Solved

Plastic drum damaged by coin but not covered under guarantee?

SCscottt
Asked over 12 years ago 5,117 views
0

Hi. After several call outs and repairs on washer, (loud banging, jumping about and travelling across floor), 18 months later hoover replaced seal etc and turned washer on and water poured out. After having the machine in bits he found a large hole at the bottom of the plastic casing, this he said was coin damage, and not covered for repair.

Have checked out your forum and can find no dints or damage in the metal drum, no coins have been found.

Having checked out reviews (after purchase!!) This model appears to have problems!! Any advice appreciated.

Solution Summary

AI-generated from this discussion

This thread was marked as solved. Here's a summary of the problem and the fix, generated from the discussion below.

Hole in plastic outer tub attributed to foreign object damage

The problem
A Hoover washing machine leaked heavily after a service visit, when the engineer found a large hole in the plastic outer tub/casing below the drum, about 3 inches by 1 inch. The manufacturer’s engineer said this was coin damage and therefore not covered under guarantee. The owner disputed this because no coin was found and there were no visible dents in the metal inner drum.
Likely cause
The strongest diagnosis in the discussion is impact damage from a foreign object trapped between the inner drum and outer tub, possibly a coin or similar item. However, this was not proven because no object was found and the inner drum was not confirmed to be damaged.
What fixed it
No repair was confirmed in the thread. The advice was that if there was no prior front leak, a badly fitted door seal was unlikely to be the cause of the hole. The owner was advised to challenge how coin damage could be concluded without supporting drum damage, but ultimately accepted that the guarantee claim would not be honoured. Home contents accidental damage insurance was suggested as a possible route for replacement.
Checks to try
  • Engineer found a large hole in the plastic outer tub/casing under the drum
  • Owner reported no visible dents or damage in the metal inner drum
  • No coin or other object was found
  • Discussion noted that a loose door seal would normally cause leaking at the front as soon as water entered
Parts or tools mentioned
  • door seal
  • plastic outer tub/casing

Safety: Further diagnosis should be carried out by a suitably qualified appliance engineer.

Cause identifiedGenerated 13 Aug 2026 · AI summaries can make mistakes — read the full thread below.
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5 Answers

Accepted Answer
0
WH
WhitegoodshelpVerified Engineer
Answered over 12 years ago

If the machine is only a month or so old it's not likely to be one of the "exploding" washing machines if that's what you mean (at least not one of the known ones). They are all from the past (Exploding washing machines).

If no coin was found, and no dints on the drum, I can understand your suspicion that the hole was not caused by a coin. The coin punching through the plastic outer tubs is something I've been warning about for years, however, it's hard to imagine how a coin could be punched through the tub (outer drum) without dinting the drum. It is possible the drum is dinted on a part which can't be seen from inside though, so unless the drum is out it can't be 100% examined.

If it is, and there's no sign of any damage to the drum I would ask them to explain how it's possible. It may be they can't prove it was caused by an object left in a pocket but you can't prove it wasn't unless they accept lack of drum damage. Unfortunately, a piece of the tub coming away can only really be caused by impact from something inside unless you can see some flaw in design where a section has dropped off. The lack of a coin isn't proof it wasn't a coin either, this is because when punched through the outer drum at force they can fly out and get lost out of site.

Have you a photo?

Whitegoods Help — appliance repair expert and forum host.
0
SC
scottt
Answered over 12 years ago

No photo, unfortunately unable to access damage, hole is approx 3 inches by 1 inch and located on the front of the plastic casing just under the drum (can just reachto locate it). Dispute coin damage, engineer said it would have gone down through the seal, but feel that if seal was not on properly as he said at beginning of repair, this could be the main factor in the damage. Previous machine was a nightmare and very noisy, so just assumed that this was just how this model was.

0
WH
WhitegoodshelpVerified Engineer
Answered over 12 years ago

Coins go down the small gap between the revolving drum and outer tub. The minute a door seal came loose or detached water would flood out as soon as any water went into the machine. At the very least it should leak at the front if it was loose, so if it wasn't leaking prior to the flood it probably wasn't causing a problem, maybe he was too hasty in his diagnostics.

Unfortunately, unless by any chance the plastic was punched in to the drum (implying the drum hit something and got damaged (then damage to the outer drum where something forced its way out is going to be viewed by them as an obstruction (not necessarily a coin) which got into the machine.

If a nut and bolt holding the door seal on had come undone (never known it though) and fallen into the drum it could account for it but then the engineer would have found tit missing and would be unlikely to have a replacement.

Whitegoods Help — appliance repair expert and forum host.
0
SC
scottt
Answered over 12 years ago

OK, thanks for taking time to reply and explain things. Think maybe I am smarting at the way hoover are dealing with it and the fact that its just five weeks old (albeit a replacement) Just going to have to accept they not going to sort it and never buy a hoover product again!!!.

Again thanks for your help.

0
WH
WhitegoodshelpVerified Engineer
Answered over 12 years ago

Thanks, it's always tricky in cases like this. Check your home contents insurance to see if you have accidental damage cover, it may be worth claiming a new washer if possible.

Whitegoods Help — appliance repair expert and forum host.

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