Bought a brand new garmin fenix 5 which didn’t work so well and was sent back after 2 months of ownership for replacement. Today I received a replacement but it’s a refurbished device.

If I had wanted a refurbed device I could have saved 150 quid at time of purchase. I didn’t as i read the batteries didn’t last as long.

Am I right to feel slightly aggrieved?

They tried that with me, I knew they were gonna, as I read the T&C’s, so I told them beforehand to either send me a new one, or refund, with the exact same reason that you gave.

FWIW their ‘refurb’ units tend to be brand new, it’s not like buying a refurb phone that’s been used for a year, but I didn’t want to risk it.

Last time they replaced my wifes 4s, there was no mention of refurb, they sent a boxed brand new unit, I was hoping they’d changed that silly rule….

Yes you should be annoyed.

Did you get any joy?

I think it’s fair to feel a bit peeved, but I don’t believe there is any legal basis for you to force them to do anything else, under the consumer rights act beyond 30 days from purchase the retailer can choose how to fix the issue (repair, replace, refund etc.), you can request a different option but they are under no obligation to do so. If I was you I’d just send them a nice polite email that you’d like a different solution and hope that they do it as a goodwill gesture.

retailer can choose how to fix the issue (repair, replace, refund etc.),

Surely replace has to be like for like, not replaced with an older item that has (potentially) seen a lot more use.

To be fair, Garmin’s warranty is very good IME but a refurb older than the item being replaced is not a valid option.

I had failed pixels on my 5S and they also sent me a refurb. To be honest, if it had been in a proper box I wouldn’t have known, and they did replace it with a Saphire version (mine was just the normal) and send me a second strap (as they had no 5S with blue straps left), which I am yet to use as the saphire looks better with the black. So on balance I just stuck with it and over the last year it has been absolutely fine.

I’ve just been given a brand new Polar Vantage watch by Halfords as my previous one started misbehaving after a year. Excellent customer service from Halfords.

Slightly off-topic herer but how are you guys finding the Fenix 5?

I’ve just been looking at the 5X Sapphire today as they’re doing them for about £300 and I quite fancy one to replace my Samsung watch as the activity tracking stuf isn’t great on it.

When my finally dead Garmin 1000 was replaced with a refurbished one I realised that the touch screen performance on my original one had been crap out if the box, as the refurb was far more responsive.

So, you may get a more comprehensively QA’d product?

Sorry for the hijack, jonnyboi how much was your replacement 1000? I’ve been in touch with Garmin about my faulty one via phone then email, had an initial response but now they’ve quiet. I would be happy to have it replaced with a refurb as mines next to useless at present.

Mine was just out of warranty and they originally quoted me £198 for a refurb or 30% of a new 1030. I asked very nicely if they would make an exception as it was literally a couple of months out and I have a long history of buying and registering garmins, and they kindly agreed to a FOC replacement.

Most of my interaction was via the chat portal.

My Vivoactive HR+ died after 2 years Garmin contacted me as they spotted my tweet offering to replace it free of charge with a refurbed one. It’s still working after 2 years.

Cheers chaps, shall ring them again tomorrow and see what they say.

To answer the “how are you getting on” question… really well..

I’ve a 5+ sapphire, with a new blue strap ( tenner from amazon) and it looks great with it!
I went from a vivioactive 3 music. It’s twice the weight, which IS noticeable, but the mapping and other data features are worth it.

DrP

Do you miss the touch screen?

I love having a touch screen for indoor daily stuff, but would like buttons for outdoorsy use. Actually my VA3 is quite annoying sometimes – accidentally changes settings and stuff. My old Vivoactive HR was much less silly in that respect. Hey ho!

I wouldn’t go back to buttons, touch screen is much quicker, and I have it set to lock the screen during any activity.

retailer can choose how to fix the issue (repair, replace, refund etc.),

Nope. It’s at customer request with the caveat that you can’t force the issue if it would be disproportionate. Eg, if it was something out of stock and discontinued you couldn’t reject a repair in favour of demanding a replacement that doesn’t exist.

You cannot demand a refund out of the gate, you have to allow the retailer at least one attempt to repair / replace first.

Surely replace has to be like for like, not replaced with an older item that has (potentially) seen a lot more use.

You’d think so (and arguably that’s exactly what’s happened with the OP) but this isn’t specified in legislation. Or at least, if it is I’ve never found where. It just says “replaced.”