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Refunding your GPS App Purchases?
- Thread starter Khryz
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Glad I read this...
Hmmm, left or right. That's a very basic concept. Since the first one cell organism left the primordial soup, there has been left or right. Tom Tom not having it is strange.
What happened to doing your research before plunking down $70-$100 for an app? Expecting a refund because of a technical problem preventing you from running the app is one thing, but wanting a refund simply because you don't like it is another. The policy is pretty clear. Now I know where all the open-box items come from - people who buy something simply because everyone else is buying it, then realize they don't want it.
This I agree.
TomTom didn't advertise that it'll tell you whether the destination is on the left or right. It is unfair to TomTom or any software vendor if you buy it base on compulsion and after you become bored of it you want a return.
On the other hand if TomTom says it will give you AUDIO warning for overspeeding and it doesn't then it is completely justifiable mean the user wants to break the law. It is because we want to be good road users that GPS should provide these functionalities.
I want to keep and fair that consumers are protected with a refund guarentee. Similarly Navigon promised visual and audio overspeeding warning in Australia but didn't even give us data on roads' speed limit, then users should have the right to be given the refund.
Frankly I won't even mind keeping it and waiting for a fix in the next version if the vendor would just apologise and promise to fix the problem officially. It is the inaction, non-response, and uncontactability that left me with no choice but to get these refunds.
Glad I read this...
Hmmm, left or right. That's a very basic concept. Since the first one cell organism left the primordial soup, there has been left or right. Tom Tom not having it is strange.
While not trying to devalue your preference, I don't see this feature as essential at all.
When I arrive at a new destination, I have to look for the exact street number anyway regardless if whether the side is announced. So if the left's number is not it, where else could it be?
Unless the routing logic gives me the option to arrive from the correct side of the road so that we need not cross walk across a road fir safety reason?
Because I've already extensively used Copilot, TomTom, Garmin, Mapking, iGo and few others (abeit only briefly) on my winmo devices before this, I'm well aware of which would announce if you arrive on the left or right. But I don't personally place any value on this feature.
Why not pay attention to what you are doing? My god, it takes a half second to glance at the speedometer. I hope there aren't too many people on the road like you. Depending on a GPS to tell you if you are speeding through a school zone, etc is just laughable.
Why not pay attention to what has already been explained in the last few posts? My God, it takes only a few minutes to read before posting. I hope there aren't too many forumners like you. This thread is not titled "is using GPS evil?". It is about asking for refunds when the software vendor fails to deliver what's promised.
Doing research will not tell me now a GPS application works in my specific area. There is no, "See how X GPS system works in your area!" sort of website that I can check. Why do you think cell phone carriers allow you to return the phone and contact and everything within a certain number of days? Because if you don't get service, the cell phone/carrier is not for you.
That is one thing that I hate about digital downloads, because there's no physical store to bring "it" back to. You're at the whim of whatever website/vendor on whether or not they'll answer your complaint.
If I buy TomTom and it completely sucks around me whereas Navigon is much better, what is wrong with asking for a refund? Why would anyone expect them to keep a product that doesn't work for them?
That is why I made this thread. It seems some people get quick responses and now from what I just read, one of the last posts here from daviddw says he can't get a refund.
@David, what happened?
I bought sygic first, didn't like it because it had no pois for the northweswt. To return it, I called Apple, got passed to about 4 different people, then they finally said they would refund my money. I callled after about 24 hours after purchasing.
I certainly have no qualms about returning something to the store that doesn't meet my expectations. I do my research by going online, reading the instruction manuals, visiting consumer reports, checking with friends, playing with the item in the store... but there's no substitute for using a device in the way that you'll be using it every day to determine if it really works for you. The electronics stores and even the cell phone companies understand that people like me won't buy things unless they have the option to return if dissatisfied. That's the cost of doing business for them and most retailers understand that and provide the option. Unfortunately, these GPS App authors are asking us to pay big money for their products without any opportunity to demo or trial. That's why I'll be on the sidelines for this whole iPhone GPS thing. If I can't at least test a limited time demo version or have a money-back guarantee, why would I spend money on these items.
