A woman who bought one of the now-recalled Samsung washing machines says she thought something was amiss when she noticed a sticker advising not to install it in a wet area.
The company has recalled 36,000 top-loading machines after two caught fire in homes in Auckland and Masterton over the past fortnight.
Another consumer, Ruth Kerr, bought a machine about 10 days before the recall and says the warning sticker made her suspicious over whether Samsung was aware of the problem when it sold the machines.
Ms Kerr's machine did not catch fire but a technician did an inspection, put a plastic bag around the wires and advised having it on only when someone was at home. It has now been replaced by the retailer, Noel Leeming.
Samsung is urging people who think they have one of the recalled machines to contact its call centre.
In Australia, 150,000 machines are being recalled after 15 washing machine fires.