To think a full refund should have been offered

[wowzawoo]

I picked up cake today for DC birthday party - looked gorgeous but it stunk of smoke! The house smelled too but I thought maybe the cake would be okay - but when I checked at home it really smelt strongly.

I messaged the lady and said I thought the cake was wonderful looking but I wouldn't eat it or serve it because of the smell of stale smoke and asked for a refund also said happy to return the cake to her.

She has apologised and said no one smoked around the cake, she said she would refund my money minus the deposit.

Now, I am okay with this because actually I feel sorry for her, clearly she doesn't know how bad her house smells and then in turn the cake. But really I feel she should have offered a full refund.

Aibu to think this? Every time I look at the cake I feel sorry for her and then doubt my thought that she was being unreasonable to, one sell a cake like that and two that she should have offered a full refund.

I am out of pocket because I have lost the deposit and had to go to a supermarket and buy another cake.

Seller sells through FB page and has five stars!

Ha this thread is bonkers!

Yes of course you need to say you don't a cake that stinks of fags, dosent everyone?

OP I'd just send another message asking for your deposit back. I really don't see why you should pay one.

I certainly believe the smell if it came out of a smokers house. Was it sold in a cardboard cakebox? That may have been stored in the house much longer than the cake and cardboard / paper picks up the smell terribly (mil is heavy smoker, I am very familiar with stinking things from her house!). A smelly box would in turn taint the cake when it was put into the box. I wouldn't want to serve it up, and actually if something is not fit for purpose you are entitled to your money back - it doesn't matter if it's sold to you by a sole trader or a multi national company.

Hilarious that some people think the op should have specified that she wanted a cake that didn’t smell of fags.

I hope you also specify you wanted the baker to wash her hands and not let her 2 year old child sneeze into the mixture?
Cake Should be fit for purpose and if it smells of fags, it is not fit for purpose.

It is only in the last ten years that I have realised how much as a smoker I stank in my 20s and 30s and as a child.

My dad smoked and the whole house must have stank as must my clothes and hair, but so used to it were we, I didn't smell it. I smoked as an adult and the various homes I had must have stank too, as must me and my clothes.

I gave up 15 years ago.

I know it more so now because my SIL smokes and any item left in her home for a while comes back stinking of smoke, as does any gift she ever gives the DC or me and DP. It is foul.

A cake would easily get the smoke smell and she is lying if she says nobody smoked around it. I am sure there food safety and hygiene rules to follow, which the baked isn't doing. I would have a serious conversation with her.

FreudianSlurp Sat 17-Mar-18 16:41:13
Well yes, if that's important to you.

HAHAHAHAH - this is what Mumsnet is for!!!!! Absolutely ridiculous, provocative posts like this, priceless, such a laugh.

Only ..... ONLY on Mumsnet would you get someone arguing that you should have to stipulate, when buying cake, that you don't want it to smell and taste of cigarette smoke.

I love it!

And OP, yes, in the real world, you'll be legally entitled to a full refund. Smoking in a food preparation area is illegal and she'd lose her hygiene rating if the council hear about it. Is she even registered though? It's a pretty stringent check you have to go through and you need to keep impeccable records, even down to exactly where you bought flour, sugar and so on from. For food to be so tainted, I imagine that either her checks aren't up to date or she isn't registered at all.

I totally understand looking at the cake and feeling bad, but at the same time you should leave an honest review because imagine this was a wedding cake or a special party where a Tesco cake just wouldn't do. The purchasers wouldn't have time to have another cake made and so it's really unfair to not say. I would feel AWFUL about giving a bad review, especially seeing the work that'd been put in to it ..ahhh I do understand. But it's protecting others really, from a spoilt day.

I hope you also specify you wanted the baker to wash her hands and not let her 2 year old child sneeze into the mixture?

This!

Under the Consumer rights act if the customer rejects the item immediately (within 30 days) then they are entitled to a full refund and the trader is entitled to get their item back. (S22 if anyone is that interested).

so I would return it if the OP wants a full refund.

Smokers really do not realise how pungent the smell is. And how revolting the smell is to a non-smoker.

Under the Consumer rights act if the customer rejects the item immediately (within 30 days) then they are entitled to a full refund and the trader is entitled to get their item back. (S22 if anyone is that interested).

That’s online purchases and not for custom made items.

I haven't decided whether to leave a bad review

In your shoes I'd give her another chance to give back your deposit. If she doesn't, review away. If she has any sense I don't think she does but anyway she'll have thought of the possibility of bad reviews and will give you your money back.

But, more importantly, report her 'business' to the council/env health.

Who smokes while cook/bake though?

I’m not trying to cause a problem here and actually not disagreeing with OP but it would have been the box that smelt of smoke not the cake, I imagine that the boxes are stored in an area that people smoke and that is where the smell came from, it would have taken an awful lot of smoking around the cake to make the actual cake smell of smoke, so unless she was chain smoking over the cake, or someone was smoking a lot in the kitchen , I’m sure it must have been the box, which of course would in turn smell in the car

jocarter

That’s what I thought too. It’s much more likely to be the packaging especially if it were cardboard.

Christ on a bike, perhaps for once we should actually believe the OP that what she says is the truth instead of picking it apart trying to find any possible explanation other than that the cake smells of smoke? What does that achieve?

For the love of God. The 'cake or box?' question has come up already. The OP, who was THERE, says the CAKE smells of smoke.

Plus, people who bake have said that cakes, especially fondant, absorb smells and so it's totally feasible that they would pick up smoke smells.

Are people hard of comprehension or just for some reason choosing not to believe the OP?

it would have taken an awful lot of smoking around the cake to make the actual cake smell of smoke

No, it really wouldn't

The only thing I want to smell of cigarettes is my cigarettes.
And I don't smell stale/vile/disgusting. The stick smokers get on here can be outright offensive, it can be a serious addiction for some. A crutch for others. You wouldn't make the same comments about alcoholics, drug abusers etc

And what about all that nasty shit your car spews out on a daily basis that you allow your children to breath in?

Breathe.

TomRavenscroft. Wow, what an snarky and unpleasant post. You need to chill.

Jesus Christ what does it matter of it was the cake or the box , food items prepared for human consumption should not smell of cigarette smoke in any way shape or form . You can tell who the smokers are who don’t give a shit that it stinks and taints everything . I’ve bought items on eBay that absolutely stunk of smoke and was pretty disgusted .

Oh please, Wazz. Hardly.

It must be true that people are struggling to read the OP's posts properly, or they wouldn't STILL be questioning her.

It really doesn't take much at all for smoke to make something smell. It permeates EVERYTHING. I sat at the other end of a room while someone was smoking for a short time and left smelling like I was a 60 a day smoker myself.

I agree with other posters that it would appear people that smoke don't realise how bad they, their clothing, houses etc. actually smell. The lady that made the cake probably didn't realise and now she does so let's hope that in future so smoking around the cake/in the house etc... I couldn't eat a cake that smelt of an old ashtray!

oops I meant smokers don't realise how bad they smell... not smoke.

They may think they smell wonderful but they don't. There are of course other things that equally smell bad BO ...yuck but smoke is up there with one of the worst smells (IMO)

“allow“ is a bit of a difficult word looselips because aside from carrying a portable oxygen tank and mask whenever I go out, I cannot not allow my children from inhaling car pollution. Breathing normal outside air is the default. Breathing in cigarette smoke is not. You choose to do it.

And choose is the word I’m going with because yes, you are now addicted but peer pressure and determination got you to the addiction stage...