OCUK to the rescue

Associate
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The aim of this post is to share my experiences, hoping some will not fall foul as I did, but mainly to say a massive thanks to OCUK and in particular - Gibbo.

Posted here as I guess it is in relation to general hardware.

In January I was looking to upgrade from my i7 860 and MSI GD-80, no real reason tbh, just had an itch that needed scratched, you know how it is, the obvious choice was a 2500k and I'd read good things about the Asrock Extreme 4 motherboard, so choices made I was looking to order.
As usual I was browsing the MM and I found one seller with amongst other items, the very cpu and motherboard I was after, perfect I thought. I contacted the seller and we agreed on £260 for the 2500K, the Asrock Extreme 4 and a Corsair H60, good deal I thought, I was cautious as its a chunk of cash but the seller had rep and I've bought a few things off MM and always worked out well. Money paid via bank transfer as requested, all was pleasant and fine.

A few days later the package arrived, great, I was keen to get going.

I opened the package and all looked fine, no damaged box. I opened the CPU box to check and my heart sank as I discovered two of the cpu contact pads had what looked like motherboard pins stuck into them, so panicking, I opened the motherboard box and sure enough, matching pins missing and a couple bent. Nightmare.

I must stress at this point that this is exactly how it happened, I opened the box and both the cpu and motherboard were damaged.

Here are the images I took of the damaged CPU, showing the damage to the pads in the centre;

DSCF0823.jpg


DSCF0825circle.jpg


motherboard with missing pins;

DSCF0831circle.jpg


First thing I did was phone the seller, after seven calls he answered and immediately blamed me and denied it all, yup, typical. I pressed him and he said he takes photos of all items and would send one to me as proof that they were fine when they left his possession, but he couldn't do it right then, he'd do it next day.

So the next day I received this image;

photo.jpg


Yup, this exact image, cropped as above, strange I thought, so 10 seconds searching images for "2500K" came up with this exact image from a web review of the 2500K. (not sure if I can link the review or not, but its easy to find)
The seller had no image of the sold cpu or perhaps he did, but discovered it showed the damage before he sent it.

Anyway, I was told it was my fault and I was getting no refund whatsoever, great, £260 wasted, I'd have been better handing the money to charity or someone needy instead of buying damaged goods.
A few emails went back and forth (to the three different email addresses he used) but they ended up heated and basically it was my fault, then my emails were ignored.

So I'd payed £260 via bank transfer and the seller wasn't replying. I should have been suspicious due to the BT only as theres no reclaim (as far as I know)

Nice, nothing I could do.

I have built up a good relationship with OCUK's Gibbo, as we all know, a great guy who happens to own a 911.........
So I asked Gibbo purely for advice as a friend and as an OCUK expert, his view was very suspicious due to the stolen image being used as "proof", but pointed out that as it was bank transfer I had no reclaim. Cunning seller indeed.
Upon Gibbo's advice I contacted ThundyCat, who was very helpful and forwarded the issue to Huddy. Fantastic that these guys were taking time to look into it as it wasn't even an OCUK transaction. So I'd like to publically say thanks guys for trying when I realise you didn't have to, very much appreciated.
Sadly the story pretty much didn't change, despite their efforts, no refund or even a partial refund.

Now I completely understand that it could look as if I damaged the components whilst attempting to fit (as accused by the seller) but this simply isn't true, I opened the boxes to find them damaged. Fact.
Interestingly I received a message from another buyer who bought a laptop from the same seller which had arrived to him with a non-functioning screen, who I believe never had his issue resolved either.
So I'd payed by BT, as did the other buyer, we both received damaged/faulty items of value and the seller refused to refund or help, then there's the stolen image to consider....... make your own mind up but the facts speak volumes.

I have to wonder how the damage occurred, I initially thought the cpu had been dropped but surely that wouldn't embed the corresponding pin into the cpu pad, my thoughts are too many volts to the "never overclocked" cpu caused the contact to heat up and fuse together, I'd read this about some 1156 boards in my research.

Gibbo suggested I sent the cpu and board in so he could test as I didn't have anything else to test them with, although I didn't want to use them, I have read about unused pins so wondered if I'd still get the use of them.
So sent them in and a few days later Gibbo reported back that they were indeed faulty and unusable, great.
But Gibbo said to let him see what he could do......

So a massive effort put in by the man himself, he reported back asking if I'd like a 3820......err, yes, of course I would! Its way over what I was going to buy, I was absolutely delighted!!!!!!!!!

I still had to buy the motherboard so I read reviews and the best value for money seemed to be the Asrock X79 Extreme 4, so I promptly ordered one, along with an Akasa Nero 3 and Gibbo sent out the 3820.
All built up no probs and running like a Swiss watch, its taken a few moths to sort out but I couldn't be happier.

