Hi all,

I apologise in advance as this is a TAG Heuer not a vintage Heuer (which I own and prefer) and also for this being an open complaint. But under these circumstances - where do I stand? What options or rights do I have?

My wife purchased a new McQueen Cal.12 for me for our anniversary a month ago (she said I needed an updated watch and not live in the past :S). After the excitement died down of getting another Monaco, I inspecting the watch and I found the winder (when adjusting the hands in a clockwise motion) was a bit tight and felt like it was jammed at times. Having never experienced a chrono like this, I packed it back into it's box after taking some happy snaps.

I contacted the store where my wife purchased it from after returning from our anniversary holiday and showed them. They wound it a few times and told me "it's just a tight chrono wearing in, happens a lot on the newer model TAG Heuers", however I begged to differ... I returned to the store and notified them that there was something out of the ordinary again last wednesday as it was still tight and 'skips' when you wind it clockwise. They wound it a few times again and replied "we have to send it in for inspection as this is not normal", which was already denoted to them initially. I decided to take it home and take pictures of it's condition before sending it off.

My wife then suggested that I wear the updated Monaco for a change to a function we were attending last friday evening. I wound up the watch to kickstart it, pulled the crown out to adjust the time and date. To my shock and horror, the winder was no longer able to wind the watch hands in a clockwise direction and it just spun freely.

Upon discovery, I immediately contacted the store and they said "bring it in and we'll send it off to repair..." When I asked for a replacement, they palmed me off and said "we cannot give you a replacement until it's inspected by TAG Heuer along with their consent and approval by our management. This process will take up to 6 ~ 8 weeks". In my opinion, my wife was sold a faulty watch to begin with and I notified them of the fault as soon as I could. The watch does not exhibit any signs of wear (absolutely no marks), yet I'm still told the above...

I have taken photographs and a video as evidence as I am unsatified with their response and have arrange to speak to their management this friday. Should I be mistreated and palmed off again, I will publicly name the store on forums and I sincerely hope someone at TAG Heuer also reads this complaint.

I'm at a loss for words to the above events as what I purchased was definately not Avante-Garde when failing in the above manner. My wife seems more distraught than me over this incident as she's taken it upon herself for not having checked the watch (irony is, she doesnt know how to).

Has anyone else had any experiences similar to this? Any help would be much appreciated- many thanks in advance!

Kind Regards
Justin