Tom Tom GPS Traffic is Gone .. Or, Here we go Again

[allanc]

What's going on with Tom Tom GPS Traffic?
The back story is:
I am in Toronto, Canada and suddenly, a couple of weeks ago, my Live Traffic stopped working (I had forgot to renew).
So, I go online and renew the 'US and Canada' traffic.
Several days later - still no traffic on the GPS.

I called Tom Tom and they said that there was no longer Live Traffic in Canada.
I tell them I just bought 'US and Canada' traffic.
They promise to call me back in 1-2 business days about a refund.
They don't (of course).
So, I call a week later and a different tech rep. tells me that the Canadian traffic is working but that my sim card is shot, the GPS is out of warranty so - I am out of luck.
Then they tell me that they no longer have an agreement with AT&T in the USA and the Live Traffic in the USA no longer works.
Does anybody that what is really going on?
Should I switch to Garmin?

.

 

[GTP]

I got the same thing with my NAVMAN.
Said there was an update available, so I buy it, it wont download so I call them.
They tell me that the unit is no longer supported! I ask why they offer the update if it's no longer supported?.....the sound of crickets!
I ask for a refund and it will take up to 5 business days! WTF!
Anyway, I got my money back but thinking of ditching NAVMAN!

BTW I'm in Australia.

 

[GEGeek_ツ]

When the warranty runs out they wont help you, but there will always be updates for the GPS. Both Tomtom and Navman have a form of live traffic updates in Australia, also depends which unit too, its a service they've offered for the last number of years going back 8+ years since using them.

Tomtom is the easest of them all too use.
Navman has a lot more content and controls
Garmin the same as Navman sim spec also more controls.

 

[allanc]

When the warranty runs out they wont help you, but there will always be updates for the GPS. Both Tomtom and Navman have a form of live traffic updates in Australia, also depends which unit too, its a service they've offered for the last number of years going back 8+ years since using them.

Tomtom is the easest of them all too use.
Navman has a lot more content and controls
Garmin the same as Navman sim spec also more controls.

So, you can spend around 250-300$ Canadian and after a year and a day it has a problem and you are sol!

 

[GTP]

When the warranty runs out they wont help you, but there will always be updates for the GPS. Both Tomtom and Navman have a form of live traffic updates in Australia, also depends which unit too, its a service they've offered for the last number of years going back 8+ years since using them.

Tomtom is the easest of them all too use.
Navman has a lot more content and controls
Garmin the same as Navman sim spec also more controls.

The point is though, why do they let you purchase stuff they no longer support? Then comes the rigmarole of getting a refund.
It's BS.

 

[GEGeek_ツ]

Its going the right way about getting a refund, from a customers point I can clearly see the drama, from a tech side its very different. As for why, because thats the way the cookie crumbles.

 

[GEGeek_ツ]

allanc
, warranty depends on your countries specifics. In Australia if an item is purchased with a life expectancy of e.g. 5 years and it dies after 2 years, if the supplier or the manufacturer wont play ball and help you, as long as the fault is a major fault of the device you're entitled to a replacement under the ACCC. As for your own country Allanc, I would certainly be looking into it, A GPS is supposed to last at least 2-3 years.

 

[tek9]

I don't know many people that still use GPS units around here. Most people have smartphones with built in GPS and Waze. Why would you carry around an extra device?

 

[allanc]

allanc
, warranty depends on your countries specifics. In Australia if an item is purchased with a life expectancy of e.g. 5 years and it dies after 2 years, if the supplier or the manufacturer wont play ball and help you, as long as the fault is a major fault of the device you're entitled to a replacement under the ACCC. As for your own country Allanc, I would certainly be looking into it, A GPS is supposed to last at least 2-3 years.

I have had this TomTom for about 5 years.

 

[fencepost]

How long has it been since the renewal, and have you gotten the refund yet? If not and it's closing in on or past 20 days, call and say "Unless the refund hits my card within the next few days I'll be filing a chargeback since your support staff have confirmed to me that you're no longer providing this service in Canada or to my device."

 

[allanc]

I don't know many people that still use GPS units around here. Most people have smartphones with built in GPS and Waze. Why would you carry around an extra device?

I keep the GPS in my glove box when not in use.

My Mazda-3 has a 7" 'infotainment' system.
This includes a GPS.
Although the car was sold with traffic for 3 years - it never worked.
It doesn't display, or warn about, speed limits unless you are driving on a highway.
The only 'street names' that it reads aloud are highway numbers.

I tried Waze on my Iphone for a couple of days and was impressed.
However, the screen is way to small for me and I do not have a way of attaching it to my car at more or less eye-level (yet).

 

[allanc]

How long has it been since the renewal, and have you gotten the refund yet? If not and it's closing in on or past 20 days, call and say "Unless the refund hits my card within the next few days I'll be filing a chargeback since your support staff have confirmed to me that you're no longer providing this service in Canada or to my device."

