More Freeview boxes become obsolete

In May 2008, a bunch of Freeview boxes served by the Sutton Coldfield transmitter stopped working. Now it looks like boxes in Scotland have gone the same way.

Daewoo DS608PBoxes powered by the SetPal technology, including those made by Daewoo, Labgear, Portland and Triax, lack sufficient internal memory to cope with the number of Freeview stations after a transmitter upgrade, and become useless.

More on the story, including a quote from our sister site, Radio & Telly can be found here: Daily Record 5 July 2008

There are believed to be between 200,000 and 350,000 affected boxes in the UK, and as the transmitter networks get upgraded ready for the Switchover, more and more boxes are set to become landfill fodder

272 comments

  • As I mentioned on ‘ September 6th, 2008 at 10:27 pm ‘

    ‘ its one thing to ask for a free replacement its another to receive one. ‘

    I did send a e-mail to colin.millard@desuk.co.uk but so far he has not bothered replying.

    At least adam.mugford@desuk.co.uk had the decency to reply although it was more a standard reply.

    Currently I am being treated for Prostrate Cancer and the treatment is not due to end until May 2009 so I really don’t have time flogging a Dead Horse.

    I reckon why they did give a free replacement to the guy called ‘City Slicker’ was because he had a Newspaper Reporter who picked up on his case but I reckon they will ignore any other claims for free units – they know fine well that Customers don’t have the money for a expensive Court case so they can bury their heads in the sand and hope we will all go away – well they are right there because I will not be buying from Daewoo again.

  • Kev

    Brian Carson.
    Quote:”but I reckon they will ignore any other claims for free units”
    I have had a positive responce from Adam Mugford.
    Watch this space next week.
    Regards

  • Janet Richardson

    I have had a response from Freeview to my letter have had the offer of a telephone discussion with the Director a week on Tuesday which I have accepted. I will let people know the outcome. (My letter is too long to post here).

  • Well spotted Anne – here is the hit list ‘ that will soon soon stop working { uness you buy a freeview unit }

    if your TV is listed you should contact your Company ‘ now ‘ as there ‘ may ‘ be a possible solution.

    By good fortune I am not affected this time.

    Hitachi

    28WDDODTN 28″ IDTV

    32WD40DTN 32″ IDTV

    D36W840DTN 36″ IDTV

    Panasonic

    TX-28DT2 28″ IDTV

    TX-32DT2 32″ IDTV

    Philips

    28DW6734 28″ IDTV

    32DW6834 32″ IDTV

    32DW9625 32″ IDTV

    28DW6557 28″ IDTV

    32DW6557 32″ IDTV

    Sony

    28DS60 28″ IDTV

    32DS60 32″ IDTV

    28DS65 28″ IDTV

    32DS65 32″ IDTV

    28DX20 28″ IDTV

    32DX20 32″ IDTV

    28DX30 28″ IDTV

    32DX30 32″ IDTV

    28DS20 28″ IDTV

    32DS20 32″ IDTV

    KP 41DS1 41″ IDTV

    KP 51DS1 51″ IDTV

    KP 51DS2 51″ IDTV

    Toshiba

    28WT98B 28″ IDTV

    32WT98B 32″ IDTV

    28ZT29B 28″ IDTV

    32ZT29B 32″ IDTV

    36ZT29B 36″ IDTV

    42WT29B 42″ IDTV

    50WT29B 50″ IDTV

    57WT29B 57″ IDTV

  • Gerald Lawrence

    I have just posted this on Digital spy but thought some people might like to see it here.

    The 01788 number is an old Grundig help line (I think it may have come up on screen after an OAD if you needed help) but is now set to reject incoming calls.
    The manual for the GDT1000 has a similar number 01788 570088. This is answered by somebody who tries to be helpful but cannot actually do anything. He confirmed that an OAD to version 5.3, which was originally designed for Teletext Extra, also fixes the NIT problem of channel numbering for the GDT1000. However, he did not know where the firmware was, or who would pay for the download, but gave me a Thomson number (01443 220220). This is solely an answering machine that directs you to the Thomson number given above for Thomson products (which I did not call), and another number for Grundig products (0871 2301777).

    That in its turn invites you to press 4 for technical support, which then went to India, and the lady told me that I had to ring 0870 9090444 for Grundig products older than 2 years. The last number resulted in the answer that I should go back to Curry’s or Dixons for help with an old Grundig Freeview receiver.

