A woman who loves to bake for her family saved for two years to buy a new built-in convection oven. Sears delivered it, and then she had to wait a few weeks to have it installed. That’s when she discovered a problem: what was supposed to be a new oven was full of baked-on filth and even grime on the glass. Sears says that this shouldn’t be possible, yet somehow it happened.

It could have been a store return gone terribly wrong, but the customer had to take her case to CBS Sacramento to make things right. It’s not like she was going to use what was supposed to be a pricey new oven when it was pre-dirtied, even if Sears promised her a new one soon.

“I’m not going to eat food that’s coming out of a filthy oven,” she told the TV station. “I’m not going to serve that to my family.”

Sears, for their part, has no evidence that the oven really arrived covered with caked-on filth. “We have no evidence that it arrived in the condition that she suggests,” the company told the TV station.

How can you prevent something similar happening to you? When receiving an appliance, piece of furniture, or other big-ticket item, make sure that you inspect it before the delivery crew leaves. Signing that you received it means that you certify that it arrived in good condition.

Unfortunately, signing for the delivery and leaving it boxed up for the contractor left no evidence that there was something wrong.

The good news is that Sears replaced the oven with a nicer model that was clean, and this tale of a strange filth-encrusted oven ended with cookies and casseroles for all.

Call Kurtis Investigates: Why Did My New Sears Oven Show Up Dirty? [CBS Sacramento]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.