Shoppers beg for recall of ‘dangerous’ Kmart item
Frustrated customers are urging the store to recall a $14 appliance they claim bursts into flames.
Frustrated customers are urging a major department store to recall a $14 appliance that shoppers allege is prone to bursting into flames.
Nick Morgan bought Kmart’s 7 Cup Rice Cooker for $14 from a store in Brisbane, and had used it sporadically.
But, claims Mr Morgan, it wasn’t until his daughter used it that things went terribly wrong.
“She left the kitchen and came back to an acrid, plastic burning smell coming from the rice cooker,” Nick told Yahoo News Australia.
“She lifted the lid from it and saw it wasn’t steam but smoke coming from it.“
“[Then] she took out the bowl and saw there was a flame in the bottom of the cooker.”
He said if his daughter, who was with her eight-month-old baby, had been in another part of the house at the time things could have ended very differently.
Nick claimed when he reported it to Kmart the person on the other end of the phone “couldn’t have been less concerned”.
Mr Morgan believes the product shouldn’t be sold in store anymore.
He isn’t the only person to have an issue with the rice cooker, with many taking to the community review website Product Review to complain about it.
“Do not buy. We didn’t even get a single use out of the cooker. It heated up so much that it started smoking. After that, it would not turn on,” one frustrated shopper said.
Another said: “My rice cooker burnt out and started smoking and had a acid bad smell. Very dangerous. The only reason I haven’t returned to Kmart is I lost my receipt. VERY DANGEROUS – do not buy.”
“The price of this unit should’ve set alarm bells off, it was $14. The first couple of times it worked well so I thought perhaps I dodged a lemon. Alas, that was not the case,” one added.
“The last time I used this appliance it went to “keep warm” despite very little absorption of the water. It had a dreadful smell of burning like something was melting. It went into the bin.”
However, not everyone has had a bad experience with the rice cooker. It has currently amassed over 700 reviews on Kmart’s site, with an impressive 4.6 rating.
“Wow so cheap, I did not think it would be any good. Put rice and water in turn on and forget. No more messy pots to clean. This is a dream,” one said.
Another said: “These are fantastic. Simple, easy to use. I have been using a friends one for the last six months and don’t want to go back to doing stove top rice again. The rice comes out all fluffy in this. The key is to rinse the rice really well first.”
News.com.au reached out to Kmart for comment and we were told that the store investigates any quality issues relating to its products. It also told us that this particular product has been sold by the store for a number of years.
“At Kmart, we take the quality and safety of all our products very seriously,” a Kmart spokesperson told news.com.au.
“While this product complies with all required standards we investigate any quality issues that are raised with us. We encourage any customer who experiences an issue with a product to get in touch with our customer service team to ensure that it can be investigated properly.
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