    It seems possible that version 5.3 exists somewhere, and if given an OAD would fix the thousands of 1000 and 1500 boxes in use. I wondered if there was any point in pursuing Ofcom or my MP on the grounds that if Freeview were to accept a limited responsibility for disabling these boxes they might offer a goodwill gesture by downloading 5.3 for nothing (assuming they could find it somewhere).

    Any comments?

  • Kev

    Hello all.
    Having pushed Daewoo regarding my DS608P A FREE exchange unit (DSD-800M)was delivered to me today.
    Out of interest there is nowhere on the packaging or receiver displaying a “Digital Tick” or saying “Fully DVB Compliant”
    In the receiver menu under “tools” and “receiver information” it does show “DVB-T M3101”

    A result and it’s also my birthday !!
    Regards

  • Gordon

    Well, I’ll add my name to the list of people who had TWO Daewoo DS608P boxes that died last weekend after a routine channel scan.
    I then read CitySlickers info on Digital Spy – http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=844007&page=4 (Post 77) and sent email to Daewoo’s customer service.
    I had a reply from Mr Mugford with a requst for more information. I sent him photographs of the underside of them, with the serial numbers, as well as a nice arty shot of the two togeher, so he could see I wasn’t just photoshopping them.
    After a couple of days of emails going back and forth they agreed to swap them for the DSD800M boxes, which arrived on Friday 19th September. The old boxes were packaged up and sent back by the same courier at Daewoo’s request (and the paperwork attached suggests I was not the only one, copy faxes served as despatch note and mine were part of a batch of 20 that day!).
    OK, so the original boxes cost me £59 each a few years back and the new ones are available to buy under £20, but at least they’ve done something and saved me having to fork out again, and don’t have book-ends of landfill fodder kicking about now.
    Kev (last post) is right, there’s no ‘digital tick’ complience mark, but the box does show the DVB-T software in place.
    There are some nice features on the new box too – it has some games (wife loves Tetris, I’ll have to stock up on batteries for the remote!) as well as being able to pause live TV – though there’s little mention of this in the manual!
    I am sending Mr Mugford at Daewoo a thank you as he was quite helpful – no doubt after getting an ear-bashing from so many others before me…
    It’s worth getting in touch with the manufacturer – let them know you’ve read the stories, and send them the link so they can read for themselves. I was quite prepared to argue through legal procedure that the box was not fit for purpose, despite being a few years old, as it was sold as a ‘Freeview’ box – meaning it should still be working when the analogue signal is turned off in 2012!
    Daewoo are at http://www.daewooelectronics.co.uk/ and there have been email addresses quoted elsewhere.

  • mike

    we are on the waltham transmitter and we have lost most of our original channels on our Aldi tevion we do tough have access to the 800 series of progs so all is not lost YET

  • Bob

    Sale of goods act might help as they are “not fit for purpose” may be worth hounding the local trading standards people.

    However what I have yet to see is a campaign to stop the change over we are in a fringe area and although the reception is occasionally OK on asking we have been told that the reception will be no better after changeover but more channels. I would be happy with the original ones if they work. Also I would like to keep the existing teletext as the digital text although pretty is slow and useless.

  • I have to be fair and say that Daewoo are not the quickest at responding to e-mails but they are doing their best to replace ‘ genuine units ‘

    I wonder if all the other Manufactures are doing as well. ?

  • Janet Richardson

    I had a meeting by telephone today with Mr Rob Farmer the Director of Marketing and Communications of Freeview. This was in response to my letter of complaint about the recent transmission changes. Unfortunately Mr Farmer was not in a position to answer any technical questions but has undertaken to provide me with a detailed explanation of the changes that were made and why they were thought necessary. The explanation he provided me with today was that DMOL had advised these changes were needed and DMOL only provided Freeview with very short notice of the dates of when the engineering work was to take place. However he also said that a test had been undertaken by DTG and it was known that the change would result in boxes becoming obsolete and this was approved by Ofcom. He said that time was allowed for other manufacturers to provide OAD’s prior to the change. He also said that the problem with the re-ordering of channels was an unforeseen consequence of the change. If the test by DTG is the one I am aware of then it took place in the latter part of 2006 which, to my mind, gave ample time for all concerned to alert the public. At the time it was not considered acceptable and the NIT was returned to it’s previous state. The report goes on to say the “multiplex operators are confident that the NIT can be kept within 1 section over the long term”.

