RMA Advice (Not OCUK)

pandem0nium · 14 Aug 2023 at 11:25

Hi All

I Ordered an AM5 CPU and MB bundle from a Bolton based competitor. Board is an Asus Prime B650 Plus.

First board I ordered had bent pins in the socket. I took pictures, sent it back and the RMA went smoothly and I received a new board in about a week.

Second board looked fine, so I installed it in a case and added the other components. Then I discovered that the top M.2 slot wasn't working. The NVMe drive works fine in another slot. I have a picture of the socket from when I received and checked it.

Second RMA request raised. it took a lot longer this time for it to be processed or looked at, about a week. I was told that the board was physically damaged. They uploaded images to the order with bent pins in a socket.
The pins were fine when I sent it back. I reattached the socket protector when sending it and it was packaged sufficiently to prevent damage. In hindsight, I should have made a vide of me packaging up the item including the state of the pins.

I was told that because the board was physically damaged, that the warranty didn't apply. And that if I signed an agreement admitting fault, that they would send it to ASUS to see if it can be repaired.
I declined to sign the agreement because I'm not responsible for the damage. They said that the best that they could do is offer me a free repair, which I accepted.

Thoughts at the time were that ok, they'll replace the socket, test it, send it back. That's not not a bad outcome, as long as I get a working board. What this actually meant was they needed to ship it to ASUS to make the repair.
So far it has two months since I have returned the second board. I asked for an ETA but have been told that they can't give me one.
I have said that 28 days is the reasonable time for resolution according to the consumer rights act. They are just saying that the Consumer rights act doesn't apply because of the physical damage.

Can it be the case that retailers can just say there is damage, we have no liabiliy? Even if the damage has occurred during the RMA process after it has left my posession.

Has anyone else had a similar repair by ASUS and have an idea of how long it should take?

And any advice as to what actions I can take would be appreciated.

I can upload the images from both parties later if anyone would like to see them.

Thanks

mickyflinn · 14 Aug 2023 at 11:37

It's about proof and this is always a grey area if you don't have any as they can say whatever they want.

Have you got confirmation they sent it to Asus otherwise it's likely sitting in the stock room if you didn't sign an agreement ?

pandem0nium · 14 Aug 2023 at 11:42

mickyflinn said:
It's about proof and this is always a grey area if you don't have any as they can say whatever they want.

Have you got confirmation they sent it to Asus otherwise it's likely sitting in the stock room if you didn't sign an agreement ?

I have been told that the board was received by ASUS on 23/06. But no paperwork or anything.

I only have the image of the socket from when I received it and can confidently say that I sent it back in the same state.

mickyflinn · 14 Aug 2023 at 11:47

pandem0nium said:
I have been told that the board was received by ASUS on 23/06. But no paperwork or anything.

I only have the image of the socket from when I received it and can confidently say that I sent it back in the same state.

Unfortunately your just going to have to roll with it as really they have no obligation to do anything but at least it's with Asus.

Which to me is some sort of admission or good faith as long as there carrying the cost.

Only thing is if you paid by card then contact your bank/visa for help and advice.

Did you buy another motherboard ?

pandem0nium · 14 Aug 2023 at 11:53

mickyflinn said:
Unfortunately your just going to have to roll with it as really they have no obligation to do anything but at least it's with Asus.

Which to me is some sort of admission or good faith as long as there carrying the cost.

Only thing is if you paid by card then contact your bank/visa for help and advice.

Did you buy another motherboard ?

Yes, there's no cost to me for the repair.

I paid via paypal, which would have used a pre-paid debit card. That was on the 4th of May. Not sure if I have some protection there still, I'll look into it.

The CPU and RAM were shipped to them as well, to test them all together. They still have posession of those.

pandem0nium · 14 Aug 2023 at 11:55

"If there's a problem, be sure to contact the seller through PayPal by 31 October 2023. You may be eligible for Buyer Protection"

So yeah, that's still an option.

mickyflinn · 14 Aug 2023 at 12:22

So nearly 7 weeks with Asus the usual turn around should be 4 weeks , I would give it one more week and then push for a conclusion.

Maybe an alternative motherboard replacement I would also make a phone call to PayPal to clarify your position.

let us know how you get on.

Good luck.

pandem0nium · 14 Aug 2023 at 12:53

mickyflinn said:
So nearly 7 weeks with Asus the usual turn around should be 4 weeks , I would give it one more week and then push for a conclusion.

Maybe an alternative motherboard replacement I would also make a phone call to PayPal to clarify your position.

let us know how you get on.

Good luck.

