The Australian consumer watchdog is taking Thermomix to court for failing to report 14 serious injuries from its product in time and misleading consumers about guarantee rights.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched Federal Court action on Friday after the household kitchen appliance company did not report the 14 injuries within the mandatory two-day period.
ACCC acting chair Delia Rickard said the law requires that suppliers tell the ACCC as soon as they are aware of a person suffering an injury from their goods.
Thermomix is also being sued over its TM31 model, which was recalled in 2014.
"In relation to the safety of the TM31 model, it is alleged that Thermomix made false representations and engaged in misleading conduct by representing to consumers that it was not aware of any safety issue," Ms Rickard said on Friday.
Thermomix allegedly continued to supply the TM31 when it was aware of the safety issue and did not disclose the problem to consumers as soon as it became aware.
The ACCC also argues Thermomix caused false or misleading statements to be made in the media about the nature of the October 2014 recall, in March last year.
Thermomix Australia released a statement on Friday saying it was co-operating fully with the ACCC's investigation.
"As always, our highest priority is the wellbeing and satisfaction of all our customers, consultants and partners," the statement says.
Consumer watchdog CHOICE campaigns director Matt Levey said Thermomix played "hardball" with consumers who were severely burned while using the TM31 machine, with some forced to sign non-disclosure agreements before their refund rights were granted.
He said more transparency around product safety was needed.
"At present while businesses have an obligation to report any product safety incident that causes death or serious injury, there is no requirement for these reports to be made public," Mr Levy said.
The ACCC is seeking declarations, pecuniary penalties, injunctions, corrective publication orders, compliance program orders and costs.
The first case management conference is scheduled to be heard in Melbourne on July 21.
