Smoking consumer unit

[Flybywyre]

I had a new consumer unit fitted in my flat 13 months ago.
On Saturday as I was about to go out I thought I could smell smoke, thought it must be something outside and left the flat. I only got as far as the end of my path when I decided to go back and check, as I could not smell smoke outside. When I opened the front door not only could I definitely smell some I could see smoke in the air. I opened a walk in type wardrobe where the electrics are situated and could see white smoke coming from the consumer unit.
The area on the unit where the smoke was coming from was labelled "Spare. Cooker. Immersion. Sockets kitchen" I think it was the Immersion that had tripped, which was the only thing on, yet smoke was still coming from it. The RCD for that bank had not tripped. The only way I could stop the smoke was to turn the master switch off. Presumably if I had not have gone back in this would have ignited and burnt the place down?
I also pressume that consumer units going up in smoke like this is very rare.
Two questions please.
Firstly How could this happen ? I thought that the idea of the individual trips and the bank RCD were there to specifically to stop this sort of thing happening.
Secondly can I expect the consumer unit to be replaced free of charge?
The electrician who installed it is coming tomorrow to replace it.
Thanks in anticipation of any replies,
FBW

 

[oldtimer]

Cheers for that Tony Many thanks

 

[telectrix]

They are made by electrium. You get paid £75 to visit a suspect site plus any new mcb cost.

 

[tony mc]

I only got the £75 per visit and had to pay for the mcb used plus they wanted me to pay postage to send any faulted ones back.(Only a couple went back the rest went in the bin)

I did get them to exchange the ones I had in stock left over from jobs after a while on the phone.

 

[Des 56]

I have changed quite a lot of the batch fault numbered breakers and seen relatively few scorched and overheated ones
I have to say that getting replacement breaker money for that type of damage wouldn't do the owner justice

I suspect this is a definite compensation case.
The danger of that extending to the rest of the house seems very real and Wylex ought to do the moral thing and pay through the nose for its shoddy materials, if only to preserve any quality image they may have left

Get at them I would suggest,with threats of making those pictures available to the wider public