Though the upgrade did end up costing me more as I've bought two motherboards and two coolers, at least I've come out of it with a higher upgrade than I'd planned, it has ended up costing me a bit but I could have ended up with nothing at all.

So I would like to thank Gibbo personally for going to a massive effort on my behalf and coming back with the cpu and a deal for me which made my upgrade finally possible. It means a lot Gibbo, thank you very much indeed. I won't forget it!

I also want to thank the OCUK team, ThundyCat and Huddy in particular for taking the time to look into this matter and even contact the seller on my behalf, despite the sale being a non-OCUK transaction where they made no profit. Thank you gentlemen!

I doubt other etailers would have went to these lengths.

As to the seller, what can I say, well what I'd like to say isn't allowed on the forum so I'll just leave it at the facts above, as they clearly shows they type of cunning person you are, congrats mate, spend my hard-earned money wisely.

Although I haven't named the seller it's easy to find.....


Thanks for sticking through and reading folks.

Jamie
 
Soldato
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Interestigng story. Unfortunately members markets and classfieds are all too easily abused but thankfully OcUK MM isn't as bad as some. Did you get the personal details from the seller? Small claims court?
 
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Associate
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As good as the end outcome was and how chuffed you may be, I think, as a decent thing to do, is to remove what Gibbo done, otherwise everyone who get scammed will want the same thing.

Not at all, as long as its clear Gibbo was acting on the basis of a personal favour, not on OCUK shiulders...

Great story, with a lesson. Massive respect to gibbo and the others.
 

rjk

rjk

Caporegime
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The OcUK mm is moderated by a 1st class moderation team.

They are fair and strict and I know the work and dedication that goes into what they do.
The entire team is an asset to the forum community and I personally wouldn't resell my old hardware anywhere else.

The mm is 99% of the time a safe place to trade.

Sadly your experiences were a situation that we all try to avoid.

I tested your hardware when you sent it back and can honestly say that it was borked beyond belief. A really saddening situation for what I believe to be one of the best places to trade hardware online.

Gibbo has links within the industry that mean that we are able to do what we can. It doesn't mean that OcUK are able to come to the rescue all the time but on the odd occasion we can do bits and bobs to put things right.

Whilst we wouldn't be able to offer this on a regular basis, just remember that OcUK cares about our customers and forum members, we will get badmouthed for one thing or another from time to time but I would ask if there is another company who would pull strings for someone in this way?

I'm glad you got the problem sorted, thanks for posting such an honest statement, I will be sure to point Gibbo towards it when he returns from GSL

Rich
 

rjk

rjk

Caporegime
Joined
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I would like to remind everyone who reads this also to get the full name, address and contact details of any seller on the members market.

Also remember to check a sellers feedback using the trust function before entering into any deals. Be sure that you are 100% happy with their previous transactions before proceeding with yours.

Read the members market rules in full regularly. They are updated to keep trading safe and not to catch you out as some believe :)
 
Associate
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Location
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I'm sure someone out there will have what it takes to re attach a pin or replace the whole socket even. I would attempt to get the board fixed or offer it for spares or repair just to get back something for it. I assume removing the pin from the cpu should be relatively easy, if you have access to a board to test it on hopefully it will work ok & you will be able to sell that to.
 

rjk

rjk

Caporegime
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Of course, this action took place before Gibbo and Myself had any involvement in the matter.
 
Caporegime
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FYI, you can give Google an Image via upload/link and it will find the exact picture and similar pictures elsewhere on the web.

https://www.google.com/search?tbs=s...dg0BcpB9eQqEKJc&num=10&hl=en&bih=711&biw=1280

However, it seems in this case, Google did not find any other images looking exactly like the one you showed in your post.

Nor does TinEye

The seller admitted he did it:

I thought I took pictures of the item first but I didn't save them, so i sent you a random image I found on google images, I know this was stupid and it looks like ive shot myself in the foot, but I am innocent and didn't damage them items, I mean come on, the damage shown is blatantly done by force you can tell, why would I do that!? It's pointless
 
Associate
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The seller admitted he did it:
....
the damage shown is blatantly done by force you can tell, why would I do that!? It's pointless

I don't know how much force is needed to pull a pin out but they don't look very substantial do they so I'm guessing not much, what I'm getting at is he might not have even realised it had happened when he removed the cpu. It may or may not have been working before it was removed, we will probably never know but I do think it's possible he just didn't realise anything happened when the cpu was removed. If this is the case perhaps the things he's said might make more sense. Just saying it may not have been a deliberate scam we can't know for sure either way.

That said the pin got it self stuck probably due to some overclocking as you said in original post or someone fiddling with dangerous settings they simply didn't understand the risks of :rolleyes: and if he did it no matter how or if he knew or not it still sucks for you :( Always take good clear detailed photos before sending stuff, maybe with the buyers address label you are going to attach visible in them so it can be seen that they are not old photos.
 
