SUMMARY:
KRUPS FBC213: Controls seized, would not turn off unless unplugged. Customer service is worse than useless. Do not buy.
DETAILS:
Received a KRUPS FBC213 Toaster Oven as a wedding gift. Upon first use to toast some bread, the display showed unintelligible characters, and would not shut off by pressing the round Start/Stop button; only way to turn it off was to unplug it. I called Krups customer service, and they requested that I ship it to their New York repair facility at my own expense, which I did. I had kept all the original packing, thankfully, and sent it back to them with all padding and packaging in place (keep this in mind below...). Took longer than eight weeks to repair, during which time I called the repair facility several times to find out a status. All I was able to get was a recording that said "We are experiencing longer than expected repair times due to an influx of repairs and warranty claims. Please call back."
After more than two months, we received the toaster oven back. They had shipped it with NO internal packing (see my packing comments above), and the tray inside the toaster oven, which was not secured down like it should have been with the original packaging, bounced around during shipping and shattered one of the elements. I called Krups right away and they again required that I ship back at my own expense for repair. I argued, asking that they simply send me a new one, and they said they only do that on the third warranty claim. I acquiesced and shipped the unit back.
After six weeks I received the unit again. First attempt at toasting resulted in the original problem (gibberish on the LCD display and inability to shut off other than unplugging). I called customer service again, and they sent me a return shipping label (I didn't have to pay for shipping this time!) and said they would send me a new unit.
Received the new unit and used it ~2 per week for the past two months. Today, same problem occurred: gibberish on the LCD display, and could only shut unit off by unplugging. Told my wife I was going to write a review warning others, then throw this thing in the trash. Glad I kept my original, dial operated Black & Decker unit!
To conclude, this KRUPS toaster oven clearly has a dangerous defect (confirmed by other, similar reviews to this one). Please avoid, as it is truly a fire hazard. Hope this has been helpful.