I rely on TomTom technology for navigation.
- The software is brilliant
- Up to date traffic details have saved me hours.
However a recent problem in downloading maps left me totally unhappy with their support service.
Lessons Learned
Problems started when I need to update my maps on my GO 910. These were a year or two out of date.
So on their web site a paid for a fresh update.
What I did not notice was their miserly 7 day refund policy.
Lesson 1 – Install TomTom products quickly after paying for them. If you get a problem after 7 days they are non too keen to issue a refund.
When I came to use TomTom Home to download the maps – I hit a major problem – download did not work.
As I reported to TomTom…
“I have paid for a new UK/Europe Map. But I cannot download it via TomTom Home. I have spent two hours on this without success.
I have uninstalled and re-installed TomTom Home. TomTom Home starts and finds the device ok.
I can also successfully login via TomTom Home. The online store and subscribe to traffic screens also work ok.
But whenever I click “Download your updates” it reports “There was a problem contacting TomTom Plus. Please try again later.”
I have tried downloading with my virus software disabled (Kaspersky) but still no luck.
Please get you help me download maps. This is quite urgent for us.”
I tried to download
- Via different PCs (XP and Vista)
- Via a phone line.
- With and without virus software
I also re-installed TomTom Home with the latest downloaded version.
All without success.
There then followed several discussions.
The support staff suggested everything. One suggested I visit an Internet café (brilliant!!). Several suggested my router was at fault.
I suggested the system at their end was at fault. They said this could not possibly be the problem.
Eventually I tried setting up a new account via their web site. This was my idea – and not one of their support staff had the initiative to suggest this. Then bingo! Download were fine.
But I was left with a problem. My new maps and other TomTom software was left tied to the old account.
So several more days elapsed before they agreed to transfer most items to the new account.
After all this, there was not the slightest sign of humility or a refund or apology.
So some further lessons here:
Lesson 2 – You need to make additional requests to get their attention. They say they respond to emails within 24 hours – frequently they do not.
Lesson 3 – Don’t expect the Support staff to pay much attention to your problem investigation or analysis – They will not. They will always believe “They know best” – Sadly they do not.
Lesson 4 : Your TomTom account might be screwed up and this will prevent downloads – To check this try setting up a new account and see if that works
Had the same sort of problem, if the update is the 2007 one for UK & Ireland forget it, open the zip file when it downloads and look at the dates on the contained files.
Only response from TOMTOM was that I was wrong.
No explanation why a major ring road in Leicester opened 7 years ago is still marked as under construction and not navigable either.
Onto ebay for my tomtom.
I own a TomTom One in car GPS.
I phone TomTom Sydney Aust customer support line last week on their support number and spoke to them about getting an update for the GPS maps.
They adised that the update was only available on line and was 100meg in size,and cost about $150
I logged onto their web site on thursday 8th Nov at about 8 PM There was an update to the PC software available. I downloaded and installed that OK, so my internet is working OK
I then went through their web site purchase maps on line routine, which accepted my credit card details and accepted payment and gave an order number
The page then went to a “Download Maps” page to start downloading. Before starting to download, an error was reported ” Forbidden” and an error ID 414597.
There was no way on the web site to go back and try again to download the maps. The only option was to pay for it again… No thanks.
The following day Friday 9th of Nov, I tried to call their Support line in Sydney again but it was engaged all day. I called Telstra and they just said the line was engaged and they could not do anything about it
I logged onto the TomTom.com Web site and registered a complaint but have not heard back from them at all.
Monday – I have tried calling the support line again but it is again engaged continually. I phoned Telstra again and they said they could not get through either. But they said that they could NOT report the line as faulty as I was not the registered owner of the service.
So I am now stuck in a rut
I have paid for the maps
I have not got them
I cannot contact the support line in Sydney, that I spoke to last week.
Tuesday — again the main Sydney Support line is engaged continually now for 5 days — 24 hours per day
No response either from Tom Tom.com complaint
Be warned
John
Hi – John from Buderim Aust
I’m sorry to hear of your troubles. the TomTom support team in Australia seem as bad as they are in the UK.
