My 9-month old TomTom One is dead. TomTom refuses to honor the 1-year warranty

Gollnick

Gollnick

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Today, I decided to update the maps on my TomTom One which I purchased new last spring, March or April of 2010, to replace my old TomTom One which was destroyed when forensically examined (long story). On the day I bought the new one, I registered it online and purchased a one-year map update subscription. When I went to do the update today, it locked up. Nothing seemed to help. I tried the on-line tips and then spent a full hour on the phone with their telephone tech support people who led me through all sorts of gyrations to try and recover it. The conclusion: it's dead.

Ok; that happens. Good thing it has a one-year warranty, right? No. TomTom refuses to honor the one-year warranty. Why? Because I didn't save the receipt for this $80 purchase. They refuse to use the date from my online registration or the map subscription purchase which was purchased on a special price for new units only.

So, the TomTom goes into the trash and I'm headed out to buy someone else's product.

I've owned TomTom GPS devices for years now and always been happy with them, but this experience has been very negative to say the least. The agent I spoke to, Andy, admitted that he, himself, does not save receipts from $80 purchases. And yet they refuse to honor the warranty. The online registration counts for nothing.

Obviously, TomTom knows that people won't keep their receipts and, therefore, counts on this as their out to the warranty which they list prominently as a selling feature on their website.
 
Did you buy it with a credit card? you can track the date of the purchase from your credit card statements and get a reprint of the receipt if you bought it at someplace like best buy.
 
I've had my Garmin for about four years now with no problems. When It told me it was time to update my map data I selected the "No, and don't remind me again" option. I'm not trying to land on the moon with it so I don't really care about the data being absolutely up to date.
If you're looking for a new brand to consider, the Garmin has been very reliable.
 
I hate to hear about things like that. More and more companies seem to be using their warrantly as a selling point, rather than actually guaranteeing a working product.
 
I have had the same Garmin Nuvi 350 for going on six years now, I have never had a problem with it. I will replace it with another Garmin if/when this one craps out. I use this GPS every day for work.
 
ericb445 said:
I have had the same Garmin Nuvi 350 for going on six years now, I have never had a problem with it. I will replace it with another Garmin if/when this one craps out. I use this GPS every day for work.
Click to expand...

Ditto. We had a Garmin nüvi 200 (I think) for several years and never had a problem. I was stolen. :grumpy: I bought a nüvi 255W to replace it about a year ago. No problems.

I would suggest buying stuff like that at Costco if possible. If something goes wrong, they will take it back.

BTW, I make it a practice to keep the receipt in the original box until the warranty expires.
 
If you bought it with a credit or debit card, the card company would be obligated to refund you if you (understandably) did not want to deal with Tom Tom.

If you didn't buy it with a card, perhaps the seller's records would be able to verify your date of purchase.
 
According to my spending log, it was purchased on April 10, 2010 for cash as part of a larger bill of sales. The receipt is, I'm sure, lost.

It just galls me that TomTom will be so hard-nosed about their warranty; it's just not a customer-service-centric approach. On the same date, April 10, 2010, I registered the unit online and purchased the map update subscription online. I have a record of that, of course. But they won't accept either of those. Clearly, they just don't want to honor their warranty, and that just galls me.
 
Most companies will do anything do avoid paying a warranty claim. Send them a link to this post so they can see the publicity that their lack of customer service is getting them. Perhaps they'll change their tune then.
 
I bought my last Garmin from REI (rei.com). They have the best warranty of any retail business. If you ever are not satisfied with anything you buy from them, they will refund your money or replace the product. Not the best price...but the best warranty. Don't have to worry about the receipt either, they keep track of what you buy if you are a member.
 
You could consider filing a case with the Better Business Bureau in the city that they are located in if they are in the US. Sometimes, it helps to resolve the issue.

I had a problem with Dell and filed a case with the BBB in Austin, TX and Dell contacted me the following to resolve the issue.

It is easy to do it online.

edit: I just looked and they are not in the US, but The Netherlands. If they have a US headquarters, you might be able to do it.
 
That's total BS. I've got a Tom Tom that we bought for my dad before he got a car with a built-in nav system. I don't think he has ever used either of them. I had a little trouble getting it started up but they should definitely take care of you. When you registered it you didn't inform them of when and where you bought it? This one might be the only Tom Tom I will ever own after hearing this. It's a shame. I had a cat named tom (hence, my bladeforums handle). I used to call him Tom Tom sometimes. They appear to be dragging my best buddy's nickname through the mud. :grumpy:
 
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I you had purchased online you could simply print the dated invoice from either the seller's website or the confirmation email. No?

My Garmin, within a year, had lost one of the rubber buttons. Sent it in and they promptly repaired the unit, in fact it seems as if they sent a new unit. No questions or hassles, although I can't remember if they requested an invoice copy or not.

That was in '04 and I've never had another problem with either that GPS, nor any of the others I've purchased since.
 
Most of the time, I think that you get more from climbing the ladder by asking the CSR for their supervisor..If that doesn't work...Find an email address for some of the execs at the company and send them an email about your situation.
After you have exhausted a few of these, you could always refer and contact this site...They tend to get some results.

consumerist.com
 
I actually just read the terms and conditions of their warranty service, and it says nothing about providing a proof of purchase to make a claim....
 
Chuck, where did you purchase it? It may be possible to go back to that location and have them look up the receipt and reprint it. I have done this before.

*Thinking about it further, I made my purchase with a credit card. Not sure if it can be done if you paid cash.
 
Too bad. I second the implied warranty if your state has one (like we do in Maine). Whether it's worth the hassle on a sub $100 item is up for debate.

A few years ago my new Garmin died after a couple of months--one call and they overnighted me a new one with a call tag for the dead unit.

Three years later of daily use it still works great.

Just bought an identicle used one on eBay for my daughter. Garmin had no problem registering it to me. I was having trouble getting it to accept the updates and the Garmin support tech spent at least 45 minutes (at no cost) getting it to work for me (which it did--the problem was the Beta version of IE I was using)--and this is on a used, three year old unit.

Tough to beat that kind of support!

Regards,
Michael
 
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