Now, this might seem like a bit of a rant but once you see the pics below you’ll understand my point. I had a job yesterday on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and while I know the area pretty well I didn’t know the directions to the actual street in Buderim so I put my iPhone GPS app Navigon to work (AUS$69.99 in the iTunes store) to point me in the right direction.
I was headed up the Gateway motorway and then onto the Bruce Highway to Buderim, a trip of just under 100km. This is what Google shows as the directions
Google Maps' directions for BNE to Buderim
Perfect, I already knew the directions so I just tapped the street address in and set the phone aside and planned to wait until I was only a couple of km’s out to check the actual directions to the street. After about 20 mins of driving Navigon piped up “Turn left in 1 km”. WTF?
Turn left up a dirt track?
Navigon wanted me to turn left up a dirt track instead of simply heading straight up the motorway at 110km/h. Why would that be? Ahhh – so I can get to Buderim, Navigon’s way.
280km v 96km... F*CK YOU Navigon!
I guess you can see the problem above? If not maybe you actually work for Navigon (or should work for Navigon!)
So, I’m not stupid and I didn’t listen to the Navigon lady (I liked to call her Moneypenny, but now I refer to her as B*TCH) and just kept driving the way I knew.
Where the problem lies is that the only way I saw the whole map above was by getting out of ’street view’ and zooming out on the overall map and seeing where the problem lay. Last night I had dinner with a friend in Brisbane who has a German au pair. She rightly said that she would have followed B*TCH word for word as she had no idea where Buderim was, turning the one hour motorway trip into a 4 hour trip through the countryside.
This got me to thinking, how many times had B*TCH given me the run-a-round? So I tasked her with showing me the way back to Brisbane, a route I knew perfectly well.
Ummm, see the problem here?
I was on the M3 motorway heading in to the city and it wanted me to take a 12km detour and join up to a point 2km straight ahead of where I was already heading. I didn’t fall for that one but then I realised – how many times had I fallen for this in the months I have had the app? I have worked in Melbourne and Sydney, two cities that I don’t really know my way around perfectly well and for the most time I followed B*TCH word for word. Now I wonder, where had she taken me? How much extra fuel had I used? How much time had I wasted?
To cut a long story short, I want a refund of AUS$69.99 from you Navigon – your product is faulty and therefore I should be entitled to a refund. And maybe while refunding my money you could spare a thought for all the people who follow B*TCH word for word!
UPDATE – Just went into the Apple Store to request a refund, filled in the form in detail and got this helpful response. Cheers Apple
UPDATE II – Filled in another form on the Apple site and after a few days got this response below -
Dear Cameron,
##### here. Your request for a refund for “MobileNavigator Australia [ Version 1821064 ]” was carefully considered; however, according to the iTunes Store Terms of Sale, all purchases made on the iTunes Store are final. This policy matches Apple’s refund policies and provides protection for copyrighted materials.
You can review the iTunes Store Terms of Sale for more information:
http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/us/sales.htmlI would also contact the Developer of the app and check to see what they can do for you. I have included their name and a link to their website.
Developer is :
Navigon
Website:
http://www.navigon.com/portal/int/produkte/navigationssoftware/mobile_navigator_iphone_eu.html;jsessionid=4EA4C55BEE6DB33292E88B0EFF1B18F1.kmf-website-3Sincerely,
#####
iTunes Store Customer Support
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/ww/Please Note: I work Sun ,, Tues, Wed , Thur , and Fri 8AM-4:30PM CT
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to assist you. You may receive an AppleCare survey email; any feedback you provide would be greatly appreciated.
So, I am going to forward my messages to Navigon and see where it ends up – if I have no luck there then off to a relevant government authority to see what can be done. IT’S THE PRINCIPLE DAMMIT! You can’t sell something that clearly doesn’t work properly and then refuse to ‘refund,replace or repair’.
UPDATE III - Just got a reply back from Navigon (see below), unhelpful to say the least. So, it’s off to the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) tomorrow, will report back with any updates.