The only thing I can suggest is to set up a new on-line account then ask TomTom to transfer your download entitklement from the old account to the new account.
This approach eventually solved my problems but you have to be veruy forceful with TomTom. Too many of them, in my experience, are trained to blame the user as an initial response.
Good luck!
Same in Italy. I paid for the maps, but I cannot download them (for a smartphone). Online support is poor and you cannot reach at all the telephone support. The sad thing is that if I had used the cracked version then I would have had no problems at all.
Ciao
Claudio
I purchased a map of whole of western Europe to download online onto my Tomtom One. Alas insufficient memory on the original basic card, so bought 2.0GB card, tried again. Seems to be a compatibility problem, the new card and this older version of tomtom hardware.
Sticking point:
A white screen appears on the tomtom which simply says please wait. This can only be turned off with the tiny reset button.
Is this a common problem? Is there a solution?
Thanks
Teejay
Hi Peter from Australia
I purchased maps of USA/Canada almost two weeks ago and have not been able to install them via TomTom Home. I have a Go300 and have followed all of the instructions given but when I connect my Go300 and open Home to download the maps it just sits there and does nothing. I have contacted TomTom support several times and been given responses such as we are having trouble at our end with maps not attaching to Home please try again in a few days and disconnect your firewall and virus protection and not to try to download from computers that are on a network. I have tried all of this, used a home desktop and tried two laptops, I have dropped the firewall turned off virus protection uninstalled Home and re-installed it but the maps do not download. Do the people at there customer support listen and read the e-email they are sent as they seem to keep telling you to try the same thing over and over.
Today I contacted my bank and asked if they could contact TomTom and inform them that I wished to have my transaction reversed as I have paid for a product that I have not been able to use since purchase and that I have made every effort to work out the problem with them.
Hi Ros in Australia!
Having exactly the same problem – bought this for my father to update the Australia maps on GO300 – my tomtom just sits there and will not conect to the internet therefore cannot download maps – not that there appears to be a link in tomtom account either – says we have purchased the map but cannot retrieve it!! hey Peter did you have any luck with the bank getting your money back??
I downloaded a US Map for my UK TomTom Go 700 about a month ago. Since then I have been trying to upload it onto the device without any success. I have liaised with TomTom support several times and after having been advised to download the 50MB software twice, remove firewalls, use different computers, etc. , all without success, I have given up. I have asked for a refund and they have simply refused to refund. My credit card company has already paid the company and won’t credit the amount.
Do I have any legal recourse. Can TomTom refuse to refund once the software certificate has been issued as they claim? Surely any other product would be refundable if it does not work so why not a downloadable software? Is Tom Tom just trying to frustrate the customer so they give up on the refund?
My advice for anyone is not to download any software for TomTom. In addition, with the level of support and care they provide no one should bother buying a Tom Tom, no matter how good it is technically.
My eventual solution was to buy a Magellan device with a pre-loaded North America map which cost me US$150 (the North America map alone on TomTom was GBP50!). The Magellan worked perfectly throughout and is as good as a TomTom.
Hello All,
I am not going to bore everyone with my attempts at downloading Tomtom maps of Europe. Nor with the legions of errors in the maps. Nor with the unanswered phone lines.
The internet download itself is the initial problem. How can something which most other companies manage with ease, be done so badly by Tomtom?
Their web site contained so many errors and omissions (for example the failure to mention that new maps could only be downloaded by Tomtom Home version 2, and such a thing did not exist for a Mac.) and the regular failure of the buttons which had to be clicked on to send an email to support. The hidden support email addresses. OK… there isn’t one.
However, I do believe that TT set a new standard in disregard for customers. I have absolutely never bought a product with such appalling customer support from a company with so little interest in customer satisfaction.
Love the product. HATE the company and will never, ever buy anything from Tomtom again.
