Tiny white bugs in coffee maker

When Adrian Turner went to refill the fresh beans in his £1,195 De’Longhi coffee machine, he was stunned when bugs began scuttling out. Although he and his wife, Emma, were not familiar with the tiny dark-bodied insects, it emerged later, to their horror, that they were baby cockroaches. These nasty crawlers may be known and unwelcome residents of damp New York kitchens, they are hardly a common sight in leafy Henley-on-Thames.

But as more and more homes in the UK buy fancy coffee machines, the Turners’ cockroach crisis is likely to be repeated across the country. One coffee machine manufacturer has admitted an industry secret: “We know cockroaches inside of coffee machines is a reality. A disgusting reality.

“Why do cockroaches love coffee machines so much? They are naturally attracted to three things: darkness, moisture and nutrients. What do coffee machines have? All three. It’s no wonder it’s a cockroach utopia! With some coffee machines being ‘fixed’, that is, with immovable parts, it may sometimes be impossible to remove everything, wash it down and, perhaps, even fumigate to eradicate the little buggers.”

What was most alarming for the Turners was that the infestation had not happened in their home, but only after they sent their top-of-the-range machine for repair to the De’Longhi service workshop in Havant, Hampshire, at the end of October. They have since had to hire an exterminator to get rid of the pests.

But when Emma Turner first contacted the company to report and complain about what had happened, it marked the start of a bizarre exchange in which – in an unusually heavy-handed manner – the company refused to pay the cost of fumigation unless the couple signed what is known as a “release agreement”, questioning their claim, and absolving the company of any liability.

Yet, during the original phone call, staff had openly admitted there had been a cockroach infestation at their service workshop, apparently triggered after they received another infested machine to fix. The couple was told to dispose of the old machine, and to take radical action – to contact an exterminator to get their house fumigated.

In a separate email it confirmed this instruction, making it clear it would pay in full for the clean.

“Our legal team have advised that you should contact an exterminator to get the house fumigated. You can send the invoice to us, via this email address,” the email said.

The Turners say they “were shocked to be told about the cockroaches, but the company seemed to be putting things right, and we organised a ‘belt and braces’ clean of our house by Rentokil”.

Emma Turner explains what happened next: “We duly did this and sent an invoice for £162, but were surprised when we were then sent a letter from their ‘product liability manager’ offering an additional £88 plus our £162 for the exterminator – as long as we signed a general release form.”

The company has since replaced the infested machine with a top-of-the-range PrimeDonna Elite.

However, that was not the end of the matter. Turner and her husband were adamant that they did not wish to sign the form as it suggested that their claim was a dubious and questionable one. The form stated: “This settlement is the compromise of a doubtful and disputed claim, and the payment is not to be construed as an admission of liability on the parts of the person, firms and corporation hereby realised by whom liability is expressly denied.”

Emma Turner insists: “The claim is not doubtful – they sent us back a coffee machine with cockroaches in, and informed us on the phone that they had had an infestation at the service workshop. They then replaced our machine.

“We then tried to get hold of the ‘product liability manager’ via numerous phone calls and emails, none of which were returned until we emailed De’Longhi’s UK managing director.

“We informed De’Longhi that we did not want the additional £88, nor did we wish to sign the general release form. We just wanted our £162 back to cover the cleaning which they had instructed.”

De’Longhi, which also owns the Kenwood and Braun brands in the UK, says: “Customer satisfaction is of paramount importance to the De’Longhi Group and we take any customer complaint most seriously.

“Unfortunately, the customer in this instance was not happy with the way we handled their particular case. We replaced their coffee machine with an upgraded model and offered compensation.

“As is standard practice for the De’Longhi Group when resolving customer issues where compensation is offered, we asked the customer to sign and return a claims form to confirm she was happy the problem had now been resolved. This offer remains open.”

What the Turner’s case exposes is the degree to which coffee machines can lead to cockroach infestation.

A Google search for “cockroaches and coffee machines” is not for the fainthearted.

It throws up YouTube videos entitled “Aaahhhh roaches in my coffee maker!! (Seriously)” and a Reddit discussion under the heading “Mother f***ing roaches in my mother f***ing coffee maker”.

However, most of the results come from the US, and pest control firms say the problem in Britain is less severe than countries with warmer climates.

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