Magellan Crossover GPS Car GPS Receiver

I would like to share my experience with you concerning the purchase of a Magellan Crossover GPS system. The reason that I choose this GPS over all of the others that I looked at was the ability to use the GPS for Marine use. I wanted to be able to use it on the Lake and be able to see the depths, hotspots for fish, etc AS ADVERTISED by Magellan. When you read their advertisements it sounds as though all you have to do is to "download the file" for the lake maps.

Well, I bought the Magellan Crossover GPS and brought it home. Everything on it worked as expected EXCEPT for the lake maps, they were not in it. When you went into the marine maps it was just a blue screen. "Maps not loaded" was noticed on some of the menu choices. So I went online to the Magellan site and re-read the page. OK, I should have known that there would be a CHARGE for downloading the maps. No problem, I paid the $99 for the maps with my check card and awaited for the download. The page sat there stating that it would take 1 to 10 minutes, however, it would be emailed to me if I didn't want to wait. After 2 hours of waiting, I opted for the email. After waiting and waiting, no email, no file, no link, no nothing. On monday, I called Magellan. After a L O N G wait on HOLD I finally got to talk with a human being. I got someone from India and she asked for the make and model of the unit I was calling about. I gave her the information and she wanted my full name, address, phone number, email address, etc etc......

After giving her everything that she wanted, she stated that the unit I was calling about is handled by another department and she would "transfer" me to that number. I waited 42 minutes on HOLD and she came back on the phone. I explained that it was still me waiting for the other department to assist me with my unit. She stated that she was now ready for me. ??? Why didn't she just tell me that she busy and it would take a half an hour, instead of making me believe that I was being "transferred" to another operator?

I explained what had happened and that I needed someone to point me to the file location so that I could download what I paid for. She couldn't do that, so guess what(?), YES, you are right, BACK ON HOLD again. Finally after 48 minutes of waiting, another person from India picked up the phone and asked exactly the same questions as the first even after I gave him the reference number. As soon as I finished giving him the information he very quickly said, "Just a minute, I transfer you" CLICK On HOLD AGAIN.

I wait for an eternity again and finally, you guessed it, the first girl answered the phone AGAIN. Believe it or not, she asked the exact same questions all over again. I played her game and continued. She finally told me that the web page was down for maintenance and that I would have to wait a week to call again. I explained that the web page was alive and well and that IT TOOK MY MONEY. She continued to tell me that I would have to wait a week before anything could be done. I stated that I either wanted the product I paid for, or the money back. She refused to give me the money back. She put me on hold again while she went back to get someone else to help.

When she came back she informed me that the product was unavailable and that they would send it to me when it became available. She stated the reason was that the web site was not working, it was "down" for maintenance. I AGAIN explained that it was UP and it took my MONEY. At this point, I had already been holding a phone to my ear for for nearly 3 hours and was getting a little agitated. I told her I wanted the product within 10 minutes or a full refund. She stated that they would NOT give me the money back. She then proceeded to tell me that the product was not available yet and when it became available they would send it to me. Now wait a minute, I thought it was illegal to sell something that you don't actually have. Let's look at the facts:

* They advertised that they have it
* They SOLD it to me with the belief that I was going to get the product.
* They now have my money.
* They do NOT have the product available yet
* They want to send it to me when it becomes available.
* They refuse to send me the money back.

If there are any attorneys out there, how many federal laws have they broken? I thought it was illegal to take money from my card BEFORE shipping the product. I thought it was illegal to present FALSE AND DECEPTIVE advertising to sell a product.

I purchased the product here in the United States. Why can't I speak to an AMERICAN about the problem? It seems to me, that if the Magellan company has to hire ALL of those people in India to handle their tech support, then quite possibly they have a LOT OF PROBLEMS with their products that require ALL of those people in INDIA to handle the support calls.

Needless to say, I brought the Magellan Crossover GPS back to Office Depot for a full refund. They gave the money back with no problem. They completely understood and they passed along what happened to me to their buyers. Certainly they don't want to be caught up in a problem with FALSE AND DECEPTIVE advertising.

It cost me $99 for the mistake of purchasing a Magellan product. It certainly will NOT happen again. I will consider that as a small price to pay for that education. In the future, when I decide to purchase something that might require a tech support call, I will CALL first and see if someone from INDIA answers the phone. If they do, I will state I got a wrong number, I will hang up and NEVER buy from that company.

My final thing to do is to file a formal complaint with the federal fair trade commission and with the bank for them pulling my money on a product that they don't even have available yet.