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.
Boxes 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
I have asked Daewoo for a refund/replacement for my now defunct DS608P set top box to no avail, they insisted on a receipt which i dont have,(over 4 years old). I told them that was unreasonable, but you guessed it, they didnt budge, any advice would be great.
I have also threatened legal action through the courts, but they are holding firm, Please any advice/help would be excellent.
To Peter I am in the same boat as you ie no receipt after 4 years.I have a running battle with Daewoo after i requested from the Commercial Manager a copy of my box registration guarantee i sent when i purchased the box. This i hoped would prove my purchase why else did i send it in. It took two and a half weeks for him to come back to me to say that he was unable to find any details of the registration (very convenient). I have today informed BBC Watchdog of this situation should there be a follow up to last weeks programme. It might be a good idea for you to request the same detail from Daewoo to see what response you get.Assuming of course that you sent off your guarantee. At the moment Daewoo are refusing a replacement unles i can provide a receipt. I even sent Daewoo a copy of the guarantee stub at the back of the manual.
Sorry to hear you are having problems with Daewoo.
I am one of the lucky ones who had a replacement for my DS608P FREE OF CHARGE.
Goal posts have been shifted as I supplied them with a photo of the underside of the unit ONLY – AS WAS ASKED BY THEM VIA EMAIL.
NO receipt or other documents were available so not supplied.
As a gesture of goodwill the box was replaced via courier and the old DS608P picked up.
Keep at them.
Regards
Sorry to come late to this, but on what basis would you take legal action as the Sales of Goods Act applies only with respect to the place that sold you the product?
Yes Jackie L your’e right, but i was that frustrated i thought it might scare them. My next step will be to go back to the shop where i bought the set top from and mention to them, The Sale of Goods act, it is very frustrating ! fingers crossed.
I have a Panasonic DMR-ES20DEB DVD recorder with built in Freeview. It was working fine until a few days ago when I had occassion to perform an new auto-setup and I lost all my digital channels but the analogue ones are still there. Is this coincidence or could it be linked to this problem?
Well, iv’e been back to the shop and asked for a duplicate receipt(4 years old)they said it was highly unlikely it could be done, but i’m waiting for conformation from them, i then mentioned The sale of Goods act, and they said without a receipt how can i prove i bought it from them, good point, what on earth do i do now ?
Keep on at Daewoo .
Photograph the underside of the box showing the lot/serial number and email it to them again and again.
Demand to know why they have supplied FREE replacement boxes to other people who experienced the same problem and you are being treated differently — receipt or NO receipt.
Regards
I’ll photo the underside and send it to them. I’ve demanded to know why Daewoo have double standards, by asking some customers for a receipt and others for photo’s or serial no’s, but all i get is we need a receipt, this is the final offer, thanks for your support.
To Peter I have already sent a photo of the underside of my box and a copy of the receipt stub of the guarantee. Message received Friday 7th November ” without the information we require we are unable to make further considerations”. Translated i think this means no receipt no replacement. Lets see how you fare.
I don’t think it looks promising Mike! As anyone been refused without a receipt, and then had their box set top box replaced, and if so what did they have to do ? Any help/advice at this stage would be a great help !
I think what we need to do is kick up a stink and keep complaining to the manufacturers of these “not fit for purpose” set top boxes, it’s a total disgrace, another example of Rip Off Britain. Come on people, we can do it !
Oh i forgot, were British, we don’t like to complain, we just like to lie there and take it ! Wake up Britain, stand up and be counted !
Guys . Here is what I received via email.
This on 3rd September 2008
“”In order for us to consider assisting you further, please could you supply the following:
SERIAL/LOT NUMBER:
DATE OF PURCHASE:
PLACE OF PURCHASE:
COPY OF RECEIPT OF PURCHASE(if not available a scanned photo of the product):
Upon receipt of the above our Commercial Manager will consider an alternative offer.
Yours sincerely,
Adam Mugford””
Note the bit in brackets.
