On May 15th of this year (2009), I purchased a WowWee TriBot on
Woot.com as a new item. When I
received the robot, I discovered that it had a common, known
problem - the head light flap and the eyebrows would flap open
and closed continuously with no way to stop it. Since this is a
known problem in the WowWee community, I didn't think I would
have a problem getting a replacement. Wrong.
After contacting WowWee customer support, I was informed that
the warranty was null and void because "... they [Woot.com]
are not an authorized dealer of our products." :o Are you kidding?
To be covered under warranty, an item must be purchased from a
specific manufacturer-approved retailer. In all my years, I
have never heard of such an unethical practice.
I am not writing this to be vindictive or malicious. I only
want to warn anyone considering a WowWee product of the
possibility that that brand-new robot may not be covered
under warranty. In this case, more than ever, it truly is
"Buyer Beware."
Below is a copy of the communications between WowWee and myself
regarding this matter:
Ticket Number: xxxxx
Creation Time: 2009-05-20 03:34:01 PM (Eastern time -4)
I purchased this Tribot through Woot.com and it arrived today.
After about five minutes of playing with it, the light on top
of his head and his eyebrows started flopping up and down
continuously. I tried turning him off and then back on and
even removing the batteries. Nothing stops it. I understand
that this item is under warranty since it was purchased new.
How do I go about getting it repaired/replaced? Thanks...
----
WowWee Customer Service
2009-05-21 09:45:43 AM (Eastern time -4)
Derek Tombrello,
Unfortunately all of our items purchased through w00t.com are
not covered under warranty as they are not an authorized
dealer of our products. Please contact w00t.com and arrange
for a refund.
Sincerely,
WowWee Customer Service
After receiving this shocking reply, I again emailed WowWee
Customer Service with the following comments:
Ticket Number: xxxxx
Creation Time: 2009-05-27 01:12:30 AM (Eastern time -4)
I recently emailed you regarding a problem with a TriBot
that I had purchased new on Woot.com (ticket # xxxxx). I
was told that the warranty would not be honored because
Woot.com was not an authorized dealer for your products.
That has been bothering me ever since, so I went and I
reread your warranty legalese at
http://wowwee.com/en/warranty. Nowhere on that page do you
state that a warranty requires an item to be purchased
from a specific retailer - only that "This warranty is
extended only to the original end-user purchaser of a new
product that was not sold "as is"." With that said, I have
always been under the impression that a warranty covered
the item purchased, not the dealer who sold it.
If this truly is the intention of the WowWee staff, I
would like to request a complete copy of the warranty
agreement so that I can 1) review and familiarize myself
with all of it's various nuances and 2) alert the public
to the loopholes by which WowWee is able to circumvent the
warranty.
The answer that I received today furthers the lack of true support
that WowWee offers their customers. In response to my request for
further information, I was sent an identical form-letter copy of
the answer I received the first time. Apparently, their email
system is set to recognize the word 'Woot' and respond with a
standard 'not-our-problem' form-letter.
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