Tissot customer service

bjorn_toby_wilde

Hi folks

I could do with some advice on guarantees.

In December 2009 my wife bought me a Tissot watch (£170) as a birthday present. It had a two year guarantee so when it started to lose time and the chronograph second hand wouldn't reset to zero in November 2010 I took it back to Goldsmiths. They returned it to Tissot who repaired it free under warranty.

The watch developed exactly the same problem again in April this year so I made another trip to Goldsmiths. They returned the watch to Tissot for a second time but the response I got from Tissot customer services this time was:

1) the watch is out of the 2 year guarantee
2) it's also out of the 1 year repair guarantee
3) we can repair it at a cost of £185!!

I'm very disappointed that a £170 watch lasted only two and a half years and that the repair cost was more than the value. If it had been a cheap watch I wouldn't complain but Tissot are supposed to be a quality brand.:( I won't buy Tissot products again and would advise anyone else to steer well clear.

I guess my question is whether I have any form of redress? I'm sure I read somewhere that you can expect to be compensated if an item doesn't last as long as could reasonably be expected, even if it is out of guarantee.

Cheers

Bjorn

wealdroam

Forget the manufacturer's guarantee. That is no longer of any use.

Read MSE's How to Complain article and their Consumer Rights article.

In there you will find you have statutory rights against whoever sold it to you - Goldsmiths.

bod1467

And the fact that it has (what appears to be) the same fault as previously reported (and repaired) would support your case that such fault was inherent (an important aspect of SOGA).

maninthestreet

Was this a quartz watch? In my experience, they are extremely reliable, and only require a new battery every few years. Any quartz watch that starts losing time is only fit the dustsbin.

vuvuzela

It will definitely be a quartz watch.
Can not comment on the losing time bit (precisely how much time is it losing per day ?) but the seconds hand can drift from zero occasionally and there is normally a way of resetting it. Eg (and this is from memory so may be slightly inaccurate) on a Seiko if you pull out the crown to the time setting position and press the top right button it will normally reset the chrono hand to zero.
Try this. Pull the crown out to the time setting position and press a button at a time. If no joy then push in slightly to the date setting position and repeat the button presses.
As for maninthestreet's 'fit for the dustbin', then you've never owned a decent expensive quartz watch. A movement from somewhere like cousins UK or a decent repair shop will normally cost you far less than the manufacturer quote.

bjorn_toby_wilde

Wealdroam and bod1467 thank you very much for your advice.

Following you posts I approached the local store who offered to reduce the cost of the repair to £100. I didn't fancy throwing more money at a faulty watch so used the template letter to ask Goldsmiths customer services for a refund.

I got no response after 14 days so sent another email asking for an urgent reply. This morning I got a call offering me either a free repair or a new replacement watch. A fair response and a great result thanks to your advice.

Interestingly the Goldsmith's people said they had approached Tissot again and they flatly refused to compromise - a very good reason to avoid Tissot and Swatch products I would say!

Thanks folks