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Baccarat Lifetime Guarantee? Yeah Right!

October 2010

Hi,

I am just wondering if anyone has had any experience of claims against the Baccarat Lifetime Guarantee?
I have had a terrible experience dealing with Playcorp, the company behind Baccarat in Australia.

I initially purchased a full set of Baccarat cookware around 4 years ago, as I had just got married, and was after a cooking set that would last a 'lifetime'.
I had been recommended the brand by a chef who uses their sauce pans at home. This combined with their 'Lifetime Guarantee' was enough to convince me to invest in their products.
I specifically chose their 'Classic' range, which has a copper base to better distribute the heat, and is labeled as 'Professional Quality'.

Recently I have had a problem with a fry pan. The stainless steel base has separated from the copper section. This caused the stainless steel to buckle and warp creating an air gap between the stainless steel and the copper, rendering the fry pan useless.

I returned the fry pan to Myer and they contacted Playcorp by phone and described the situation. They were told by Playcorp to replace the fry pan on the spot, and that they would get a credit from Playcorp for another fry pan.
Unfortunately the Myer store didn't have the same fry pan in stock, so Playcorp told them to return it to them, and that they would send out a new fry pan to the Myer store for my collection.
This was fine by me, so I waited a few weeks and then got the call that it was ready for pick up. When I got there, they had my old fry pan to return to me, not a replacement! Playcorp had written a letter stating that I had misused the fry pan and that everything was my fault!
They state that ‘the fry pan has been burnt from excessive heat being generated from the burnt oil’. I fail to see how a small amount of oil on a fry pan could cause such a catastrophic failure!

As I have only used this fry pan on my electric stove top at home (and a domestic gas stove top at our previous house), I believe that it should last a 'Lifetime', but clearly I was wrong!

Is it right that any manufacturer claiming to have a product with a 'Lifetime Warranty' can simply pull any lame excuse out that they want, and blame it on the consumer?

Has anyone else had any issues with the Baccarat line of products or dealing with Playcorp?

Regards,

Rick

Baccarat Lifetime Guarantee? Yeah Right!

December 2010

Hey Rick

Had the same issue with the brand Le creuset. Apparently putting wooden handles into water is abuse.... Huge disappointment another reason to buy cheap and expect nothing...

Baccarat Lifetime Guarantee? Yeah Right!

December 2010

I seem to remember reading the attached booklet that came with my Le Creuset frypan and it specifically warns against submersing the wooden handle in water, it certainly says not Dishwasher Safe, so I would suggest that your complaint is not valid. I always read the instructions very carefully, especially with expensive products like Le Creuset and mine have lasted me for at least 25 years so far and they're unmarked (and frequently used). I also only ever use plastic or wooden utensils with them.