After a few emails and sending a PHOTO ONLY —– on the 17th September 2008 I received my replacement receiver.
Regards
Yes Kev, that might be so, but lately Daewoo have changed there policy, that was approx 7 weeks ago, the goalposts have been moved !
Peter.
Yes I understand they have changed their policy.
Just keep on at them is all I can say really.
Good luck.
Re: People who have no receipt and have asked Daewoo to locate their guarantee registration form for proof of purchase after 3-4 years, this is a e-mail received from Daewoo on this matter, it reads, A guarantee/registration card (completed when product is purchased) has two halves, and the half that is sent off goes to Domestic & General so that they can quote you for extended warranty cover. The other half you keep and attach your receipt to it, and that is your guarantee for the first 12 months. So once again they are blaming other people for there fault. Wake up Daewoo, we won’t go away !
I know people are saying keep on at them( Daewoo), but they seem to have dug their heels in now. Has anyone been giving a replacement with no receipt recently, and if so, what did they do for them to change their mind ?
Having sent a photo to Daewoo of the underside of my set top box to prove i had one, Daewoo’s reply was : We have read all of your e-mails and I am afraid we are unable to make further consideration. Any one got any useful advice, please ?
Is anyone else having the same problems as myself ?
Anyone who wants to Prove Daewoo is telling lies then quote the numbers at
https://www.frequencycast.co.uk/blog/2008/07/more-freeview-boxes-become-obsolete.html#comment-6851
either I am telling lies or they are.
I can prove they only charged £ 15 for a Daewoo DSD9503T + they picked up my dead Daewoo ‘ without anyone asking me for a receipt – or when/where I bought it .
Daewoo are currently claiming they have found sellers on EBAY who are cashing in hence why they started asking for receipts – which sounds fair enough except for one small detail.
look at
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trksid=m38.l1313&_nkw=Daewoo+DS608P&_sacat=See-All-Categories
this guy has ten to sell at £ 119.99 + £ 9.99 postage so £ 129.98 in total.
So would you buy a DAEWOO DS608P at £ 129.98 just to exchange it with Daewoo for a cheaper model ?
I can buy a Daewoo DSD9503T { Personal Video Recorder – 160Gb } at £ 80 from the CO-OP
http://www.coopelectricalshop.co.uk/products/ProductDetail.asp?ProductCode=DAE-DVR-DSD9503T-S
So anyone who tried the replacement dodge would be far cheaper just to buy from the CO-OP and skipping Daewoo completely and be £ 50 better off.
Daewoo cant be allowed to make these claims unchallenged.
Its dead simple they did not build the units to the correct standard so ‘ you don’t have to prove anything ‘
they will have a very good idea which serial numbers went to each location so if you bought your Daewoo in Cornwall then their records will be able to verify this by the serial number.
—————————-
Its true if from day one they asked for a receipt then that would be a different matter but we know { and we can prove this }
there is a good dozen who received replacements without showing any proof and then there was a good dozen more who received replacements after sending photo proof.
Clearly Daewoo is changing the conditions when they like but I know for a fact they are claiming everyone is being treated exactly the same but I know that is a lie otherwise why did they send me a Daewoo DSD9503T for £ 15 without seeing any receipt ?
As time goes on they are shifting the goal posts to suit themselves.
This is not a wise move as how many of us { who have already received a replacement } will be willing to buy Daewoo again after all the hassle they have caused others ?
————- A message to Daewoo ——
Daewoo its time you accept it was your fault { or are you claiming your Customers were at fault ? }
You cant change replacement policy when it suits you.
Its totally unreasonable that you are asking for receipts when you did not ask receipts for a estimated two dozen.
All we are asking is to be treated exactly the same as ever other Customer.
Daewoo Customer A sent everything requested last week by e-mail and he was advised that he did not have a valid claim but he would receive a discount price so paying £ 70 for a Freeview/Hard-Disc model number DSD9520
Daewoo Customer B sent everything requested last week by e-mail and he was advised ‘ As a gesture of goodwill, we are willing to offer you a Freeview/Hard-Disc recorder free of charge, model number DSD9520 ‘
By the way Daewoo Customer A and B are real people and that did happen last week { November }.
two e-mails two identical failed units but one person has to pay £ 70 more than the other.
