I was recently sold a Gaggia Cubika Plus and a Gaggia MDF Grinder / Doser after a telephone discussion with a UK online specialist retailer.

I now find that I can't user the grinder because the PF which is part of the Cubika Plus is too big to fit under the doser.

Have I been missold or am I doing something stupid?

The Cubika seems to have a pressurized PF, which is really tall. Seeing as I can barely fit my normal PF in my MDF, you may have been sold the wrong grinder if you want to dose directly into the PF.

I actually gave up using the PF holder in my MDF a long while ago since it always throws to the left and messes up my counter, so I made a funnel out of a pop bottle that sits in the PF holder and then drops the grinds directly in my basket below.

That's what I thought.

Maybe the holder is not essential to the operation but having spent what I consider to be a considerable amount of money on a grinder I don't want to start taking it apart to remove the PF holder. As far as I am concerned it seems effectively "not fit for purpose". Surely Gaggia shouold know the compatibility of their different products.

The grinder is still unused so I'm hoping it can be returned and returned, but unfortunately the on-line retailer does not answer e-mails and does not post a telephone number.

I put a piece of stained and sealed wood under my MDF to raise it about 3/4". This increases the clearance and makes it easier to use.

As has been pointed out, the "perfect crema" pf is part of the problem. The MDF was designed 30 years ago, well before Spidem (who invented this crema device) and then Gaggia were bought by Saeco. The grinder is not designed for this pf. Incidentally, even the Gaggia non-crema standard pf won't fit nicely in some other popular grinders, such as the Rancilio Rocky, because of the integral spouts; the pf has to be inserted at a steep angle (ie horizontal, but not straight in). Maybe this will work with your pf on the MDF.