D McD
Hi folks, I had a similar problem when trying to update my dad’s old TomTom Go300. I bought a new map and downloaded TomTom Home 2 (as instructed on the website):
“In order to successfully download a new map, make sure you accept the free upgrade to TomTom HOME (version 2.1 or higher) and update the software on your device when prompted;”
Sounds straightforward…
The problem was that because the Go300 is a few years old (and my dad had never had reason to connect it to the computer before) Home2 didn’t recognise it. My computer recognised that the TomTom was attached but TomTom’s own software didn’t. And I’m sure I saw a message somewhere saying that I had to download my new map the same day, or else (I guess) I wouldn’t be able to access it. It was starting to look like £30 up the swanny.
I read and read and re-read the TomTom website looking for any info that would help but came up with nothing. A few hours later and the air thick with torrents of language I didn’t think I was capable of I discovered that I needed to download Home1 first and let the Go300 connect to the computer via Home1 before it would be recognisable by Home2. Okay…
On the website, though, Home1 is listed as being the version you use if you have TomTom Navigator 6. It’s not even called ‘Home 1′. Confusing eh? Anyway, I downloaded that and from there found that I could get my new map onto my Go300. Once the map and other updates were installed and I had switched the thing off I then found that Home2 recognised it at last.
That had to be one of the most ridiculously long-winded things I’ve had to do on a computer, mainly because TomTom’s confusing advice on their website made the whole process so damn difficult. Perhaps they hoped I’d give up and buy a new one? Tsk.
Redd
tomtom customer service and customer relations department are among the worst in low-tech area. the customer relation actually want to send them a letter snail-mail if you are not satisfied with customer support.
PLEASE CALL ME . I HAVE ? ABOUT MY TOM TOM GPS
we have tried for a week to install tomtom home so my husband can update his maps. i crashed the computer installing all up dates, sent email after email to support team
sent info to them still no tom tom home installed, we cannot down load the program full stop easy tom tom
your web site wont let us
any ideas out there ?
Sadly, “TomTom support” is an oxymoron.
I can’t even manage to get TomTom’s website to accept my correct postal address (needed to authenticate my purchase by credit card) to buy a ‘Safety Camera’ subscription.
My experience of TomTom support over the last 3 weeks has been similar – slow response, the same useless suggestions repeated each time, abysmal ignorance of their own website, a refusal to accept that a problem exists.
As repeated ‘frontal assaults’ on TomTom’s have failed, I’m now attempting an outflanking manoeuvre.
Free map updates wiped my device clean of origional maps and unable to restore. This is the second unit tried a week after the one I returned and customer service claims a problem on their end with no date of resulation
I’m having trouble too. Problems with battery. The TomTom site won’t let me submit my question, nor can I reply to any of their replies to questions I have submitted in the past. The phone support only is available weekdays. I’m in the US.
I bought a Tom Tom One 3rd edition a bit over 1 year ago. I have used it very rarely. When I first had it, it worked quite well. Then I didn’t use it for about 7 months. The last month, I’ve tried a # of times to charge the battery and then use it, but the battery charges it, and in a few days I turn it on and the battery is dead again. Surely I don’t need a new battery already?
And, get this, the Tom tom site says you can’t install a new battery – even though I found one available here:
http://www.ipods99.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=TomTomONESL&click=16580&gclid=CNDSzKnG5pYCFQIfswod2iTNNQ
So anyone have any ideas about this battery problem?
hi, have tomtom 710 ordered update maps cost me £69.00
tried to install told sd card too small bought 2gb installed update now my tom tom comes up with error cannot store data? can you help,
i put back my original sd card which worked perfectley well now even that comes up with same error,
sent back to tom tom they said nothing wrong with machine sent it back to me,,,,
I have the same issues downloading when at home. Non of my computers will succesfully complete the download. However, when I download from my father’s home, there are no issue. Only common link between all my computers and the internet is my router, not the most advanced model, so I think there may be some credit to the remark that the router could be at fault.
I have had similar issues with filetransfers on MSN and found that some routers get package errors when using certain protocols or methods of transfer, which causes them to drop their internet connectivity. Or rather, mine just reboots.
I have a new map update pending, will download that elsewhere as well.
Regards,
Raymond