Product Recalls: Protecting the Consumer

A product recall is common throughout any industry, whether it be automotive, retail, industrial or agricultural to name a few.

According to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC), the nation’s corporate watchdog, a product recall is necessary where “a product is unsafe or likely to cause injury to a person”.

While a recall is generally the responsibility of the manufacturer or supplier and comes in the form of a voluntary action, the government can also exercise their power and order a compulsory recall of a product “if it will or may cause injury to a person and where it appears that the supplier has not taken satisfactory action to prevent the goods from causing injury.”

The tyre industry is not immune, in 2000, one tyre manufacturer activated a recall on millions of tyres manufactured at one of its US plants following greater than average report of incidents involving that particular brand.

The industry reacted quickly.

“JAXQuickfit does not take product recalls lightly –nor would we,” JAXQuickfit Tyres, CEO, Jeff Board said.

“Tyres are the most important feature on a car. A potentially defective tyre on a car can be disastrous.

“If somehow through the manufacturing process a tyre was defective I am confident the supplier and the Australian industry as a whole would react swiftly by calling a recall.”

The recent vehicle recall has impacted several hundred thousand cars globally, including a few hundred in Australia.

Owners of all the vehicles effected in Australia have been notified via mail and a plan is in place for the defects to be corrected free of charge at a time mutually convenient for both parties.

Fixing the defect is the first priority for any manufacturer because the safety of the consumer is paramount; but the biggest job is to re-establish the trust of the consumer and the market place as whole.

Have these latest recalls changed the way you view/feel towards the brands involved?

For more information on product recalls currently active in Australia visit: http://www.recalls.gov.au