occurred. We welcome the Minister’s intervention to obtain this information. However, there is a broader issue here. Consumers need to be confident that when they buy goods that there is transparency and trust between themselves and manufacturers, especially if those goods malfunction and cause injuries or major damage to homes. It is also imperative that fire safety organisations see such reports if they are to plan responses and input into product safety improvements. We recommend that the Government reviews what rights consumers have when they request information from a manufacturer if a product malfunctions and how much information is shared with safety organisations, such as the Fire Service.