TAG Watch Repair Cost - SCAM

Joe_Horner

Back to the (apparently long-gone) OP's complaint. from a watchmaker:

Yes, that repair quote is a scam, as is their requirement for you to have it serviced regularly. Their description of what they do for your money on services is almost certainly an outright lie when it comes to basic battery powered watches.

I haven't paid attention to their latest models but, up to a couple of years ago, most (if not all) ladies TAG quartz watches were using ETA F series movements.

There's a very good reason why they won't actually do what they claim to do with those movements, which is that I can buy them - singly, brand new, and from a reputable supplier, for £17 + VAT. They'll cost TAG far less than that bought by the bucket load and without a middle-man. I know that on Citizen parts the UK's main supplier has about 100% mark-up because i have a direct Citizen parts account, so it's likely that the bulk cost of that movement is less than £8.50.

Now, how much of a skilled watchmaker's time do you think £8.50 (or even £17) will buy you? I'll give you a clue - nowhere near enough to service a movement. So, while claiming to service what they actually do is pull the old one out (working or not), throw it in the bin, and replace the complete insides with new.

Which is why having quartz movements "serviced" before they go wrong is, in most cases, a complete waste of money.

billhames

Just to add to this - I have Tag and the water seal failed. I immediately sent it to TAG for repair and was told the cost would be in excess of £1100. The watch is an automatic divers chronograph so not a simple repair but it was working when I sent it to them and the quote seemed to include replacing everything in the watch including the strap. I have not had the watch serviced regularly but was told I should have been paying £36 per year to have the waterproof seals replaced and £370 every third year for a service - averaging £147.33 per year. I've decided not to buy TAG's as presents for my children because they can't afford the running costs..

Heliflyguy

I have a TAG professional think it is a model from the 3000 series, have it on now and have worn it for most of the last 14 years from buying it new for £360.

Apart from the bezel going in both directions again, it was fixed once under warranty, and it needing a bit of a clean on the outside its been working very well, and not a scratch on the glass either.

Never been serviced although I wont let it near water anymore.

Would I buy one now, not a snow flakes chance in hell at those prices.

On the other hand a Braun radio watch BN0087 that I have had for just over a year is proving extremely difficult to get the battery replaced.

One jeweller couldnt remove the back, and to be honest the recess on the body and the lip on the back are tiny and In-time in Guildford refuses to touch watches with the radio time setting function for fear of damage to the RC ability.

Finding a local watchmaker is also proving difficult as well.

fleshandbone

Heliflyguy wrote: »

I have a TAG professional think it is a model from the 3000 series, have it on now and have worn it for most of the last 14 years from buying it new for £360.

Apart from the bezel going in both directions again, it was fixed once under warranty, and it needing a bit of a clean on the outside its been working very well, and not a scratch on the glass either.

Never been serviced although I wont let it near water anymore.

Would I buy one now, not a snow flakes chance in hell at those prices.

On the other hand a Braun radio watch BN0087 that I have had for just over a year is proving extremely difficult to get the battery replaced.

One jeweller couldnt remove the back, and to be honest the recess on the body and the lip on the back are tiny and In-time in Guildford refuses to touch watches with the radio time setting function for fear of damage to the RC ability.

Finding a local watchmaker is also proving difficult as well.

Does your braun watch blow dry your hair aswell?

Heliflyguy

If I waived it above my head for long enough it probably would. :beer:

vuvuzela

Braun service centre http://www.braun-clocks.com/productservice

kinglewis121

daytona0 wrote: »

Marliepanda has made a good post about your rights. Warranty may be out of the question, but you will be covered under SOGA if you meet the criteria (the retailer, given item is costly, may offer you some leeway with this). Worst case scenario is that you'll need an independent fault report to show that it was inherently faulty.

But to comment on the part I quoted;

I am gobsmacked. There are people in this world living in poverty and you pay 2k to tell the time (wouldn't even be bothered if you weren't being nitty by trying to get recompense here! If you can afford to pay 2k to buy a watch then you must be well off, in which case a £377 bill is nothing - you're obviously not a truly rich person if you don't just pay £377!). I pray that you and your wife are charitable. If you have 2k to spend on a watch (I thought my apple watch was pushing it!) then you must be fairly comfortable money-wise. The bill for repairs is thus not astronomical for you.