I'd love to try these apps out and see how they work, but there's no way I'll spend more than $5 on something sight unseen.
Another good example. Every time I've ever switched cellular providers, I've asked for and been given a loaner phone for 24 hours to take home and to work to see how the coverage is. It's a great way to avoid all the paperwork of a new contract and cancellation if it's not going to work for me.
It shouldn't be too difficult to allow folks to download a working demo of the gps that's limited to a few uses or 10 miles or something. That's what registration codes are for.
I was interested to read the post saying navigon is better in north America and tomtom for Europe. I have a tomtom one standalone unit and navigon on my iPhone. In terms of maps I see no real difference between the two yet (and I travel a lot in uk). Perhaps this rule of thumb doesn't apply to uk?
I bought navigon European edition and complained when uk version was released a couple of days later at a lower price. I kept the app but couldn't get updates. I ended up buying the uk version (to get the updates) but missed out on the introductory offer.
I bought navigon European edition and complained when uk version was released a couple of days later at a lower price. I kept the app but couldn't get updates. I ended up buying the uk version (to get the updates) but missed out on the introductory offer.
I had no problem getting a refund from apple for Navigon. Try as I might there is just no hope for that app working on my phone. I give up. But I won't buy Tom Tom till it support TTS and the dock is out. Then and only then. A GPS is worthless to me without TTS.
How did you go about asking for a refund? Did it take awhile to get? Did you basically just call Apple, e-mail, etc?
Offcourse its a very usefull feature.
Almost every Nav unit I had before told you arriving at destination on left or right.
Why would I want to try to find the numbers on what side of the street? What if its dark or cant see them clear? I'd have to get out of the car. Even my old $60 Garmin Nuvi had that feature.
Almost every Nav unit I had before told you arriving at destination on left or right.
Why would I want to try to find the numbers on what side of the street? What if its dark or cant see them clear? I'd have to get out of the car. Even my old $60 Garmin Nuvi had that feature.
refunds for software
while I think it is great customer service for apple to allow some form of refunds, I think it is odd since essentially no other retail establishment or online download service would allow software refunds once used or the software is opened. It just doesn't happen.
while I think it is great customer service for apple to allow some form of refunds, I think it is odd since essentially no other retail establishment or online download service would allow software refunds once used or the software is opened. It just doesn't happen.
Since Navteq covers more countries in Europe than TeleAtlas (at least in their iPhone incarnations) I wonder why you think that TeleAtlas works best for Europe?
Except that most software that I've purchased allows you to run a trial for at least 10-30 days before you purchase it or run a limited version that can be unlocked for a fee.
About 70% of the apps I've purchased at the app store have been a total waste of money. At $1-5 I can deal with it, but as some of these apps get higher in price, apple really needs to figure out a way for customers to try them out before they spend the money on them.
LOL ! Ain't that the truth.
haha, yeah. I'm pretty sure I drove on the FDR for a year before ever noticing a speed limit sign.
must agree with you
That's exactly what I found out. TomTom sucks big here in the States. The map must be at least 7-8 years old. Stay away from TomTom.
That's exactly what I found out. TomTom sucks big here in the States. The map must be at least 7-8 years old. Stay away from TomTom.
1. Sygic uses maps from WhereIs.
2. WhereIs is an Australian travel map.
3. Sidney is a place in Australia.
4. You are riding in Australia with an Australian maped GPS app on your iPhone
C. No winder why Sygic works best for you and not MacWorld
1a. Navigon uses maps from Navteq
1b. TomTom uses maps from TeleAtlas
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2a. Navteq works best for America
2b. TeleAtlas works best for Europe
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C1. Navigon for America
C2. TomTom for Europe