Its totally unfair .
and Daewoo before you start shouting your mouth off ‘ I am in regular contact with Daewoo Customer A and B and I have copies of the e-mails ‘ received from you ‘ with dates and times so don’t try and claim this is untrue.
Via the Internet you have been caught out for whatever reason treating some Customers completely different from other Customers.
You cant do this
Don’t think these Customers are just going to lie down and take this garbage
Please appreciate I don’t have axe to grind because I have already received a replacement a excellent Daewoo DSD9503T but it really gets to me that other Daewoo Customers are having to jump over so many extra hurdles which me and others { the Daewoo Dozen } did not have to jump.
I am having the same problem. Have fired off a number of messages to Adam Mugford but he not shift on demanding a receipt. I doubt that very people will have receipts for items purcahsed 4-5 years ago and think Daewoo know this.
I copied all my emails to colin millard at Daewoo.
Don’t know what his job is but worth a try.
Regards
I am being treated for Prostrate Cancer and from next Month the treatment really notches up ten gears for the next four months so I will have to bow out but I do hope people stick with this as clearly Daewoo know fine well that most people don’t keep receipts over such a long period.
What really kills me Daewoo was the ones who were claiming that not many of their Customers were affected so one has to wonder why they are causing so much hassle at this late stage.
Don’t let them get off the hook – challenge all their claims as they are making it up as they go along.
I do know that some people ‘ recently ‘ were able to send their credit card statements and they were accepted as proof of purchase but with Daewoo after a few claims they may have stopped accepting this as proof.
Good luck to all.
i have been e-mailing Daewoo on a regular basis, with photo proof of my set top box and iv’e also been sending them links from certain forums to prove they have replaced units to other customers without a receipt, but guess what, they seem to have forgotten about me, they now won’t reply to my e-mails, but i’ll keep on e-mailing them to re-fresh their memory.
Anyone else not receiving replies from their e-mails ? I must of upset them !
Brian.
Get well soon.
Thanks for all you information.
Regards.
Peter as you know we have been in touch with each other via e-mail .
its a case of making their life a misery – if you keep the pressure on someone will have a bit of commonsense and do something.
Daewoo has to wake up to the fact that they cant pick and chose who they replace.
All this rubbish about people cashing in is just that ‘ Complete rubbish ‘
if Daewoo had not fitted the nonstandard buffer in the first place then all our units would be still working today.
complain complain and complain – we should all be equal but Daewoo has been very selective who they replaced ‘ without a receipt ‘
Thanks Brian, but now Daewoo won’t even answer my e-mails, i think they are sick of me, but i still haven’t been fobbed off
with a free replacement unit yet ! i’ll just have to keep on complaining !
I did ask why certain people got replacements without a receipt, but they said people were buying these units from e-bay and car boot sales and then cashing in on free replacements, i now know it’s a load of cobblers. Any one else in the same boat as me ?
Peter I am still awiting replies to emails from Daewoo. Since my first email to them on the 14th August i have sent a further 13, about half have received replies. I found this statement on the Daewoo website ” Daewoo Electronics also prides itself on its customer care values”. Really !!!!!!!!!
The half that you received replies from, were they positive, or were they negative, i.e have you received a replacement unit yet ?
Today i sent 5 e-mails to different employees at Daewoo, guess what, not one single reply, now thats what i called taking pride in its customer care values, believe you me, i will never ever buy any Daewoo products ever again, and i will also tell all my relatives and friends of the discraceful customer care i have received regarding their dodgy set top boxes !
No i have not received a replacement yet although it is now three months since i first contacted them. They say they want a receipt which after 4 years i no longer have.I suggested that they use the guarantee form i posted as a form of proof.I even sent them a photo copy of my portion of the stub. To cap it all i have today received an email from the Commercial Manager saying they have no record of receiving the guarantee. Unbelievable.
one of the people who I have been helping did not produce a receipt as such but as she bought it via Amazon I knew they would have a copy of the invoice.
