Xtrons - AVOID!

steve811

Last February I bought an Xtrons TD714G in car unit. This is basically a 7" screen with a DVD player, GPS unit and MP3 player all in one. I bought it direct from their website as they give a 2 year warranty and state that they dispatch from the UK and they have a UK service centre. I paid £189.

In May the unit stopped responding to the touch screen and I contacted them. They suggested I return it to their UK service centre in London and it would be repaired. They said it would be about two weeks and I would get an email when it arrived and one when it was dispatched, I never got the email and it was delivered to them by RM on the 31/5/2011.

Since then I have tried to find out from them what has happened to it, but the email address is answered by someone in Hong Kong with limited English and there is no phone number. I eventually found that the company were owned by a parent company call UG Sage, and found on the web a phone number for one of their people. I spoke to "Greg" who said he would look into it and asked me to email him. I did and a week later I called him again. He then said they were waiting on parts, and it would be sent out in a few days. That was 10 days ago and now he does not answer my calls or emails. Emails to [EMAIL="support@Xtrons"]support@Xtrons[/EMAIL] go unanswered or receive platitudes in broken English "we should be repsonsible for your unit but we are trying" with no real idea of when it will be returned.

I have tried to ask for a refund but digging around on Companies House shows that neither company is registered in the UK, so presumably they just use an agent here. I have written them a letter this morning which went off recorded delivery rejecting the item and asking for a refund, as well as enclosing copies of a small claims action I intend to raise if they don't respond. However that might be a waste of money as if they don't have a legal presence in the UK I can't sue them unless I can prove they have assets here.

It just goes to show that although companies might have a presence in the UK they don't have a legal base here, and can do what they want with impunity!:mad: