Tag Heuer Watches UK Service Centre

I bought a TAG Heuer watch 3 years ago, and 14 months later the battery failed. TAG outlets send all their watches to LVMH in Manchester. LVMH IS LOUIS VUITTON MOËT HENNNESY, Basically a conglomerate of over priced poncy French clobber and booze.

It took a week to get there and another week to email me the price of £75 for a battery. These things cost about £1 from anywhere and a local jewellery shop will charge £10 or less and it takes five minutes. HOWEVER, they cannot SEAL THEM PROPERLY, only the TAG SPECIALIST can do this, which creates a captive market and the ability to charge 75 times to value of something with appealing service as well. How very French!

Once you agree to pay their ridiculous charge, it then takes anything up to SIX WEEKS to fit the battery and return the watch. And that's if you are very quick off the mark and respond with payment. Sadly, their first email ended in the junk folder and after six weeks I got hold of their phone number and called them. Apparently, they send one email and wait. So screw you if you missed it. All in all, it took 13 WEEKS. PATHETIC.

I am writing this all up today as two weeks ago the battery died again and also the enamel paint in the bevel which shows the numbers has worn off intermittently and the thing looks like a cheap fake. I took it to the TAG shop in Westfield at Stratford last Monday 28 April and today, Friday 9 May, LVMH in Manchester have emailed me to say it has been received and is BEING examined. No price as yet, although it is 11 days later, oooh no Sireee!

I called them up and was told it would be at least an additional 5 working days before they could even give me a price. 5 working days, in plain English, is a week. It may well be more in France.

I will keep adding to this thread as and when there is sporadic movement. I now find it almost amusing to watch their breathtaking inefficiencies at work. I wonder how much they are going to try to charge to repair sub standard enamelling.

Meanwhile, I have dug out my old faithful £50 special bought in Dubai that bears a striking resemblance to a much more expensive watch, if you catch my drift. It too needed a battery. My local jewellers in the high street fitted one. It took 10 minutes and he charged me £7.50. It is now serving me just as well as the over priced TAG that takes longer to have a battery changed that it does to have have open heart surgery and make a full recovery from.

If you must buy a TAG then buy an automatic. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING BATTERY DRIVEN or you too will be going through this silly ritual dance every 2 years or so. Or, as the Seiko ad says, "beware of expensive imitations." How true.....