    Mr Farmer has agreed to provide me with the information that shows when Freeview were first aware of the problem, when they were notified of the dates and what information they provided and when to local media, installers and retailers.

    Mr Farmer did not accept that their information strategy had been at fault and stated that while he understood our frustration Freeview at all times had been helpful and transparent. I pointed out that originally the information had been tucked away on their FAQ page which was anything but. He did tell me however it was not technically possible to broadcast the information to specific types of receiver and that this had been explored as a possible means of communication before the change.

    Mr Farmer to be fair was trying his best to be helpful but I don’t really think he understands the impact this change has had on people. He has received 2000 complaints which he does not feel indicates very many people have been affected. I still think that there are many people who just thought their receiver was broken and dealt with it on that basis. ( Anyone out there a whiz with statistics/ customer relations and able to extrapolate what 2000 actual complaints probably represents in terms of people who are affected but haven’t actually complained?)

    I raised a number of other points in my letter which were addressed to the industry as a whole not just about the way Freeview handled this situation and Mr Farmer has kindly undertaken to distribute my letter to all appropriate industry bodies. I also put the suggestion made by one contributor for a text based information channel and he has agreed to add that to the discussion.

    I await the various responses and will keep you all informed.

    Best wishes
    Janet

  • I owned a Daewoo VCR/Digital Receiver SV900 which was wiped out by the last change.

    I started complaining to Daewoo who at first were not keen to get involved – I kept on at them and I negotiated with Daewoo for a replacement – I ended up with a DSD9503TFB which is a twin Freeview tuner with PIP and a 160 GB Hard disk – I paid a cash balance of £ 15 as at first they wanted to give me a cheaper unit.

    So it shows that if you complain loud enough ‘you do get results’

    The DSD9503TFB arrived today and they picked up the SV900.

    The picture quality is more Colourful than my other units so I had to tone it down a bit. { I can view seven other Freeview unit so its easy to do a comparison }

    So far the Hard disk is silent and the Recording quality is excellent.

    All in all a ‘ Good result ‘

  • Kev

    Glad it worked out for you Brian.
    Regards

  • Anne

    I’m waiting to hear from Panasonic as I’ve proved that the upgrades have affected the box. I connected another box (Wharfedale) and apart from channel 5 I had all available channels back and in the correct order, improved picture quality as well.

    Pleased to hear your news Brian.

    Thanks for posting your information Janet.

  • Thanks Kev – I am actually very impressed with the DSD9503TFB as its much more quite { and cooler } than I was expecting – I was worried that it would not fit my system but with it being far thinner than I was expecting I was able to give it enough headroom .

    The recorded picture quality is Outstanding – you could never tell it was a Recording – I may in fact buy a few more.

    I did see it on sale at £ 80 from Hughes Electrical Direct but they are not listed anymore – Amazon have it at £ 115 which is still not a bad price although being Scottish I will hang on until I get it at £ 80 – at that price it is a very good bargain.

    It does have a few minor quirks but I doubt any PVR would ever be 100 % perfect.

    The first thing I did today was contact Daewoo to Thank them.

    I have to hold my Hat up to them as at least they accepted responsibility although there will be loads of people who never realised the problem was not at their end.

    Daewoo could have sat on their hands but they quickly changed their Policy – I am certain they were as surprised as we were when Daewoo units started self destruction – I am sure that someone in the costing department thought it was a great idea to fit a non standard buffer to save a few pence – I wonder if they are still in their job this week.

    of course without the Internet Consumers would have never realised there was a major problem and though boards like this we were able to pass on our progress – my replacement took longer than normal because I was handing back a video/Freeview unit hence there was a lot of horse trading.

    I am well pleased as the DSD9503TFB is ten times better than what it replaced hence why I will buy more when the price is right.

  • Audrey Cameron

    Hi I live in Dundee have Alba STB8 set top box, within last month and a half I have lost E4,Channel 4,ITV2 and some more channels it seems to be anything to do with Channel 4 & ITV. Has anyone else had these problems.

  • Dave

    Good news for all Grundig GTD1000’s Ive just had an OAD on 4th Oct to one of my boxes (on a narrowboat in shropshire)to version 5.5 it was on Channel 5 of all places and transmitted via the Wrekin.
    When I got home (Merseyside) Winter hill has no download available.So I still have 3 that don’t work properly but I suppose there’s still some hope!.The download said it was to fix bugs and improve stability.

