Intermittent fault + poor warranty support + unit returned with cosmetic damage

I bought a De’Longhi La Specialista Opera new from Takealot (±R12k–R13k). It made excellent coffee for about three weeks, then developed serious issues: an abnormal boiling-water discharge during steaming (with unusual internal noise), followed shortly after by a complete power failure where it would flash briefly, shut down, and then not power on at all for multiple days (tested across different plug points).

Takealot referred me to De’Longhi/Philtec (appointed service agent). Philtec kept the unit for extended testing but ultimately advised “no fault found” because they couldn’t reproduce the intermittent failure, and no replacement/credit was authorised. The unit has now been returned to me.

Two things left me extremely disappointed:

1) Warranty process feels meaningless for intermittent faults. A brand-new machine can fail, yet if it happens intermittently and can’t be reproduced in a workshop, you’re effectively left without a remedy.

2) The unit was returned in worse cosmetic condition than it was sent. I sent a spotless, near-new machine (I’m meticulous and it had only been used for ~3 weeks). It came back with visible dull scratches/scuffs on the front stainless area/display fascia and a small ding—damage that was not present when it was collected

I understand service agents can only act on what they can verify, but the overall experience was deeply frustrating and left me feeling helpless as a consumer. I would not purchase De’Longhi again based on the warranty support and handling of the unit.