ive just had the exact same problem on a 14 month old machine, after kicking off with hotpoint who wanted a £99 to fix it they informed me it was a blockage, after a bit of digging around on the net i found out u can replace the pump, but you dont need to do this, u need to take the machine out so u can tilt it back (warning, it will be heavy as full of water) take the 2 screws out of the pump, little black circel thing at the bottom right of your washer. tilt the washer back and clip the pump out then remove the black pipe by squeezing the clip together and pulling, you will find something in the pump(normally a sock) remove it, put it back together and voila.
sportster, April 2009