Anyway she checked and they did have the original invoice – it was this she sent and Daewoo accepted it ‘ today ‘ – she did the same deal I did and paid £ 15 for a DSD9503T { 160 GB }
If you have a credit card statement then that should be enough to break though the Daewoo wall.
Yes I admit its crazy as Daewoo know fine well that most people do not keep receipts that long.
Kev, when you sent off your e-mails to Colin Millard,did it help, did he reply,and how long did it take,did it result in a replacement unit ? I now think Daewoo are reading these forum’s and now know everyone will be e-mailing Colin Millard, resulting in him being told to ignore all e-mails as well as all the other staff!
Daewoo Electronics also prides itself on its customer care values, what a load of cobbler’s ! this statement can be found on their website, after 2 day’s, not one reply from 11 e-mails, Daewoo are ducking their resposibilities by not treating all of their customer’s fair,how they can they replace unit’s for certain people and not for other’s, this has been pointed out to Daewoo, but they have’nt replied! customer care values, mt $*!%
Are people who have dodgy set top boxes still complaining,and if so,what,if any,is the responce from Dodgy Daewoo,i myself don’t get my e-mailsm answered !
Peter. Frpm my earlier post—–
This on 3rd September 2008
“”In order for us to consider assisting you further, please could you supply the following:
SERIAL/LOT NUMBER:
DATE OF PURCHASE:
PLACE OF PURCHASE:
COPY OF RECEIPT OF PURCHASE(if not available a scanned photo of the product):
Upon receipt of the above our Commercial Manager will consider an alternative offer.
Yours sincerely,
Adam Mugford””
Note the bit in brackets.
After a few emails and sending a PHOTO ONLY —– on the 17th September 2008 I received my replacement receiver.
Regards
Oops sorry about the spelling!!
That’s fair comment Kev, iv’e done all that, but now dodgy Daewoo have once again moved the goal post’s. I’m now sending e-mails on a daily basis to no avail, i.e. receiving no reply, complete with photo’s of my unit, i think i must of upset them. Has anyone had a unit replaced recently without a receipt ? As for my spelling, well !
Seeing as this is on going I sent an email to Daewoo asking why people are being treated differently regarding the DS608P – If you remember I received a free replacement for mine.
The reply was as follows……..
“We treat each customer’s situation on an individual basis, and we make offers, as a gesture of goodwill, that are available at that time.
Yours sincerely,”
So,maybe the “time” will come if you persist when they will replace your box.
Can’t do any more than that.
Daewoo – if you are reading this thanks for the reply .
Come on – help these people out .We were/are all in the same boat.
Regards
And check this interesting link .
Sorry if this is old hat .
http://www.ukfree.tv/fullstory.php?storyid=1107051492
Regards
Hi kev the joke is the original ONdigital units built eleven or so years ago was able to cope in July { when they switched in the split NIT in London } but Daewoo’s could not.
Daewoo is not playing fair demanding receipts when none of us { who jumped on their back quickly } were asked for one.
I only know four people who are still trying to get them to change their mind although they are also checking over old credit card statements just to see if they can prove when it was bought.
There can be many left stuck in limbo so really it would not cost Daewoo much just to accept that not everyone keeps a receipt for four or more years.
Hindsight is a marvellous thing, if only I’d known of this site yesterday before I accepted my Daewoo DS608P’s invitation to find new channels. Result – several hours of time wasted fruitlessly trying to get it to work again.
Seeing as I paid £100 for it a few years back, I believe I could rightly expect it to continue working (barring unforeseen mechanical failures) up to & beyond the digital switch over date. I belatedly find that this is apparently not the case & that the expense the consumer is expected to bear in order to continue to receive televised transmissions (something the little robot on the digital switch over adverts does not go into too much detail about)is to be increased by the purchase of successive set top boxes.
