Maclaren has reviewed their situation in the UK following hundreds of calls to their UK call centre from worried customers. They are now offering customers free hinge covers through their Customer Services centre. See full details in Maclaren's statement:
MACLAREN STATEMENT
Following a great deal of debate and comment in the UK over recent days concerning Maclaren buggies, with particular regard to the exposed side hinges which facilitate the opening and folding the buggy, Maclaren Europe Limited wishes to clarify its position.
Most importantly we wish to reiterate that the safety of our consumers – parents and children – is our primary objective. We would never compromise this and we take all consumer feedback very seriously, both in the design of our products and in supplying clear and unequivocal user instructions.
To this end all of our products are extensively tested prior to launch, including user testing. They also comply with the highest quality and regulatory standards.
We are therefore confident that used according to instructions, as with any mechanical products, all of our buggies are safe, and Mums should continue to use them with confidence.
Dylan Johnson, General Manager of Maclaren UK said ‘Most of the people at Maclaren are parents themselves and understand that our children come first. That’s why we ensure that our products meet and often exceed the EU and US product safety and quality standards.
‘In the last few days, we have heard from hundreds of customers at our call centre and we have been able to reassure them about the quality and safety of our products. Most parents understand that they have to be vigilant when operating mechanical products around children, similar to the care they show when securing children in cars or protecting them around the home. We stress that our buggies are completely safe and fully compliant but if parents remain concerned or worried, we urge them to talk to us.
‘I appreciate completely the concerns this issue has raised with the UK public and our objective is and has always been to reassure parents.’ Maclaren customers who would like further reassurance can;
- Get advice on operating their buggies by contacting our customer services team on 01327 841320
- Obtain hinge covers , which can be used to cover the folding mechanism, free of charge through Customer Services by emailing us at
advice@maclaren.co.uk or by calling us
- Download user instructions for all models online from wwww.maclarenbaby.com
- Follow the user instructions and warning labels on their buggies
