Cooking device maker Thermomix has been fined $4.6 million after at least nine users were left with severe burns in what has been described as a serious breach of Australian consumer law.
Federal Court judge Bernard Murphy slapped the fine on the company after it admitted it had not informed the government that its products had burned or scalded some customers.
In handing down the penalty, Justice Murphy said Thermomix had information its products were potentially dangerous but did not tell consumers.
“This is a serious contravention of the act. A large number of consumers were exposed to the risk of serious burns,” Justice Murphy said
Justice Murphy said senior management at Thermomix was aware of the problem but did not act.
“They did not cover themselves in glory … they made the deliberate decision not to inform the consumers,” he added.
The findings were made after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission took action against the cooking device giant.
The case focused on the nine people who were severely injured by the product, but Justice Murphy said scores more customers received injuries while using their Thermomix.
Thermomix, a fad cooking device that costs over $2000 and promises to make cooking a quick and easy process, sold over 9000 products in 2014 despite the group being aware its product could cause serious injury.
A problem with the lid on its mixing bowl led to more than 70 Australians suffering severe to minor injuries after using the machine.
A company is required under Australian consumer laws to notify the government within 48 hours if it has information that its product could kill or injure people. In some instances, Thermomix took years to notify the relevant minister of its issues.
Thermomix was also found to have misled and deceived customers by issuing a press release in late 2014 stating its product was safe and there was no recall.
Those two statements were false, Justice Murphy said, adding the wide distribution of the press release in media stories compounded Thermomix’s breaches of consumer law as did its repeated representations to customers that they could not receive a refund without first singing a gag order.
The company has agreed to the findings and penalties.
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