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Associate
OP
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Thanks for all the comments.

I'd like to re-iterate my gratitude to the OCUK team and to Gibbo in particular, I contacted Gibbo prior to posting this to make sure he was ok with what I planned to say.
Never before have I encountered such a level of customer service and that's including my line of work where CS is absolute paramount.
I don't want anyone thinking that the team can supply components foc at all, I work in a Porsche dealer and I have been able to offer Gibbo deals on parts and tech info etc and I go as far as possible to help him out, his business is obviously appreciated. So I have taken his efforts to help me as a favour in return for the efforts I make for him. Hopefully that Porsche calendar is pride of place in the office!

Interestigng story. Unfortunately members markets and classfieds are all too easily abused but thankfully OcUK MM isn't as bad as some. Did you get the personal details from the seller? Small claims court?

All I have is a name, useless contact number and email, as well as bank details. I cringe each time I make a bank payment as his name is still on the list.

I tested your hardware when you sent it back and can honestly say that it was borked beyond belief. A really saddening situation for what I believe to be one of the best places to trade hardware online.
Rich

Many thanks to you personally for testing the components for me Rich, what do you think caused the damage?

I'm sure someone out there will have what it takes to re attach a pin or replace the whole socket even. I would attempt to get the board fixed or offer it for spares or repair just to get back something for it. I assume removing the pin from the cpu should be relatively easy, if you have access to a board to test it on hopefully it will work ok & you will be able to sell that to.

I did contemplate a repair, I contacted Asrock but it didn't go anywhere.
Not sure whats happened to the board and cpu, probably on the OCUK scrap pile, if it is laying around I'll happily cover return postage, its worth it even for the mobo accessories.

Really Inspiring story guys, Overclockers are truly the best retailer for Computer Hardware :)

Completely, I wanted to share this story so others could see the efforts that OCUK went to, way more than any other would.

However, it seems in this case, Google did not find any other images looking exactly like the one you showed in your post.

The image I showed is the cropped image I was sent, if you google 2500k and the review site it is the first image shown, albeit with a bit of background that's been cropped in the image I was sent.
Don't want to link incase of competitor links, after this service I certainly don't want to link any competitors!

I don't know how much force is needed to pull a pin out but they don't look very substantial do they so I'm guessing not much, what I'm getting at is he might not have even realised it had happened when he removed the cpu. It may or may not have been working before it was removed, we will probably never know but I do think it's possible he just didn't realise anything happened when the cpu was removed. If this is the case perhaps the things he's said might make more sense. Just saying it may not have been a deliberate scam we can't know for sure either way.

That said the pin got it self stuck probably due to some overclocking as you said in original post or someone fiddling with dangerous settings they simply didn't understand the risks of :rolleyes: and if he did it no matter how or if he knew or not it still sucks for you :( Always take good clear detailed photos before sending stuff, maybe with the buyers address label you are going to attach visible in them so it can be seen that they are not old photos.

I did consider that the seller didn't realise and I even said this to him, that maybe the system was indeed fine and the damage happened when it was dismantled but he didn't notice, definitely plausible, but I received a negative reaction and that it was my fault.
But as you say I personally think its had some enthusiastic overclocking, soldering the pin to the cpu, fine when it was still in the socket, but when it was separated, the pin came too, maybe rjkoneill can shed some light?

So congratulations OCUK, I am now a massive advocate of you and the team!
Especially my buddy Gibbo!
 
Man of Honour
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Thank you for the kind words and I'm only sorry we couldn't do more.

Whilst such occurrences are quite un-common, we take fraudulent and general misuse of the Members Market very seriously. Our work is on-going and we make a conscientious effort to make improvements were we feel is necessary to protect our members from such bad deals as experienced by Jamous. We are continually reviewing and updating the rules and although these changes may not be popular, we do so in the best interest of our members, so we can all enjoy trouble free trading.

We have sent Gibbo the link to this thread. I'm sure he'll appreciate your comments :)




I would like to remind everyone who reads this also to get the full name, address and contact details of any seller on the members market.

Also remember to check a sellers feedback using the trust function before entering into any deals. Be sure that you are 100% happy with their previous transactions before proceeding with yours.

Read the members market rules in full regularly. They are updated to keep trading safe and not to catch you out as some believe :)
 
OcUK Staff
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17 Oct 2002
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OcUK HQ
Hi there

First of all thanks Jamie for the feedback, I am only sorry for you had the miss-fortune you did and that I could not sort you out without it costing you any money in buying new kit but am glad your now up and running. :)

I will always help if I can, the simple facts are though sometimes it is not always possible, it is just on this occaison with one of my contacts at Intel a partial solution was available and Jamie took it.

So once again glad your up and running and also a big thank you to yourself for the CS I've recieved from you guys as well. :)
 
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