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lonestardavid Occasional Visitor
Joined: Sep 03, 2011 Posts: 1
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Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 12:49 am Post subject: tomtom complaint to the office of fair trading |
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here is a copy of my experience of tomtoms free lifetime maps offer and a complaint submitted to the oft
dear sir/madam i recently bought a tomtom satnav with free lifetime maps from an ebay shop this item was brand new and completely sealed prior to my opening it, when i tried to activate the offer they claimed it was a reboxed product as it had a serial number begining with BL which meant it was not eligable for the free lifetime maps offer however it has become clear the real reason is that it came from ebay and they would not honour the offer as ebay was not one of their approved sellers, i will also point out that their website states that the free lifetime maps can be transfered to a third party in the event this item is sold on which in the case of a reboxed item would suggest the free lifetime maps would still be active, it is clear to me that tomtom are attempting to discriminate against ebay in a clear attempt to rig the market in their favour to further reinforce my case against tomtom yesterday a post was put on tomtom forum that a member had just bought a satnav from a high street retailer and the serial number began with BL the same mine and he was worried that he would not be able to get free lifetime maps he posted today that his free lifetime maps had been approved tomtom are clearly misleading their customers and engaged in activities that are anti competitive in order to keep the prices to the customer artificially high regards |
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matthewj Frequent Visitor
Joined: Apr 03, 2006 Posts: 751
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Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 9:43 am Post subject: |
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First, you need to be clear what your complaint is, and that it fits their remit. Have copies of all the evidence. Explain what the BL prefix means - and why, in the EU, anyone cannot sell it anywhere (we are supposed to have free movement). It is common for distributors to have territories, and they will not try to sell outside of that, but there is nothing to stop any retailer from buying in one place and shipping it to another.
The biggest thing you need to overcome though is that the OFT needs to care about foreign companies. When I complained to the advertising standards people about the misleading traffic adverts ("your whole journey") they said that TomTom had no English presence, so they were not relevant. I suspect the OFT will do the same. And until we stop moaning about more powers going to Brussels, there is not going to be a central place to complain to either.
Good luck. |
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MaFt Pocket GPS Staff
Joined: Aug 31, 2005 Posts: 15148 Location: Bradford, West Yorkshire
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Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 4:27 pm Post subject: |
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matthewj wrote: | When I complained to the advertising standards people about the misleading traffic adverts ("your whole journey") they said that TomTom had no English presence, so they were not relevant. |
But the 'misleading adverts' thing was ALWAYS for UK-based companies which is why it was so pointless in practice...
MaFt |
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Andy_P Pocket GPS Moderator
Joined: Jun 04, 2005 Posts: 19991 Location: West and Southwest London
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Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 6:49 pm Post subject: |
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Surely your complaint should be about the eBay seller who falsely stated there would be free lifetime maps, rather than about TomTom? _________________ "Settling in nicely" ;-) |
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