  • Dave

    Just got the other 3no Grundig GDT1000s updated to v5.53 tonight on Channel 5 from Winter Hill (08/10/08)
    Happy Days !!

  • william

    My TV set is a Philips 32DW6557 which is supposed to be affected. Where does the information come from that Brian and Anne previously mentioned as I have been on the digitalUK site and the TV is not mentioned?

  • its all explained at

    http://www.techradar.com/news/television/digital-signal-upgrade-sparks-more-controversy-464227

    and Issue 339 of What Video & Hi-Def TV, which went on sale 2 October { and is still on sale in newsagents this week } has the full list and your TV is on the list so it will not be able to receive Freeview after they make the transmission mode change from 2k to 8k .

    For some unknown reason the original PDF link which was on digitalUK site has been removed or hidden as I cant find it either { so much for them being helpful }

    here is a full list with regards Philips

    28DW6734 28″ IDTV

    32DW6834 32″ IDTV

    32DW9625 32″ IDTV

    28DW6557 28″ IDTV

    32DW6557 32″ IDTV

    the posting I made on 13th September 2008 was a text copy of the original PDF document so it does look as if you will be affected but at least if Philips is not able to sort the problem out via a OAD than at least you can still keep running by buying a Freeview unit or even better a cheap PVR.

    go for the Daewoo DSD9503T currently on sale at

    http://www.coopelectricalshop.co.uk/ for £ 80. { search for Daewoo }

    Not a bad buy for £ 79.99 – Twin Digital Tuner amd PIP. { 160 GB Drive }

    I appreciate that IDTV should be ‘ future proof ‘ but some manufactures don’t think of that when they build them.

    I personally will not buy a High-definition television until the service is available.

  • Ian

    We have a DAEWOO SV-900 Freeview VCR which stopped working in August. Eventually we realised that the Freeview upgrade had effectively killed it, and it is being used at present as just a video player. I have complained to Freeview ( no reply to my letter sent over a month ago)and I am now going to go back to DAEWOO for compensation ( having read earlier messages here).But ….in the SV900 User Manual it says ” Installation in distribution systems. Professional installers may wish to specifically configure or disable some of the automatic features to allow the receiver to be used in non-interactive headend systems. SetPal has a number of features that may be configured for such an installation. Please contact the product manufacturer for details of how to do this.” It seems possible that this might open up a way to get the unit working again – perhaps with reduced functionality. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY 2003/4 INFORMATION (EG TECHNICAL MANUAL OR SPECIALIST INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS FROM DAEWOO OR SETPAL) ABOUT THIS ? IT WOULD SURPRISE ME IF THERE IS NOT SOMEONE OUT THERE WITH TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE DAEWOO INNARDS OR THE SETPAL SOFTWARE. Heres hoping !

  • Its your lucky day – forget about messing about with the secret settings -the only useful feature was to stop it downloading adverts { which it would do every week even although it would download the same advets time and time again }

    I know how to do it but there was no way to stop the original split NIT nor reset it once its dead.

    The reason why it could not cope was down to the size of the hardware buffer and there is nothing you can do apart from Jumping on Daewoo – its pointless going back to the retailer or contacting Freeview as you will end up with nothing.

    In your e-mail { call it Split NIT has disabled my Daewoo VCR/Digital Receiver SV900 } make sure you list the full serial number – its like

    14101 00320 DI-T7S21P AAA

    and your full name and address + a contact number

    to

    Colin millard colin.millard@desuk.co.uk { far better than the guy below }

    or

    Alan Mugford alan.mugford@desuk.co.uk

    they will ask you

    DATE OF PURCHASE:
    PLACE OF PURCHASE:
    COPY OF RECEIPT OF PURCHASE:

    Now personally all I had to supply was the serial number but I know others are being asked for more information.

    Take a photograph of the unit beside your name and address { take a second photograph of the serial number } and send that back to them –

    Your not claiming on a Warranty or Guarantee so there is no need to show proof of ownership.

