Warranty Denied on False Grounds, Charged for Undamaged Part, and Item Lost by Instant Pot

I am posting this as a clear warning to other consumers considering purchasing from Instant Instant Pot South Africa. We purchased an Instant Vortex Plus 8-in-1 VersaZone Air Fryer (8.5L) on 20 March 2025. By November 2025, while still well within the warranty period, the drawer basket began struggling to fit into the unit. This was clearly a manufacturing or tolerance issue, not misuse. We logged a warranty return in good faith. That is where the service failure began. We were informed that the basket was “damaged” and that this supposedly invalidated the warranty. This claim is simply not true. When the unit was returned, the basket was not dented, bent, or damaged in any way. There was no evidence provided, no photos, no objective assessment just a blanket rejection of the warranty. Despite disputing this, we were forced to pay for a new basket ourselves for a product that was still under warranty. It gets worse. When the replacement basket was returned to us, we discovered that the inner tray (which sits inside the basket) was missing. This tray was part of the original unit and was definitely sent in with the return. When we raised this issue, we were told that the tray was “never sent”. So to summarise: A valid warranty claim was rejected without proof We were charged for a replacement part that should have been covered An essential component of our appliance was lost while in their possession Responsibility for their own handling error was simply denied At no point was accountability taken. At no point was a fair resolution offered. The approach throughout has been dismissive, defensive, and consumer-hostile. This experience raises serious concerns about: How Instant Pot assesses warranty claims Whether returned items are properly tracked How easily customers are blamed when things go wrong A premium brand is not defined by marketing it is defined by how it treats customers when there is a problem. On that measure, Instant Brands has failed completely. If you are considering purchasing an Instant product in South Africa, be aware: your warranty may be rejected without evidence, and you may end up paying for their mistakes. I strongly regret this purchase and will not support this brand again