Ilve NT Series

Electrical fault, the door fell off, incompetent customer service – Don't believe the marketing claims of quality. This is a poorly designed and built product that is not worth your time or money. It heats slowly, is hard to light and the burners go out constantly. The first fault was electrical – wiring on the back of the oven overheated and melted. Ilve blamed the installer, the installer blamed Ilve. Either way, it happed on Christmas Day and we were left without a functioning oven for 2 months. Recently a hinge on the door broke, leaving a 12kg glass and steel door hanging. I ordered replacement hinges and was not able to reinstall the door, one of the new hinges actually bent while I was trying to refit. We purchased the oven 3 years ago but have only been using it for 2, which means it is out of warranty and Ilve refuses to take responsibility. 3 different customer service people with no idea what is going on have contacted me to remind me yet again about their warranty – but I just want this piece of junk removed and the money credited at Appliances Online so our family can buy a better oven. The fact that a door fell off the oven after 2 years of use is enough to refer to statutory warranty under Australian Consumer Law. Unsafe, poor quality, incompetent customer service and support. I’d give it zero stars if possible.

Terrible cooktop - burners randomly go out – Whilst I am happy with the function of the oven, the cooktop leaves a lot to be desired. Less than 1 year old, and already several issues that have been occurring since purchase that are still under investigation/repair. The two back large rear burners light but then randomly go out with only a 26cm pot on. Today, I re-lit it 8 times, and ended up moving to wok burner as I couldn't get the larger burners to stay alight. Effectively two of the burners are useless.

I also find lighting the burners, particularly the smaller ones, difficult as unless the trivet is in exactly the right spot, it won't light and if the knob is not in the exact right position and you don't wait 5+ seconds it won't light. I am very disappointed with the functionality of the cooktop. I would not recommend it to anyone looking for a new stove. Ilve was not my ideal choice, but due to the amps of the circuit, I was unable to get other brands. I wish now I had rewired the circuit and not got an Ilve stove.

Excellent Freestanding Cooker – The oven heats up really quickly and cooks very evenly. There are lots of setting to choose from. Six burners on the stove top make for versatile usage. There is no small burner for very small saucepans so we feel like its a bit of overkill when we're heating a small thing but not an issue in the big scheme of things. Wok burner is great. The stove top is very easy to clean. We were advised to remove the black element plates to preserve them as they are expensive to replace. The elements work perfectly well without them. The stove also looks nice with the brass fittings showing. We love the size of the oven and can fit everything in easily. It cooks really evenly so ti doesn't matter which shelf you put stuff on. Live offer a free cooking class when you buy their oven. We haven't gone to it yet but look forward to it. Very happy with our cooker. Brisbane Appliance Sales were excellent to deal with.

Disappointed with the product and the service – The oven lighter failed 3 months after purchase in May 2017. It took 2 days to confirm a service booking and a week for a technician to come. The technician said it was a common problem with the switch that prevents ignition when the oven door is closed. He did not inspect or check the switch, but advised that the part had to be ordered interstate and would take another week or so to arrive.

The second technician also said this was a common issue and "fix" the problem by removing the door and putting it back again. Apparently the switch is activated by one of the hinges and this procedure somehow resets the parts. He advised that if it failed again I should ask for the switch to be brought by the [next] visiting technician. He also said that if the cooker weren't under warranty he would recommend disabling the switch altogether.

A couple of days later when I tried to use the oven again it did not work. For the third time I have to wait over a week for a technician to come.

This is an expensive brand and I expected a quality product and good service if *ever* required. Alas this has not been the case. Premature failure after 2 months' service with a "common" problem suggests poor design, materials, or workmanship. In addition the back burners are difficult to light and prone to go off. This is the sort of thing that you would accept from a low cost/quality product, but not from this expensive brand.

So far the service has been ineffective: response is very slow; bookings are not confirmed immediately, it takes up to 3 days to get confirmation and then over a week of waiting for the visit to take place. The two technicians that I have experienced came unprepared to deal with a problem they claim to be very common. From the service call they should have known what to expect, but failed to bring spare parts. Neither inspected the defect to confirm that their diagnostic was correct. I also find the suggestion of disabling a safety feature not the kind of advice I would expect from a technician representing a quality brand.

Finally and perhaps not surprisingly, an email to Ilve (customercare@ilve.org.au) has gone without response; hopefully they will react to this review and take proper care of their customers.