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Maylong Group Steals Warranty Return GPS Unit then Hides Behind Voice Mailbox

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by MusicalMan7

MusicalMan7's picture
member
Happened: 
In My Life

I purchased a Maylong GPS for Dummies from a major online retailer in July 2011. I won't mention the retailer, who is always great, but they are New and shaped like an Egg. The GPS had a one-year warranty. From the first, it was difficult to keep the charger plugged into the unit's mini-USB socket, but it finally became so annoying I decided to return it for repair. Back in February of this year, I e-mailed for an RMA number, was given one and told to return the unit and they'd "get it right back" to me via repair or replacement. The unit was returned and received by the company on March 7. When I did not receive it back by late March or early April, I began e-mailing and calling to check the status. Only ONE time did I manage to get hold of a human; she verified that the unit had been received and would take "a few more weeks." So I waited, then in late April began trying to call and e-mail again. Every phone call gets the automated greeting and no live person is ever available. The voice mail is usually full, but if one is taken, the call is never returned; likewise, no e-mails receive a response. In mid-May, after literally dozens of attempted calls, I checked the BBB to learn I was not the only one with this problem and the company has an "F" rating there. In early or mid-May, I filed a complaint with the BBB, and Maylong has 30 days to respond. I did see that several cases on BBB have been recently resolved, but so far I've heard nothing, and my next step will be the Attorney General of Michigan.

I've had to live without my GPS for over three months now after having purchased it to learn my way around a new area after a move. From where I sit, it appears the company STOLE my GPS unit, or intends to hold onto it until the one-year warranty is up in July.

As am aside, I'll mention that the maps firmware in the unit also seemed outdated, as once in St. Louis MO and once in Dayton OH it acted as if I'd driven into the Berumuda Triangle, showing a map grid and announcing streets which didn't exist, or taking me to the wrong destination. Once it tried to get me to "proceed straight" - straight over the side of a bridge onto a freeway below. The Maylong website has a support tab with updates listed and has been promising for many months "Coming Soon," much like my GPS repair that has been MIA since early March.

These GPS units are widely sold at several major Big Box stores, and Maylong now also has a line of tablet products. My advice? Find another brand, or if it breaks, don't send it back because you'll never see it again.

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Average: 5 (2 votes)

Comments

could there be a similarity?

June 4, 2012 by copythat, 11 years 42 weeks ago

copythat's picture
silver

could there be a similarity? http://www.wacktrap.com/technology/electronics-gadgets/gps-navigation-says-next-left-go-jump-or-sink-lake

Wiley licenses its brand name

June 5, 2012 by hearit, 11 years 42 weeks ago

hearit's picture
black

Wiley licenses its brand name for use wtih the Maylong product (therefore, two reputations involved); possibly most effective might be contacting the Assoc. Director of Publicity, Wiley, Contact: Eric Holmgren at email: eholmgren@wiley.com , Telephone: 415-782-3161 in order to try to get the unit fixed or back in your hands.

http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/PressRelease/pressReleaseId-88057.html

UPDATE 6/6/12: Today I was

June 5, 2012 by MusicalMan7, 11 years 42 weeks ago

MusicalMan7's picture
member

UPDATE 6/6/12: Today I was notified my BBB complaint was closed after 30 days with no response from Maylong. I decided to try one more time to call them before filing a complaint with the Attorney General in Michigan. The phone went to the automated announcement, but then suddenly the receptionist picked up. She was able to verify that my item had been shipped to me YESTERDAY (One day after the BBB complaint was closed unresolved) and gave me a valid USPS tracking number. Time will tell if the unit was repaired or simply returned unrepaired (which my BBB complaint said at this point I'd settle for just to have the unit back in my hands), and whether they returned my power cord. I will update in a few days after I receive the unit and assess the situation. Thanks!

RESOLVED 6/8/12: Yesterday,

June 9, 2012 by MusicalMan7, 11 years 42 weeks ago

MusicalMan7's picture
member

RESOLVED 6/8/12: Yesterday, I received everything in good order (and only 90 days and a BBB complaint to do it!) Got a NEW Maylong GPS for Dummies. Sadly, it has the same minor issue as the first one (loose mini-USB power connector) so that must've been a faulty part issue on all of them, but at least it's new and seems to have a newer version of the firmware and hopefully map package too. I will test drive it tomorrow, but I'm satisfied just to have ANY working unit back after 90 days of no GPS (bought after a recent move to help me learn my way around here).

I wonder if you got the unit

June 13, 2012 by wombat, 11 years 41 weeks ago

wombat's picture
member

I wonder if you got the unit back because of all of your due diligence and complaints.

They sent you a new one with another loose USB connector? Is that correct? If so that is crazy. I had a very expensive Nokia N900 and the USB connector got loose from the body (I guess it was a common problem) and the cost to just look at it was $200 even though Nokia knew they had an issue with it. Look forward to hearing about how it is working.

@wombat - That is correct. I

June 13, 2012 by MusicalMan7, 11 years 41 weeks ago

MusicalMan7's picture
member

@wombat - That is correct. I figure they must've gotten a bad run of cheap Chinese mini-USB connectors that were slightly mis-spec. It's not as bad as the first one got, and I guess I'll just try to be careful and not torque it with the power/charging cord in the car. Worst case, I can charge it off a PC while stationary & run it off battery power in the car.

I *do* believe I only got it back this soon under the 'squeaky wheel gets the grease' principle, and had I not raised a stink, it'd probably still be stacked up on a repair bench or RMA pile somewhere. An old boss of mine regularly called to check on action items from coworkers under the theory they will pull yours out of the pile to look at it while talking with you, then throw it on TOP of their pile, giving it a better chance of getting soon attention!

My fear was that they had gone, or were going, out of business. Or perhaps they are just a small company, too busy with the release of their new line of Android Tablets (wow, who would wanna risk THAT with this company?) and/or had a HUGE number of returns of their products backlogged for service.

That all being said, it was WORTH all the hassle just to get a NEW unit, which has the new firmware & maps (thus far still 'coming soon' on their website but unavailable now), which are FAR superior to the version I had on the old unit.

Thanks for your interest. I'm happy for now, and really do like the unit, taking into consideration the price point (usually available for about $40). It's not a Magellan or Garmin or Tom-Tom, but it is simple to use, gets the job done most of the time, and for the price, has a surprising array of features both as a GPS unit and including (by adding an SD card) doubling as a music player (wma/mp3), e-reader (txt only), photo viewer (jpg) and video player (not sure what format - .avi?) My EE & techie friend makes fun of it, but he is one who is young and always has to have the latest/greatest and most expensive of everything with all the bells & whistles. I'm much more utilitarian... and CHEAP!
(:^p)

I would rely to

April 15, 2016 by Joel Ekstein (not verified), 7 years 49 weeks ago

Joel Ekstein's picture

I would rely to www.protect-o.com for my warranty needs. Good deals on the extended one.