Cheap coffee machine prices at cost of awful communication and service
Purchased an Italian coffee machine back in October 2019.Good price, quick product receipt from manufacturer.
There the good news ends. After sales service is appalling and if you have an issue with a product after purchase, you'll wish you had paid that bit more to buy from a reputable retailer.
My machine failed after the manufacturer installed plug melted. No idea if this was a fault with the machine or a power surge. Either way, that meant the item was still live and connected to the mains after it should have blown the fuse at worst. This could have electrocuted me or my family.
After 2 weeks, the company finally advised where I could send the machine to for repair, at my cost of packaging and shipping with no detailed instructions or clear way to see how I would be refunded. After shipping the product I was then contacted by Minipcaffe to advise they had given me the wrong shipping address. More hassle for me to contact the courier and rearrange delivery. Now, after the product being with the repair service for 2 days, Minipcaffe have got in touch saying the packaging was poor, the machine has water in it (and saying I probably left the tank full of water before shipping which I know I didn't!?! ) and potentially the machine has been damaged. Again more hassle for me as the buyer of a £2k coffee machine.
God knows how long I'm going to have to wait now, when or if I will be refunded and what sort of state they will try and return the machine to me in.
Awful experience, condescending approach in communications and a terrible failure to take real responsibility or adequate action.
Do not buy through Paypal if you want any consumer protections, as they have no interest in protecting your consumer rights and left me high and dry in any negotiations with Minipcaffe, who made things up as they went along.
Update:
I did finally get a refund on returning this machine. Minipcaffe have confirmed they are dishonest company with their below reply. I had to send the product back directly to the manufacturer, after the manufacturer agreed to a refund and me constantly asking them for help. NOT Minipcaffe. I had to provide pictures of my packing return and double packed it to ensure adequate protection during shipping, which was acknowledged on receipt. Minipcaffe never handled or processed the return as they do not have operating sites in Europe and only act as a middle man to deal with all orders through 3rd parties, so they are lying here about the state of the returned machine
6 March 2020
Unprompted review