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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...

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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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