Dear customer,
thank you for contacting the NAVIGON support team.
With regards to obtaining a refund please contact the App store as you made your purchase at the App Store.
For further information on your product please see the link under :
http://www.navigon.com/portal/de/produkte/navigationssoftware/mobile_navigator_iphone_eu.html
If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to ask.
Yours sincerely
________________
NAVIGON Support TeamNAVIGON AG
Berliner Platz 11
97080 Wuerzburg
Phone for United Kingdom: 0871-2880154 (0,10 GBP/€/min. Fixed network, mobile tarifs may vary)
E-Mail: support.uk@navigon.com
Web: www.navigon.complease attach previous e-mails.
Any questions about our products?
Our openening times are from 7am to 7pm Monday to Friday.
#1 by Alan Foley at January 16th, 2010
Cam that’s what you get when you let a female give you directions.
#2 by David at January 20th, 2010
Maybe Brisbane is a problem area for GPS. When I lived in Spring Hill I could go straight up the end of my street and onto countess street or the bypass to get on the freeway to the southside yet the whereis maps wanted me to go through the city instead
#3 by Jason at January 20th, 2010
I dealt with Apple recently when the Sennheiser headphones which I purchased from the Apple Store died three times in 18 months. They tried to tell me that I had to take them to the manufacturer for repair because it was after 14 days.
I found this page on the Fair Trading department website. You will see therein, that as Apple sold you the goods, it is their responsibility to make good. Using this information, I was able to not only return the headphones, but to make matters simpler for myself, I got Apple to exchange them for their own brand in case there are problems in the future.
Refer the matter to the ACCC.
Start here:
http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/3863
and also read the one below, the PDF they link to seems to me that you should get a refund:
http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/792149
#4 by Cameron at January 20th, 2010
Hi guys!
Thanks for your feedback. Jason, appreciate the links – that was my option if Navigon fail to come through. I will go to the ACCC and see what can be done.
Cheers
#5 by Craig Maunder at January 24th, 2010
Love Apple products, but I got a similar runaround trying to return a defective iPod to henrys (a Canadian camera store chain). There was no way to return it to either them or Apple according to their policies once it was opened. Needless to say I’ve decided to shop for camera equip elsewhere now.
#6 by Playboi at February 3rd, 2010
Maybe its a route settings issue. I use the navigon app all the time and have not had any issues at all apart from a few mapping issues which is expected.
You need to remember GPS devices work better when you dont know where you are going. All are not 100% right and these issues need to be reported to navigon so that they can have their engineers take a look at it.
#7 by Darren at February 13th, 2010
Hi Cameron,
Under NSW law your a entitled to a credit/exchange or refund. I am currently in dispute with iTunes and expect them to offer me a refund any day now. Below is a copy of consumer entitlement as described by the department, followed by a link to the NSW Department of Fair Trading website. Similar departments exist in all states.
DARREN
When are consumers entitled to a refund?
The goods consumers purchase must be of merchantable quality. Goods and services supplied to consumers must also be reasonably fit for any particular purpose made known by the consumer to the supplier except where the consumer does not rely, or it is unreasonable for the consumer to rely, on the skill or judgement of the supplier.
Consumers may ask for a refund if the goods purchased:
have a basic, serious fault that was not known by the consumer at the time of purchase
do not do the job that the consumer was led to believe they would do
do not match the sample the consumer was shown, or
do not fit their description.
Consumers and traders may negotiate other solutions such as a repair or replacement but under these circumstances a consumer has a legal right to cancel a contract (rescind) and receive a refund if there is a breach of that contract.
Where a dispute arises between a consumer and a trader, NSW Fair Trading can negotiate with the parties to achieve an acceptable solution.
Remember: you cannot ask for a cash refund if you did not pay cash.
It can also be viewed at the attached web address:
http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/Consumers/Refunds_and_warranties.html#When_are_consumers_entitled_to_a_refund