I will, however, happily take my comments back if it was an anniversary/wedding gift etc... Something of true significance. But given TAG's website seems to imply F1/sporty watches I think it is just for status. If it is for status then you've just dropped the ball by not automatically paying the £377. I could wear a £2 watch from Tuebrook market and be richer than you...

that guy is savage

kinglewis121

daytona0 wrote: »

Do you not think that £1990 of that £2k could have gone towards funding charity groups who help people who suffer from nicotine addiction? I'm sure the £10 surplus could have gone towards a watch which was capable of telling the time...

Some people may spend that much on fags each YEAR, but they don't spend that much ON ONE TRANSACTION! 2k divided by 12 months is £167 which MOST working people have in surplus each month (but don't necessarily have a 2k line of credit)! The watch is an impulse buy! Either due to OP being rich (in which case why did they not automatically pay the £377 repair bill for a 3-4 year old item?) or they have a fat credit line (fake "rich person"). It could also be a wedding (etc) purchase, but I'm not really buying that given the brand.

If op is genuinely rich then they should be giving money to charities. Maybe they should donate money to charities who help nicotine addicts, as per your post. Or should we "keep pedalling" 2k watches while people die of lung cancer in the UK?

under what circumstances are you enabled to tell someone how to spend their money? to be fair ive enjoyed reading these savage rich boy replies but yours is stupid .... if you are so bothered by it send all your money to charity but how someone spends theirs is not one iota of your business

Joe_Horner

billhames wrote: »

Just to add to this - I have Tag and the water seal failed. I immediately sent it to TAG for repair and was told the cost would be in excess of £1100. The watch is an automatic divers chronograph so not a simple repair but it was working when I sent it to them and the quote seemed to include replacing everything in the watch including the strap. I have not had the watch serviced regularly but was told I should have been paying £36 per year to have the waterproof seals replaced and £370 every third year for a service - averaging £147.33 per year. I've decided not to buy TAG's as presents for my children because they can't afford the running costs..

Tag auto chronos are a straightforward (if not exactly simple) repair for any experienced watchmaker. The makers would have you believe that it requires their own special magic fairy-dust and secret incantations by the Master of the Turns. It doesn't.

Assuming no damage, fully (and I do mean fully) servicing a typical modern chrono movement will take me around 5 - 7 hours.

A full set of genuine TAG crown, pushers and back seals will run at around £90 outside their network (so a lot cheaper to them).

They won't supply the new dial or new hands that they've undoubtedly included as "essential" in their quote to you, but cost to them will NOT be expensive - I can get a single dial professionally refinished for around £100, they're having them done by machine on a productions line.

Similar but not "genuine" hands of the same quality work out at around £10 for a set. So theirs will cost them no more than that. Typical parts damaged by minor water ingress will work out at around £15 - £25.

So, that's 7 hours work and at most £225 in parts (most of which won't be needed but they'll insist on fitting them anyway).

Puts them on around £125 an hour - nice work if you can get it!

Nebulous2

I've just read this thread right through. I've always been fascinated by the lifestyle choices that people make, and other people's attitudes to them. It's not a moral issue for me it's quite simply that people value things differently.

I've twice taken a drop in pay, which caused me to re-evaluate what was important to me, but felt better off for it.

A choice which highlights what I am talking about and is one of the biggest ones around is the decision for someone on whether to go back to work after having a baby. Lots of people my wife has talked to have said they don't want to go back - but they 'have' to. Actually many (most/all?) of them don't. They have to if they want to maintain their current lifestyle, but if they adjusted it they wouldn't have to.

My own experience of watches is that I was given an automatic Omega as a present when I was 16. I have some allergies and eventually had to give up wearing it, though I still have it. Many years later I was given a titanium Tissot as a leaving present from my work. I posted my experience with it here, which contrasts favourably with the OPs experience.

Back to lifestyle choices though. I can't imagine ever being in the position where I would pay £2000 for a watch. My Tissot seems extremely expensive for a timepiece to me. Yet I have a £2000 bicycle. I bet many of the people on this thread, who are relaxed about a £2000 watch would find that impossible to get their head round.

Choices, choices ...... and we're all different.