Like, I suspect, the majority of Daewoo’s customers, I do not have my purchase receipt. I only keep them for the currency of the manufacturer’s guarantee.
Can anyone out there let me know of any developments in the fight to obtain replacement set top boxes from Daewoo? Is it worth the effort?
Dirk.
Go right back to the beginning of this topic and read every post.
You will find details of people to contact at Daewoo,and people who obtained exchange boxes in the “early days”.
Yes it is worth it — the fact that the replacement from Daewoo is only about £20 is not the point.
You were, like many of us, persuaded to “go digital” and took up these expensive bits of kit to be “future proof” — what a joke !!
Brian. Hope you are well.
Regards
Dirk.
I would be very surprised if you get a replacement, i have been e-mailing Dodgy Daewoo for approx 4 weeks. At first they replied to my e-mails asking for a receipt, i told them i did not retain my receipt after the first year when the guarntee ran out, i argued my corner and complained as advised from many people on this forum, but to no avail. I now e-mail Dodgy Daewoo once a week explaining my circumstances ie, no receipt and telling them they aren’t treating everyone the same etc etc, but now Dodgy Daewoo dont respond at all to my e-mails. All i can say is GOOD LUCK mate !
Before the Internet none of us would know if a Company had a double standards policy such as Daewoo .
There cant be all that many still stuck in the system so really its down to making a fuss – the bigger the fuss the better it will be for all of you left waiting for Daewoo to do the right thing.
Sure Daewoo is stalling and if you don’t keep up the pressure you will never get anywhere.
We who have had had replacements without showing any receipt know they were accepting our claims and then all of a sudden they changed their Policy although they have never admitted it has been changed.
if enough of you get together and flood Daewoo with e-mails they will soon work out its cheaper to clear up the claims rather than ignore them.
You may not have the receipt but if you have a invoice or a delivery note that may be enough proof for Daewoo – if you don’t try you will never know what works.
—————-
To Kev – thanks for your good wishes – from early December and I have a load of planning meetings all set for daily radiotherapy from Monday 5 th of January.
I am feeling fine just looking forward to getting this all out the way.
For those people who want to complain to Dodgy Daewoo, here are Dodgy Daewoo’s employee’s e-mail address’s: colin.millard@desuk.co.uk, simon.drought@desuk.co.uk, customerservice@desuk.co.uk, my favourite, adam.mugford@desuk.co.uk, bwkoo@desuk.co.uk, and finally marina.eames@desuk.co.uk. If i find anymore,i’ll make sure you get them ! Why not do what i do, e-mail each one every day or so, you might get a reply ?
Guys, have a look over on http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1101561&page=2
To Tigger – why don’t you use your Real Name and explain why ‘ this is your first comment on this site ‘
I suspect you are working for Daewoo or a PR Company employed by Daewoo trying to shut me up.
I was trying to help a person get a receipt as many people have been in touch with me and all genuine posters on this site will realise that I have not been doing it for any financial gain.
Its very rich of Daewoo going after me rather than trying to solve their own Double Standards.
It was Daewoo that changed the Goalposts and not me.
I am currently in regular communication with six Daewoo Customers who have searched high and low but they cant find their original receipt and one of them asked me if I could find/buy a receipt .
My intention was to pass it onto them as after all there is nothing illegal about buying secondhand goods.
This new Condition was forced on ‘ Genuine Customers ‘ who were not as quick off the mark as some of us were.
As you will see at
https://www.frequencycast.co.uk/blog/2008/07/more-freeview-boxes-become-obsolete.html#comment-6851
I also posted my Post Code { delivery number etc etc } which is not something I would do if I was trying to run a fiddle.
I already own three PVR’s which is more than enough for me.
Well Tigger what have you done to help out anyone ?
Did you manage to guide ten Daewoo Customers into receiving Replacements ?
If Daewoo had built their units to the full DVB-T standard all these dead units would still be working today and it would have saved a lot of hassle that Customers have had to endure.
So Tigger go back to your boss and tell him that he should sort out his own office.