# Smeg oven problem



## mike_bailey (May 7, 2002)

We had this Smeg oven installed in our new kitchen a few weeks ago http://www.smeguk.com/Catalogue/Product ... eq=2006001

Mrs B mentioned before that the control knobs (at the top) get rather hot. Tonight she actually got a nasty burn on her hand when she touched one of them. I touched it as well (in a girly way!) to see how hot it was and wish I hadn't. On closer inspection I found that the back of the knobs are melting. Forgive me for asking a dim question but this 'aint right is it?

Too late to phone them for a rant today but Smeg have already previously refused to swap the oven which was delivered with a dent in it because I didn't report it within 7 days (my fault for not checking it properly when I got it but I felt that it wouldn't have been unreasonable for them to have sorted it out).

My experience with the online retailer I bought it from and Smeg themselves has been very poor. Ideally I want a refund for this oven as it's clearly unsafe IMHO but I suspect I'm about to embark on a period of extreme stress (some here may be aware of my AEG experience recently!). We can then choose something else, probably not Smeg again.

Should I bypass the retailer who clearly doesn't care about his customers and go straight to Smeg? If Smeg concede that the oven is faulty then surely the retailer can't refuse to refund me. How would you play it?


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## jampott (Sep 6, 2003)

Dent or not, it isn't fit for purpose.

I've a similar but much less severe problem with my Neff hob - its stainless steel, and the lettering / graphics are of such poor quality they've almost completely rubbed off after 18 months! I think that's pretty poor, TBH, but there's not much I can do I suspect.

You problem sounds nasty, though. Contact Smeg and see what they suggest. Its either badly designed or the installer missed out some insulation somewhere along the line...


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## Dotti (Mar 9, 2003)

You don't seem to be having much luck with your new kitchen do you?  . A few weeks ago your dishwasher and now your oven! :x . Where is your kitchen from and who fitted it, if you don't mind me asking


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## mike_bailey (May 7, 2002)

Dotti said:


> You don't seem to be having much luck with your new kitchen do you?  . A few weeks ago your dishwasher and now your oven! :x . Where is your kitchen from and who fitted it, if you don't mind me asking


It's a Wickes Shaftesbury kitchen and fitted by a company somebody on here recommended a year or two ago www.qualityjob.co.uk. However, they sub-contract so there'll be a mix of good and bad I guess.

I put up a post about tipping fitters a few weeks ago but was really referring to the lads that did the tiling which was excellent. The kitchen fitter was poor to be honest.

Then Wickes - my dishwasher looked as though it had been layed on it's side and a ton of furniture stacked on top. I've had loads of bits of the kitchen replaced by Wickes since day one and I still have a drawer and door front waiting to be replaced for the second time after they arrived damage. I also have a tap that's not flowing smoothly - fitter says it's the tap and the manufacturer Astracast say it's normal.

Overall just a load of poor quality products and people sent to my house. Trying to run a business and look after a little girl so this was all I needed TBH :?

Business is doing well though and my little girl is wonderful


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## Dotti (Mar 9, 2003)

We had our kitchen fitted last year by a local well established reputable family company that project managed the whole thing from day one including booking the skip for us for our previous kitchen.

We had kitchen fitters then seperate plumbers to do the plumbing job, qualified electricians to do all the electrics etc all employed by the company we went with.

We have granite also. When the tenplate was done that was fine. A week later the granite fitters came back to fit the worksurfaces. Yippie I thought having not had a kitchen for the last four weeks.

Opened the kitchen door to see my delightful kitchen with a grin to find the granite had been fitted all on the piss and the hob cut out was really noticeable it wasn't cemetrical and squiff.

The installations manager I contacted first thing the next day was onto it immediately and came round to look and discovered two walls were slightly out so we had to have those units all refitted and the whole of the 10 meters of granite re-templated and another week to wait :evil: .

Got there in the end. So far really happy with the outcome and touch wood no problems so far. We have Siemens appliances and touch wood all good and friendly to use also.

Every person I know who seems to be having or had a kitchen installed it has never gone smoothly.

Having a kitchen fitted is as stressful as moving I think.

If I were you, get in touch with Smeg and get an engineer to come down and take a look. Your warranty will cover this. He may take one look and recognise the problem or it might be a fault they are not aware of and do recalls on that serial model


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## mike_bailey (May 7, 2002)

Dotti said:


> We had our kitchen fitted last year by a local well established reputable family company that project managed the whole thing from day one including booking the skip for us for our previous kitchen.
> 
> We had kitchen fitters then seperate plumbers to do the plumbing job, qualified electricians to do all the electrics etc all employed by the company we went with.
> 
> ...


I think you're probably right about contacting Smeg as they have a reputation to be proud of. Of course it's a possibility the fitter may have done something wrong but the only people that would be able to tell me would be Smeg.

You're right about it never going smoothly - you really have to project manage these people as they seem to take the easy quick-finish options all the time. Pride in your work is such a rare commodity these days.


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## Dotti (Mar 9, 2003)

Glad my advise helps for once on here  . Do you have a sheet with all the appliances that you have with contact numbers if in the event of failure etc? Wicks should have given you this if the appliances came with your kitchen . Also if you phone smeg and give them the serial number of your appliance and installation date they should be able to tell you when your warranty runs out on it also and what it covers .

Make sure your little girl can't touch your control knobs also. You don't want her getting burnt little fingers


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## mike_bailey (May 7, 2002)

I've got Smeg's number programmed into my mobile as I had a fair run-in with them before over my dent. I'm hoping this might be a reprieve after failing miserably to get them to do anything about it. If I get lucky with Smeg I might go for an AEG oven and a gas-mask next time


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## Mrs Wallsendmag (Dec 13, 2005)

I would contact the people that you bought it from first as the sales contract is with them.It is obviously faulty and within the first six months you dont have to prove it wasnt like that when you got it.


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## mike_bailey (May 7, 2002)

Wallsendmag II said:


> ...within the first six months you dont have to prove it wasnt like that when you got it.


Could you clarify that please - is there a law that I could have resorted to with the dent or something?


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## Mrs Wallsendmag (Dec 13, 2005)

mike_bailey said:


> Wallsendmag II said:
> 
> 
> > ...within the first six months you dont have to prove it wasnt like that when you got it.
> ...


I think it applies when something stops working rather than cosmetic faults it was an EU directive afaik


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## poTTy (Jan 20, 2004)

The Sales of Goods Act covers both the dent and the burning issue.

The goods supplied have to be 'fit for purpose' and that can include their appearance as well as their functionality e.g. you would rightly not accept a car with a dent in.

There is no specific time limit quoted by the Act although you will hear time periods such as 30 days, for cosmetic items where misuse could be inferred, and 6 months for rejecting an item and getting a refund. These are not binding timings and longer timing can be argued.

With the Sale of Goods Act your redress is strictly against the retailer. They in turn then claim their losses separately from the manufacturer. These two actions are not linked i.e. one is not dependent on the other happening. Its important to note that the Act covers replacement or repair over and above and separate from any stated warranty conditions.

If you get no joy using the Sale of Goods Act or the manufacturer's warranty contact Trading Standards and complain that the product is unsafe and a fire risk. This should prompt action from them.


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