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AIBU?

To want a refund

175 replies

CakeConundrum · 11/10/2016 06:20

I had a cake made for an important birthday. Whilst it wasn't quite cake wrecks bad it was certainly a Pinterest fail.

I've followed up with cake maker but she is implying it's my own fault.

AIBU to request a full refund?

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NikaKaKa · 12/10/2016 12:22

Looking at the pics I definitely think you deserve a refund!

I have transported a 3 tiered cake on the back seat of a car with a seat belt to secure it on a 3 hour car journey and it was in perfect condition so I suspect that this cake didn't have the proper support rods it needed!

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budgiegirl · 12/10/2016 12:35

I have transported a 3 tiered cake on the back seat of a car with a seat belt to secure it on a 3 hour car journey and it was in perfect condition so I suspect that this cake didn't have the proper support rods it needed!

You were very lucky indeed then, that the cake made it in one piece. Support rods should support a cake that is perfectly level, but cakes should not be transported on a car seat. Its too risky even with a cake that is properly dowelled.

I've had to go in to a local hotel on several occasions to help fix wedding cakes that have been transported incorrectly and have either slid or collapsed (not my cakes, by the way, I do it as a favour to the hotel as they recommend my business).

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NikaKaKa · 12/10/2016 14:35

I agree, I was lucky but I think the rods and packaging/box do help in minimising damage.

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CakeConundrum · 12/10/2016 14:38

Trying to answer some questions:

It was transported flat in the boot of a car

It came assembled and there was no ribbon on top tier.

There was no option to have the cake delivered which would have been my preference.

It did have narrow dowel in the cake and the top tier was on a base. Over the course of the evening that base sunk about 1cm into the bottom tier so when cutting needed to be dug out for want of a better description.

There was no discussion over copying the design, nor anything signed. The cake came from a professional baker with a store and I simply trusted that they'd do a good job.

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Imnotaslimjim · 12/10/2016 14:42

Only one dowel? Down the centre of the cake? If that was the problem I'd expect the top cake to sink into the bottom.

On the part where it has collapsed in the picture, was there a lot of buttercream? I'm just wondering if they've filled a gap in the cake and when it's warmed up it's softened and collapsed.

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budgiegirl · 12/10/2016 14:46

It did have narrow dowel in the cake and the top tier was on a base. Over the course of the evening that base sunk about 1cm into the bottom tier so when cutting needed to be dug out for want of a better description

How many dowels did it have? And were they perhaps too short? The top tier should not be able to sink into the lower tiers by as much as 1cm unless the dowel was too short.

It was transported flat in the boot of a car And driven carefully? No sharp turns, slowly round roundabouts etc?

From your description it does sound as though there may have been a problem with the cake if you were as careful as possible transporting it.
However, unfortunately, it's very difficult to prove that you took all the necessary precautions, and as you have eaten the cake, how can the shop investigate the matter?

I agree that the decoration is substandard, but to be fair, this really should have been raised with the shop at collection.

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lougle · 12/10/2016 14:56

That is shocking. No two ways about it.

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2kids2dogsnosense · 12/10/2016 14:57

Oh, my! That is grim!!!

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Ifitquackslikeaduck · 12/10/2016 15:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Oblomov16 · 12/10/2016 16:00

Posted at the beginning of this thread.
have now seen the photos.
oh my goodness what a shame.

okay 1)the bottom cake is beautifully painted, it's actually really nice.

2)the gold leaf on the top one is not so good.

3) what has made the bottom one give way I don't know but something has gone very wrong here.

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Yourface · 12/10/2016 16:04

One dowel?? In that case you definitely warrant a refund. I have a 2 tier I am working on right now and it has 8-9. Which is overkill but a minimum of 5 should be inserted. I find it quite bizarre a professional would do that.

The bottom tier is really deep. Sometimes I will dowel inside a deep tier, to stop that from sinking in on itself. I've been doing this for years. You can trust me! You definitely deserve a refund. I'd personally refund the whole lot but they might keep a bit back because you ate it. Have you eaten it all?

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Yourface · 12/10/2016 16:05

By that I mean I dowel and stack using a cake card separator inside the deep tier. To stop it falling in. Do they have junior staff?

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DesolateWaist · 12/10/2016 18:07

As I said before even if it didn't collapse I would still have complained as the finish is so poor.

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CakeConundrum · 12/10/2016 21:05

Sorry it wasn't dowel singular - there were I think 4. They were about drinking straw diameter.

There was a lot of buttercream in the cake.

I'm sure the cake was transported appropriately.

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thestarryeyedsurprise · 12/10/2016 21:11

Am I the only one focussing on the tea lights on the top of the cake..

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DesolateWaist · 12/10/2016 21:31

I noticed that too Starry but I thought that perhaps the op had put them there. I rather hope so anyway.

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Ifitquackslikeaduck · 12/10/2016 21:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Notmorecake · 13/10/2016 00:09

Loving these cake threads ( i should change my name).

What you received was an amateurish attempt at you choose design but you have paid a professional fee.

If the cake was not sturdy enough to be transported then the baker should have transported it unassembled and put it together at the venue ( for that price!).

Agree though, if you have served it then getting a refund will be harder to justify . The baker should be ashamed really, she's not provided a very good cake or service.

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Meadows76 · 13/10/2016 00:20

If you had issue with the cake you should have brought it up immediately. No way would I have accepted that cake, but you took it and ATE it and now want a refund?? Not on I'm afraid

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CakeConundrum · 13/10/2016 04:27

I've explained why the cake was accepted - I wasn't able to get to the shop early enough so it was collected on my behalf.

The shop was closed by the time I first saw it and so there was no opportunity to return it.

I'm really gutted that I took a lot of time trying to find somewhere that could produce an elegant and sophisticated cake for a special event and ended up with something that looks like It was painted by a 10 year old

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NightWanderer · 13/10/2016 06:19

I would have expected much better from a shop.

But I'm not really sure what you want from this thread. You have asked the shop for a refund and they have refused, right? I don't really see where else you can go with this.

What I will say is that cake makers really do rely a lot on word of mouth and repeat business so I'm guessing they have shot themselves in the foot with this cake. They won't be staying in business very long if that is the sort of thing they are producing. I would leave them a bad review and be done with it.

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LadyPenelope68 · 13/10/2016 06:39

Looks to me as if whoever transporting it knocked it (dents in the icing on the base board are a dead give away) and that's why it's collapsed. If it was lack of dowel supports there's no way it would collapse that way. It would sort of collapse inwards IMO.

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YouTheCat · 13/10/2016 07:38

10 year old is pushing it. I'd say 6 year old painted that.

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Meadows76 · 13/10/2016 09:37

I've explained why the cake was accepted - I wasn't able to get to the shop early enough so it was collected on my behalf. The shop was closed by the time I first saw it and so there was no opportunity to return it.. No, that explains why it was COLLECTED, you ACCEPTED the cake as soon as you sunk a knife into it. As soon as you saw the cake you had the opportunity to REJECT it by not using it and contacting the provider at the next available opportunity.

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diddl · 13/10/2016 09:52

If it was transported assembled & hadn't collapsed in the time that it had been assembled, that does suggest a transportation problem, doesn't it?

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