KitchenAid’s poor customer service has got trouble brewing

In November last year our £300 KitchenAid Artisan Nespresso coffee maker started leaking very badly each time it was used.

I contacted the original supplier, Harts of Stur, which stated that as the machine was more than a year old but still within the two-year warranty, we should contact KitchenAid.

We did, and it said we should send the machine to its Belgium site and that it would send us a replacement by return, as it would not be attempting a repair. We tracked the shipment to ensure the machine was received safely.

However, after that, there was no contact unless I called or emailed. Sometimes I would get a call back informing us that, due to post-Brexit difficulties, there were issues with sending us the promised replacement.

This went on for months, until I contacted Harts of Stur to see if it could help. It called KitchenAid on more than one occasion, only to get promises that action was imminent, which, again, never materialised.

Seven months later, we have no coffee machine, or any financial recompense. At this stage, I really don’t think this company is at all committed to resolving this.

Harts of Stur has also said that it is not obliged to offer a replacement.

The KitchenAid Trustpilot page suggests that we are far from being alone in feeling let down.

RO, Yorkshire

In your shoes I would have sent it back to the retailer as, despite what stores are increasingly telling consumers, the contract is between them and the consumer, rather than the manufacturer. The Consumer Rights Act could not be clearer and I pointed this out to Harts of Stur, but have had no response.

KitchenAid, however, has been more forthcoming. It turned out that the machine you returned is no longer being made and it had offered you £300-worth of vouchers. You didn’t really want vouchers, and since we got in touch it has agreed to refund you the full cost in cash.

To apologise for the inconvenience caused, KitchenAid is also sending you a free small appliance of your choice up to the value of £100.

The company is not alone in being caught up in post-Brexit delivery problems, but it will need to get a grip of this in the future. KitchenAid’s Trustpilot page will not make for happy reading at its headquarters.

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