    We know it was around four years ago so give

    DATE OF PURCHASE: 2004

    if you don’t have the receipt tell them its unreasonable to expect someone to keep a receipt for four years and if they want the receipt that bad then they can contact the Retailer direct. { they wont }

    You have to keep on the high ground here because ‘ none of this was your Fault ‘

    Note they will not offer a direct replacement – they will offer a cheap PVR

    a Daewoo DSD9520 – ‘ DO NOT ACCEPT IT ‘

    Once they make the first offer get back to them and write ‘

    ‘ May I remind you that the Daewoo VCR/Digital Receiver SV900 was an expensive machine { £ 130 } and it was only a couple of years old so I would prefer the Daewoo DSD9503T and offer to pay £ 15 price difference . ‘

    By doing that they are more than likely to accept your offer and they will send you a Daewoo DSD9503T which is a twin Freeview unit with 160 GB Hard Drive with PIP.

    They will ask for a credit or debit card { they accept either Visa Electron or SOLO } and once they take £ 15 they will send the unit for free –

    You need to have the SV900 ready as the Courier will take it back.

    Now for Gods sake don’t expect them to reply right away – they take around seven days to reply so with e-mails back and forth it will take three or four weeks before they agree to send you a Daewoo DSD9503T for £ 15.

    Take it from me its a cracking unit – in fact I thought it was so good I bought a second so getting it for £ 15 is a bloody bargain.

    Do not think your the only one – I am in touch with five SV900 owners and all have been offered a free unit but they have pushed them for the bigger model and up to now two of them were sent the bigger unit { the other three are at the start of the process }

    So its well worth doing and you will be well pleased with the Daewoo DSD9503T.

    Let me know how you get on .

    all the best Brian

  • Anthony

    Problems present at the time of sale are of course the retailers responsibility not the manufacturers. They have the margins to deal with this risk.

    If enough people brought sets back or took them to court (which wouldn’t cost that much) I think the retailer would cough up the cost of the software development and OADs that seems to be the stumbling block.

  • To – Anthony

    I take it you don’t know much about the split NIT Problem in relation to Setpal ?

    The units that were powered by the SetPal technology { which is the reason for this thread starting } cant be cured by any OAD or software development as its a ‘ hardware ‘ problem as the buffer cant cope with the change as there is no ‘ room to expand ‘

    Why would Daewoo owners waste time taking them to court when they are ‘ currently ‘ making free replacements ?

    Most people will not have a clue who the Retailer was and anyway when the manufactures has accepted blame its ‘walking backwards ‘ to speak to the Retailer,

    I am in regular contact with many Daewoo owners and none of them went back to the Retailer they contacted Daewoo direst and after a bit of pushing they offered a free replacement so ‘ problem solved ‘

    At the end of the day all that Daewoo owners want is to end up with a fully working unit.

    Its a waste of time messing about with the sales of goods act when Daewoo is making free replacements.

  • Dave

    Got this email back from SAGEM regarding the ITD602 and the way it rescans every time it’s switched on :=>

    Good afternoon,

    Unfortunately, due to adjustments made by Freeview as regards how digital programmes are broadcast, it is not possible to stop your
    ITD 602 from rescanning. Later models in the ITD range came equiped with a Network
    Monitor: this could be turned off, and therefore would prevent the box from picking up signals from the transmitters (which cause the box to rescan) – but unfortunately the 602 does not have this facility: and so it is not possible to solve the problem which Freeview have created – there will be no over the air software updates. Apologies.

    Well at least I can make door stops out of them without wondering if they are missing an OAD.

  • Victor

    I HAVE A SONY KV-32DS60 IDTV WHICH STOPPED RECEIVING LAST WEEK.
    I AM HOPING FOR A POSSIBLE INHOUSE SOLUTION FROM SONY.

  • Robin

    I have got so fed up with the unreliability of the TopUp Thomson box (this is my second one which has a similar history to the first one)that I decided to go for a “Rolls Royce” box such as the Humax PVR-9200TB or Topfield TF5800PVR – only to find that neither model comes with a CAM holder for my existing TopUp Anytime card which contains the circuitry for decoding TopUp Anytime signals – nor is this essential item apparently avaliable on the market, without the correct one you cannot receive the TopUp Anytime service, a Sentanta CAM won’t do the job of receiving the other TopUp channels I’m told. TopUp will not supply one as it seems they are committed to the Thomson and the new Wharfedale TU-160 series. In other words they have got you by the short and curlies! Needless to say I am dropping TopUp at the earliest opportunity and will now investigate the TV package offered by my Internet Service Supplier – Tiscali, although I believe this is only a “download on demand” service and not a regular TV service

  • To Dave – You need to point out to SAGEM that its not your fault they designed the ITD602 so badly and they should do a free replacement as after all you bought it in good faith.

