Raw Deal: Currys was confused over the warranty period of a TomTom satnav

Dennis Scott from Kintore (Derek Ironside/Newsline Media)

Dennis Scott and his wife Margaret aren’t fond of Aberdeenshire’s habit of having more than its fair share of frost, snow, and ice over the winter.

So, every year, they hot-foot it out of Kintore and spend at least part of the winter cruising around the balmier climes of southern Spain.

They love their camper van and the freedom to roam it gives them.

Dennis drives most of the time and, though he enjoys meandering through France and Spain, he does rely on his satnav to keep him on the right track.

He has always used TomTom satnavs.

Dennis bought his latest model from Currys in October 2014 and all was well for almost a year until September 2015 when the satnav maps started changing uncontrollably and losing power.

Currys thought there was a fault with the software and sent it back to TomTom.

It was fixed and, as far as Dennis was ever told, his original satnav unit was returned to him.

But in June this year, exactly the same problem occurred. Currys again diagnosed a software problem and off it went back to TomTom.

But then they phoned to say it was out of warranty and the repair would cost £70.

Dennis wasn’t impressed.

However, in conversation with Currys staff, he learned that the satnav unit he’d been given eight months ago was a completely new one – not his original one.

Surely, if it was a new one, it must have a year’s warranty still in force?

But Currys didn’t see it that way. It reckoned the warranty was applicable from the date of original purchase of a unit it had kept hold of.

Faced with making some difficult journeys through beautiful, but at times tricky to navigate, parts of Spain and France, Dennis turned to Raw Deal.

We thought it was only logical that a new satnav unit should have a year’s warranty. After all, it wasn’t Dennis’s decision that he be given a new one.

We had a quiet word.

Dennis has now been given a £160 voucher for a new satnav, so he and Margaret will soon be back on the highways and byways of Europe.

Dennis said: “It seemed to be a big problem with Currys until you got involved, then suddenly it was no problem at all. Thanks very much for all your help.”

Dennis then had a look at the cloudy Aberdeenshire skies and added, “Adios amigo, we’ll be off back to Spain soon”.

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