They promised the refund in the middle of last week.
They also promised me a coupon code for a 25% discount on anything on their web site .
All of this is supposed to arrive in an Email.

 

[seashore]

+1 for Waze. Been using it for years.

 

[HCHTech]

I used to LOVE TomTom. I had a very early model that I paid close to $800 for, it was magic in a box back in 2004, let me tell you. I prefer their way of entering destination addresses, City first (can use postal code as well), then street, then number. Over the years, though, their devices got worse and worse, and their support was always horrible. Yes, they are way cheaper now, but I'm sure all nav companies are struggling because the young folks all use their phones.

I like a dedicated device that doesn't switch away from the nav when the phone rings (usually 10 seconds before a critical turn), for example. Also, because I'm getting more and more myopic as I age, I like the ability to get a big 7" screen for that job.

Anyway, the last time I replaced my device in early 2016, I got a Garmin because there just wasn't a TomTom that met my very reasonable requirements - 7" screen, has to auto power on and off with the car, lifetime updates & traffic. TomTom decided to remove the auto power on/off to "encourage" you not to leave the device in the car - so they said when I asked, anyway.

I don't like the "addressing a letter" method of entering addresses (number first, then street, then city) of the Garmin, (including starting to search before you're done entering which I think makes the process longer), but other than that, I've been happy with the device.

I'm still waiting for a seamless way to send an address from my google contacts on the phone to my GPS, every implementation of this I've seen is kludgey, and error-prone. Guess I'll have to wait for Google to start making GPSs - and that ain't gonna happen.

 

[allanc]

Its going the right way about getting a refund, from a customers point I can clearly see the drama, from a tech side its very different. As for why, because thats the way the cookie crumbles.

Yes, but perhaps the customer's dissatisfaction will prompt them to go look at another company's offerings, Waze or Google Maps.
Also, all the extra work up and down the food chain at TomTom.
Lastly, since I am already logged in they have my profile with GPS model and home country.

Edit: AND even modifying the Web site to not include Canada or USA in the description of the product would be helpful.

 

[allanc]

What's going on with Tom Tom GPS Traffic?
The back story is:
I am in Toronto, Canada and suddenly, a couple of weeks ago, my Live Traffic stopped working (I had forgot to renew).
So, I go online and renew the 'US and Canada' traffic.
Several days later - still no traffic on the GPS.

I called Tom Tom and they said that there was no longer Live Traffic in Canada.
I tell them I just bought 'US and Canada' traffic.
They promise to call me back in 1-2 business days about a refund.
They don't (of course).
So, I call a week later and a different tech rep. tells me that the Canadian traffic is working but that my sim card is shot, the GPS is out of warranty so - I am out of luck.
Then they tell me that they no longer have an agreement with AT&T in the USA and the Live Traffic in the USA no longer works.
Does anybody that what is really going on?
Should I switch to Garmin?

.

The question remains:
Does TomTom GPS traffic still work in Canada or the USA?
I mean in general - not specific to one model or another.
TIA!

 

[allanc]

What's going on with Tom Tom GPS Traffic?
The back story is:
I am in Toronto, Canada and suddenly, a couple of weeks ago, my Live Traffic stopped working (I had forgot to renew).
So, I go online and renew the 'US and Canada' traffic.
Several days later - still no traffic on the GPS.

I called Tom Tom and they said that there was no longer Live Traffic in Canada.
I tell them I just bought 'US and Canada' traffic.
They promise to call me back in 1-2 business days about a refund.
They don't (of course).
So, I call a week later and a different tech rep. tells me that the Canadian traffic is working but that my sim card is shot, the GPS is out of warranty so - I am out of luck.
Then they tell me that they no longer have an agreement with AT&T in the USA and the Live Traffic in the USA no longer works.
Does anybody that what is really going on?
Should I switch to Garmin?

.

In case anyone is interested in the resolution?
TomTom Agent #1 - No live traffic service in Canada
TomTom Agent #2 - #1 is wrong ... there is service in Canada but not the USA. Your SIM card is fried.
TomTom Agent #3 - Agent # 1 and #2 are both wrong. There is live traffic service in both countries. Your SIM card was deactivated. 'Let me fix that for you.'. Two minutes later the live traffic is working on my TomTom GPS.
Aren't they all reading from the same scripts?

 

[HCHTech]

TomTom Agent #3 - Agent # 1 and #2 are both wrong.

So typical these days. I've learned to almost never trust the first answer from support. I burned a few hours last year on a Quickbooks problem (the "one click" export from my payroll service stopped working. It took three different calls until I got someone who understood the issue and fixed it within seconds. The first two offered different versions of "we've discontinued that service". WTF.

 

[allanc]

So typical these days. I've learned to almost never trust the first answer from support. I burned a few hours last year on a Quickbooks problem (the "one click" export from my payroll service stopped working. It took three different calls until I got someone who understood the issue and fixed it within seconds. The first two offered different versions of "we've discontinued that service". WTF.

It seems that 3 is the magic number.