    Point out that Daewoo are giving out free replacements so why cant SAGEM ?

  • Kev

    Victor.
    Got this from another forum.

    Quote :”Sony can send out the update to you on a PCMCIA card. They don’t like doing it and will often say it can’t be done. This is mainly because people were not returning the PCMCIA cards to them afterwards

    You then turn off the TV plug the PCMCIA card into the CAM slot on the TV and turn on again.

    They were able to do this for my agein KV32DS60″

    So someone has been successful.
    Regards

  • Unfortunately when the switchover takes place Sony claim the
    SONY KV-32DS60 IDTV will not be able to cope with the change in the transmission mode from 2k to 8k – you just can win can you ?

  • Following the demise of my Daewoo box DS608P i contacted Daewoo for a replacement. I was asked to supply the lot number and a copy of my receipt. As the box was purchased in June 2004 i was unable to find the receipt but gave the date of purchase from the guarantee slip i submitted and where i purchased. I forwarded the requested details and now have received an email to say that the commercial manager Mr Scott Purdom has decided that without a receipt no replacement. This decision seems to conflict with others previously given on this website. I phoned and asked to speak to Mr Purdom and was told by Adam Mugford that he would phone. You can guess the rest. Any advice welcome. I was told i can purchase a new one for £19.99 which i had previously refused.

  • Kev

    Mike.
    I did not supply a receipt just a photo emailed to Adam Mugford of Daewoo of the underside of the DS608P showing the lot/serial number.
    I received an email back stating that they could not read the number and asked me to confirm it! I could read it perfectly well on my PC.
    This I did and received another email stating “as an act of goodwill” the commercial manager had agreed to exchange to box.

    Push them – it is their fault.
    Regards

  • Your Correct Daewoo appear to be asking different Proof from different Customers.

    I am currently helping some people just now and would you believe they have sent out the first discount list

    This was a list they first sent out in July { when the problem happened in the London area }

    this is the cut down version.

    DS700T SET TOP BOX for £19.99 (P&P included)
    DSD800M SET TOP BOX for £19.99 (P&P included)
    DSD9502TFP + 80GB HDD (TWIN DIGITAL TUNER) for: £67.99 (P&P incl )
    DSD9503T + 80GB HDD (TWIN DIGITAL TUNER) for: £71.99(P&P incl )
    DRT10 – DVD RECORDER + DIGITAL TUNER for £78 .99 (P&P included)
    DSD9520 – STB with 80GB HDD – for £56.99 (P&P included)

    This was updated in October so reflecting a small price adjustment in my case a DSD9503T for £ 15 and I am in contact with others who were sent the latest offer
    so it makes no sense sending out the old offer.

    —————————–

    it really angers me that some people are being hassled over if they have a receipt or not when I know for a fact { and I can prove it } that Daewoo did not ask me when I bought the unit – where I bought the unit or if I still had a receipt { four years later }

    All I had to supply was a Serial Number – this idea about asking for photos came after I received my replacement unit.

    One has to wonder why they are dealing with some people a lot different from other People .

    If you have hassle from them please point them to this page and ask them why some Customers have received replacements without showing any proof of purchase ?

    A Open message to Daewoo .

    We are all Daewoo Customers and all we ask is to be treated exactly the same as every other Customer.

    I don’t have axe to grind because I have already received a replacement a excellent DSD9503T for the price of £ 15 – { it was so good I bought a second unit } but I think its completely unreasonable that you are treating other Customers in a different fashion.

    Daewoo please be fair otherwise you will regret it – I have access to a website and if you continue to to pluck up excuses why you cant make a replacement then I will call on Daewoo owners { I am in contact with a good Dozen } to send me proof that some were not asked for receipts and i will shame you into being fair.

    In my case I was offered a free DSD9520 by Colin Millard on Thursday 11th September 2008 – I was not asked to supply a receipt so why are you asking for them Now. ?

    By dealing with some Customers a lot different from other Customers your not doing yourself any favours – JUST BE FAIR.

  • Anne

    An update on my dealings with Panasonic … I received an email and they will supply a replacement box :o)

    Keep going everyone, you know it makes sense ;o)

  • Thankyou for all your comments. I “hope” to be speaaking to Scott Purdom on Monday 2oth and will raise with him this issue of double standards. How many people could produce a receipt for an item yhey purchased four years ago.??

  • To Mike I – Its as if the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing.

