Snooper series speed camera detectors (4Zero, 4Zero Elite, 4Zero Elite BT)

Gaberdeen

So I received this email this morning from the manufacturer of speed camera detectors I've purchased 3 of in the last 2 years:
"

Dear valued Snooper customer,

Import information about your Snooper 4Zero.

Updates for all versions of 4 Zero will end 31st December 2020.

You may have read that Snooper has been acquired by In Phase International, the automotive tech specialists behind the award-winning Road Angel suite of products.

The great news is that the group is already funding huge steps forward for the Snooper range of products and we can’t wait to share more on that with you later in the year.

However, on reviewing the current range it is clear that the 4Zero/BT/Elite BT are a little tired, especially when compared to the multi-award winning Road Angel Pure. If we’re honest, they are years behind what you deserve.

Also:

• 4Zero cannot physically handle the new updated database from Road Angel
• The tech is years old and is going to struggle with new updates.

Therefore, after careful consideration, we have taken the decision that we will no longer support the following Snooper products:

4Zero

4Zero Elite

4Zero Elite BT

As a result, there are no spare parts, no technical support and no more updates BUT we have a far better solution for you.

Road Angel is simply a better product for the job and we want you to have the best, so we have created an exclusive offer for you as a loyal customer.

Upgrade to the best in the market at a fraction of the RRP 

We would like to offer you an upgrade to the award-winning Road Angel Pure at a cost of just £99.99 plus subscription.

That will save you £149.99 alone AND don’t worry, we will even discount the subscription for you to just £49.99 for 12months.

That’s another big saving of £49.99 and you are getting a far superior product!

              

Please note, this offer is limited to Snooper 4Zero customers and is not available to anyone else. We will also only be offering it for a limited time so please do take action now ordering today.

We appreciate some customers may have missed our email
last week so we are running the offer one last time. 
This must end on Monday 19th October at midnight.

"

So first off - they plan on discontinuing a product - a product they are still selling for full-price on the Halfords website 

The product in question - the 4Zero Elite BT came with a lifetime subscription to a GPS database - they effectively plan to stop supporting this subscription which was a major selling point of the unit in the first instance.
On the face of it, this seems like a cynical ploy to try and "force" customers to upgrade to the new-parent company's flagship products (Road Angel) - giving the "discount" to "loyal" customers when in fact the old customers are being shafted. Surely this can't be legal? Is anyone in a position to categorically state if it is? I know SONOS fell foul of trying to do this with their older play: 5-connect speaker models and ended up having to apologise to millions of customers, I doubt this is anywhere near as bad but the principle is 100% the same. What are my/our options, really? I've already contacted the Scottish Consumer Watchdog (I live in Scotland) and made a complaint because I don't think it's fair. I guess I just wanted to rant out loud about it!

Any constructive feedback welcome.

Jack_Cork

If not spam stand by for the 'holier than thou' posts regarding sticking to the speed limits, its a limit not a target, I've driven for 40 years and never had a speeding ticket type comment

Lomast

I am not familiar  with how these devices work, will it still continue to work without the support even if it maybe misses the very newest cameras? if so I don't think they have broken any laws by discontinuing the product. 

chrisw

The whole idea of these things is out of date now really, particularly at those prices, even the discounted ones.

The detection devices will still detect cameras and lasers with their limitations and false alarms, whilst the GPS camera location data is now available for free on Google Maps.

I still agree with your sentiment with regards to 'lifetime', but many companies have got away with the same thing, Tomtom stopped their lifetime updates for many units not so long ago.

Gaberdeen

It would appear that Road Angel have form for this already

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3874735/road-angel-classic-when-is-lifetime-subscription-not-for-life/p1

Link to this forum where customers experienced the exact same thing.

Gaberdeen

Lomast said:

I am not familiar  with how these devices work, will it still continue to work without the support even if it maybe misses the very newest cameras? if so I don't think they have broken any laws by discontinuing the product. 

These devices will still work, that's true - but the database will not be updated and that was the hook for paying for the premium model over the other 2. They are free to discontinue the product, it's the non-honouring of the lifetime updates that I'm more annoyed about.

Also, if they plan on discontinuing - why are they still selling them? They will stop being supported in December, Halfords are still selling them at 100% RRP - do Halfords even know/vare their selling a defunct product?

facade

Now you know what

FREE speed camera subscription for the lifetime of the product

actually means.

I have something similar from a few years back stuffed in a drawer somewhere- I have an idea it is a Road Angel, it used to light up different colours and beep IIRC, that went the same way as the "lifetime subscription" was quickly ended.

They are no better than the speed camera alerts that you can get for a SatNav, the physical detector is useless, as it only detects a laser that has pinged you, except in very exceptional circumstances.

I was reading an article in PCPro some time ago about the amount of non-functional stuff that is out there as "Lifetime subscriptions" are changed into "Monthlies"

[Deleted User]

Lifetime means lifetime of the device, not your lifetime. Nobody with common sense would interpret that offer as meaning you'd have it for the next 20,30,40 etc years. Manufacturers end of life devices all the time, it's perfectly normal in industry, Cisco have a lifecycle of devices which is typically 7 years from launch date to last date of support, Apple do it for 7 as well . Sometimes it's a marketing ploy, others it's simply down to lack of parts, obsolete tech etc. My old Garmin satnav technically has lifetime updates of Euro maps, Garmin even moved the cover when they replaced the device due to a faulty power button when it was a few years old. The updates now unfortunately are too big for the device storage so it's limited to just the UK now (I don't use it any more but do occasionally update it just in case).

Gaberdeen

So when I complained - I took to the companies Facebook page to politely but firmly voice my disquiet and... I've been blocked from the page and my complaint removed. This is the level of pettiness In Phase International are at. They are unilaterally changing the terms of our agreement and simply ignoring any customer who feels put out. Pathetic.

[Deleted User]

As per my last comment, they haven't changed anything. The support was for the lifetime of the device, the device is no longer supported (i.e. End of Life) due to the technical limitations, so it has come to the end of its lifetime support.

DiddyDavies

Deleted_User said:

As per my last comment, they haven't changed anything. The support was for the lifetime of the device, the device is no longer supported (i.e. End of Life) due to the technical limitations, so it has come to the end of its lifetime support.

As far as the manufacturers are concerned, the lifetime of a satnav is as follows:

If you purchase a Lifetime subscription (“LMU”), which is sold separately, or if your Product comes bundled with an LMU subscription, you will receive Map Data updates when and as such updates are made available on Snooper’s website, during the useful life of one compatible Snooper Product or as long as Snooper receives Map Data from HERE or other third-party providers, whichever is shorter. A Product’s “LIFETIME” means the period during which the product:

1. has sufficient memory capacity and other required technical capabilities to utilise current Map Data;
2. is capable of operating as intended without major repairs.
3. has been updated within 6monthly regular intervals.
4. is less than 4 years old from date of manufacture.

and I can't see that a speed camera detector will be looked at any differently.

https /gb.snooper.eu/end-user-licence-agreement