In May, CHOICE raised Thermomix safety concerns with the ACCC through Australia’s first mass incident report, noting that the supplier should have made at least 10 mandatory notifications to the ACCC.
Troublingly, Thermomix is able to suppress its mandatory safety reports under Section 132A Confidentiality of notices given under this Division of Australian Consumer Law. In effect, this allows it to gag the safety regulator and stop the information being made public.
Do you think a company should be able to suppress the fact that its product has caused a death or injury?
As our Thermomix is the most expensive single appliance in our kitchen, we deserve the right to know of any hazards with it. If it wasn’t for Choice we wouldn’t have known about the seal needing replacing every 2 years.I know it is in the fine print but there isn’t enough hours in a day to read pages of fine print for everything you buy.Surely Thermomix could send a friendly reminder to its customers when the seal replacement is coming up as they send enough emails about recipes and how good the gear is.
I have had a Thermomix for 3 years now, and I absolutely love it. I have no illusions that occasionally something may go wrong with it. I wonder how many injuries have been caused by other appliances in our kitchen - deep fryers, food processors, saucepans etc. Whenever you are dealing with hot things, sharp things etc there is a danger. When I received my machine, there was so much information, I can’t honestly say whether I was informed about the seal or not. I do agree that this kind of information needs to be included in writing somewhere ‘up front and obvious’. However it is still up to us as consumers to thoroughly read all this information, and the truth is, many do not thoroughly read the information they are provided with. Correct me if I am wrong, but one of the women burned was using a cup instead of the MC. The MC does not cause a seal to form, and allows air to escape. The machine can not be blamed for an incorrect lid being used which would have caused pressure to build up. I think this has been an ideal opportunity to attack a product/appliance that many seem to have an issue with. A classic case of tall poppy syndrome, that this country is all too good at.
This is not a case of the tall poppy syndrome, this is about ensuring consumers are able to make an informed choice about a product that is subject to a national product safety recall.
Perhaps clarity for consumers as to which models are part of the issue. My thermomix is 8 years old and as far as I am aware it is not one that is affected by the seal issue. Also I thought the new thermomix TM5 was also not affected.
How about publishing the serial numbers or similar identifying numbers of the ones that were an issue so people can check themselves and also be aware when buying second hand models.
Consumers have a right to know if there are any issues with products they have purchased. I have repeatedly contacted thermomix regarding the recall as I have NEVER been contacted by them with any information about a new seal. We now have the most expensive kitchen appliance any home can have sitting in the back of a cupboard as we are too scared to use it. Waste of money on every level.
I’ve had a Thermomix for about 5 years ago and I love it. It’s the model before the recall. I didn’t know about replacing the seal either - I have just bought a spare seal but haven’t replaced it yet. I think, like with most things, if you’re sensible and go by the instructions, there shouldn’t be any problems - except for that recalled model! So don’t give up on it.
I agree with you! I don’t own a Thermomix (just waiting for a lotto win) However a friend of mine has had one for 20 years. She told me about it, when no one has even heard of it. She saw some in Italy, and HAD to have one. She says that any accident must be from mis-use as she has never had a problem AND she has never replaced the seal in those 20 years.
She also thinks that the request for returning the machine is fair - she thinks they would probably return them to Germany, as it has a “black box” in it, so they could look at that in Germany and discover the cause of the mishap.
Having said that, I don’t like the way the person that owns the franchise in Australia conducts her business. For starters, she never reduced the price when the Dollar was in parity, she just made more profit. Also the way she didn’t tell customers about the new model coming out, was not very fair. Also, trying to silence the people with problems is also not very ethical.
Our testing found but both the TM31 and the TM5 lack a safety feature that’s built in to a number of the these latest machines which prevents users from blending hot liquids at high speeds. You can read more here:
Interesting to read the claim about the ‘black box’. Our investigation found “a number of Thermomix owners have apparently been told to return their machines to the company so one of its components, the ‘black box’, can be analysed to determine the cause of the lid failure and other malfunctions. But one longtime Thermomix Australia consultant and former branch manager and group leader told us the black box only records weight and time of use. ‘They [Thermomix Australia] are lying when they say it will tell you what happened with the lid.’” More here: https://www.choice.com.au/home-and-living/kitchen/all-in-one-kitchen-machines/articles/thermomix-safety-risks-and-customer-service-issues
Thanks for your comment. Our testing found but both the TM31 and the TM5 lack a safety feature that’s built in to a number of the these latest machines which prevents users from blending hot liquids at high speeds.You can read more here:
I would be interested to know whether Vorwerk is even aware of Thermomix Australia’s behaviour? I presume she (I have been told that the owner is a female FWIW) purchases the machines off Vorwerk and that may be the end of it, possibly without being able to return unsold ones (hence trying to flog the old model off) She probably bought large quantities while our Dollar was great and then got stuck with them, when the new model came out. She makes a large profit on them anyway, I happen to know how much they are in Europe (retail price, which of course is NOT what she’d get them for) I do know about the Ausralia tax, but she is extra greedy.
Given the state of our press these days my biggest problem is who do you believe. Unless it is a statement of fact, like there was a car accident on such and such road and 2 people died, it is very hard to believe anything anymore because too many times reporters just make things up to make a story sound good. In fact they are that pathetic these days they can’t even be bothered to do spelling and grammar checks on their own articles.
I have read versions from both sides in the press but cannot decide which to believe.
I have made numerous complaints to Thermomix and Choice. Have recently been sent the seal but am told that mine isn’t a machine affected. It definitely is and I will never use the machine again.
What’s going on with the ‘case’?