    Most of the people who have received a free offer were handled by
    Colin Millard the ones that were dealt with by Adam Mugford had to jump though more hurdles.

    If Daewoo Claims that we are all making this up just quote this number to them

    Name Brian Carson Post Code EN1 1BG
    Number 782176 – Date 6/10/2008
    Purchase order no 146291
    Date 22/9/2008 Debit card payment of £ 15
    Delivered by Citylink Account no – 703741 reference no 782176

    The serial number 14101 00320 DI-T7S21P AAA of the Daewoo VCR/Digital Receiver SV900 they picked up.

    To be honest with the amount of people who have been in contact with me I thought Daewoo had got their act together but clearly if they are demanding receipts then they are at it –

    I would have gone ballistic if they asked for a receipt although in my case I did have a e-mail copy of the receipt ‘ but No one asked me for proof ‘

    When you consider they are picking up the dead unit ‘ that should be all the proof they need. ‘

    Please let us know how you get on as there is other Customers who are in the pipeline so it would be useful if they reach a decision ‘ to treat every Daewoo Customers exactly the same as every other Daewoo Customer .

    Good Luck.

  • Pingback: Setpal collapse - AVForums.com

  • Ian

    To Brian Carson.
    Thanks for your response of 12 October. I made my claim for a replacement for the SV900 by post and included photo of the box and exact model/serial number details. Prompt reply by post from Alan Mugford offered choice of 4 units at discount but said claim for free replacement could be referred to commercial manager if I produce receipt. I will be replying shortly, having noted your recent posts here. The battle continues !

  • Ian – lets work the logic out of that one.

    Daewoo will give a small discount if you don’t have a receipt but might give a large discount if you do have a receipt.

    I know for a fact I never gave them a receipt either physically or by e-mail nor did they request one neither did they claim they would have to refer to a commercial manager.

    Either they made a mistake last Month when they made a estimated twelve replacements to Daewoo Owners without asking for receipts but they cant mix and match their response as its unfair to Genuine Customers who have everything except a four year old receipt.

    Its a curious way to treat Customers – for every Customer they win back they must lose a good ten if they stick to their Double standards.

    Anyway keep us up to date.

    brian

  • Kev

    Ian and Brian Carson.
    This is the email I received from Daewoo a while back —

    On review of your situation with our Commercial Manager, he has agreed, as a gesture of goodwill, to exchange your set-top box for a new one (DSD800M). If you would like to accept this offer please let me know by e-mail or telephone on 0870 +++ ++++, so that we can discuss a date for the exchange to take place.

    Yours sincerely,

    Adam Mugford .

    This of course refered to a DS608P.
    Regards

  • To Kev – can you please confirm the date Daewoo sent that e-mail and also did they ask you for a receipt ?

    if you don’t mind can you send me a e-mail –

    brian-carson@btclick.com

    to everyone else please keep up the pressure as Daewoo cant be allowed to do a complete U Turn – its totally unfair on Customers who don’t have a receipt just because they claimed this Month – if they had claimed last Month they would not have been asked for a receipt.

    Brian

  • Alan White

    I’m back again after a 6 week absence. I purchased a Philips DTR220/05 Freeview receiver. During this week the BBC1 channel, has intermittantly died (sometimes whilst viewing BBC1), resulting in a blank TV screen. All other channels are still viewable. The BBC1 channel does eventually return. Has anyone else suffered this problem ?

  • Kev

    Brian.
    Check your email.
    Regards

  • To Kev – I did receive it and replied to you at 03:16 am 24 October 2008.

    It clearly shows there was three offers on the table all with different conditions depending when they sent it.

    Daewoo cant shift the goalpost when it suits them –

    The winners were Customers who contacted them in August and early September.

    The losers were Customers who contacted them in late September and October.

    It really drives me wild as its not fair on people who cant find their receipt four years after it was issued.

  • A Watchdog Researcher contacted me by phone and e-mail and though me one of the Daewoo Customers featured on Watchdog tonight was introduced by me.

    I was asked by Frequencycast not to post anything in this area until the show was put out.

    Please see

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2008/11/freeview_owners_making_their_o.html

    I would advise everyone to post a message either if you got a replacement or not as this may spark them into making a follow up feature.

  • Great to see this covered on BBC Watchdog, after the guys here at FrequencyCast have been pushing for coverage of this story.

    Thanks everyone, from all at the FrequencyCast TV podcast

  • Pingback: Watchdog - AVForums.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *