Thermomix in Australia, the suppliers of the all-singing-all-dancing kitchen device that has a cult-like following, have been slammed by the consumer watchdog over its treatment of customers.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has started a legal action against the company in the federal court, in which it claims Thermomix in Australia misled customers over their consumer rights, failed to report injuries incurred by users of its appliance, made false representations, and engaged in misleading conduct over the safety of its TM31 model.
It also made false and misleading statements about a 2014 recall of the product, the ACCC alleged.
The company told some customers that they could only get a refund or replacement if they signed non-disclosure agreements that stopped them from criticising the product, while others were told that they couldn’t get refunds or replacements at all, the ACCC said.
The Thermomix has been the must-have appliance of the past few years, with users justifying the high price – almost $2,100 in Australia – by citing the appliance’s 12 functions, that include weighing, chopping, stirring, cooking and freezing.
With the Thermomix dubbed “the most advanced kitchen appliance on the market today”, it was endorsed by Masterchef star George Colombaris and many buyers were so enthusiastic about the product that they formed social media groups to share photographs and recipes. A Tupperware-style in-home demonstration system of sales helped add to the exclusive allure of the device.
But Thermomix was forced to recall the TM31 in 2014 after multiple customers were burned after seals on the appliance failed.
“In rare circumstances, if a potentially affected Thermomix TM31 is operated at high RPMs, (i.e. at a high speed of four or above) and then is immediately switched to the ‘lid open’ position, there is a possibility that liquid or food may splash out of the mixing bowl,” the company said at the time, adding that the defect could lead to scalding or burning if the liquid or food touched the user.
Thermomix in Australia’s response to people that complained about the product’s faulty seal is at the heart of the ACCC’s accusations.
Consumer advocacy group Choice said that its own investigation found that Thermomix in Australia “played hardball with numerous consumers after they received severe burns caused by the failure of the company’s TM31 machine and tried to downplay the national recall of its flagship product”.
“A number of cases reported that when the company was informed of an incident, they blamed the consumer by classifying the product’s failure as ‘user error’,” Choice’s campaigns director Matt Levey said today, after the ACCC’s legal action was announced.
Choice said that it knew of at least 87 cases of users that were burned by their Thermomix, including 18 that required medical treatment.
Thermomix in Australia, which according to its site was founded by Grace and Witek Mazur in 2001, said that it had been aware of the ACCC’s investigation for some time and had cooperated with the probe.
“Our highest priority is the wellbeing and satisfaction of our customers, consultants and partners,” the company said in a statement provided to Starts at 60. “As the matter is subject to legal proceedings, it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to comment further at this time.”
The product itself is made by a German company called Vorwerk & Co, which first launched the Thermomix in 1971.