Are sold the world over, and when you consider that we can buy the home versions here in the US at very reasonable prices, you realize just how fortunate we really are.
Was walking by the laundry room in the building yesterday and there was water going across the floor into the floor drain. Well one of these lost its cookies and was "draining" from the bottom. It had a lot of black residue on the floor along with the water. Don't know if it was from the belt or what. Taken out of service and will be replaced this week.
Sounds like the drain pump self destructed? I know they can get debris in them, when I first got mine a coin somehow got in it during agitation. I put it in spin for a moment and that purged it out.