Will do. Thanks.

pandem0nium · 14 Aug 2023 at 13:02

mickyflinn said:
So nearly 7 weeks with Asus the usual turn around should be 4 weeks

The second RMA was collected on the 25th of May. So we're at 11 weeks / into the 12th week.

If you consider that the original purchace was made on the 4th of May and I haven't had a working board, I'd say it's been long enough all ready.

Tetras · 14 Aug 2023 at 13:38

pandem0nium said:
And that if I signed an agreement admitting fault, that they would send it to ASUS to see if it can be repaired.

Ew.

pandem0nium said:
First board I ordered had bent pins in the socket. I took pictures, sent it back and the RMA went smoothly and I received a new board in about a week.

Double ew.

Sending out used boards to unsuspecting customers seems to be the norm nowadays :mad:

pandem0nium · 14 Aug 2023 at 13:44

Tetras said:
Sending out used boards to unsuspecting customers seems to be the norm nowadays

The board was new as far as I could tell. Sealed item, socket protector on, sealed accessories. I think it's an ASUS quality control problem.

I know JayZ2C metioned he received a couple of ASUS boards with bent pins in the socket.

Tetras · 14 Aug 2023 at 14:25

pandem0nium said:
The board was new as far as I could tell. Sealed item, socket protector on, sealed accessories. I think it's an ASUS quality control problem.

Sealed item? I didn't think Asus sealed their boards or static bags anymore.

pandem0nium said:
I know JayZ2C mentioned he received a couple of ASUS boards with bent pins in the socket.

Curious, though possible they weren't new either?

pandem0nium · 14 Aug 2023 at 14:32

Tetras said:
Sealed item? I didn't think Asus sealed their boards or static bags anymore.

Curious, though possible they weren't new either?

Yeah, no outside seal around the box. I think that the anti static bag had an unbroken paper label seal but I can't really remember. It had a like new appearance but could have been a used board as you say.

Review samples I think. He spoke about it in the video about dropping them as a sponsor.

mickyflinn · 14 Aug 2023 at 15:39

pandem0nium said:
The second RMA was collected on the 25th of May. So we're at 11 weeks / into the 12th week.

If you consider that the original purchace was made on the 4th of May and I haven't had a working board, I'd say it's been long enough all ready.

I agree.

Then you should press the situation the extra week was just to cover your bases by finding out where you stand.

pandem0nium · 14 Aug 2023 at 15:51

mickyflinn said:
I agree.

Then you should press the situation the extra week was just to cover your bases by finding out where you stand.

I'll give it a day to see if I get any more feedback, then go down the paypal route to see what I can do there. Not thrilled with the idea and it'll probably burn whatever bridges with that retailer in the future.

Their customer service is basically a brick wall.

"We have no legal obligation to provide you with any resolution on physically damaged goods other than to have them to returned to you. We have offered you a repair that we are willing to cover the cost of as goodwill. I'm sorry to hear that you are not happy with us trying to obtain you a resolution that you would be otherwise not entitled to."

I don't think they're doing me a favour.

Quartz · 14 Aug 2023 at 15:58

pandem0nium said:
I Ordered an AM5 CPU and MB bundle from a Bolton based competitor.

They are my vendor of last resort. I used to work for a County Council back in the 90s and even then they were well known to the Trading Standards officers.

mickyflinn · 14 Aug 2023 at 16:12

pandem0nium said:
I'll give it a day to see if I get any more feedback, then go down the paypal route to see what I can do there. Not thrilled with the idea and it'll probably burn whatever bridges with that retailer in the future.

Their customer service is basically a brick wall.

"We have no legal obligation to provide you with any resolution on physically damaged goods other than to have them to returned to you. We have offered you a repair that we are willing to cover the cost of as goodwill. I'm sorry to hear that you are not happy with us trying to obtain you a resolution that you would be otherwise not entitled to."

I don't think they're doing me a favour.

I feel your frustration.

I personally would have brought another motherboard to get up and running and then waited for a resolution as I have no patience but not all people can afford to do that.

Hopefully PayPal will support your case.

pandem0nium · 14 Aug 2023 at 16:30

mickyflinn said:
I feel your frustration.

I personally would have brought another motherboard to get up and running and then waited for a resolution as I have no patience but not all people can afford to do that.

Hopefully PayPal will support your case.

They still have the CPU and Ram. That's good in a way, since in the case of a refund, they would need to have the CPU and board back as it was sold as a bundle.

Buying another board and asking for the items back might be a good option. But it means more cost up front as you say and having to try and sell one of the boards once it's all resolved. And that means more hassle on my part and losing probably 30% on one of the boards.

mickyflinn · 14 Aug 2023 at 16:56

pandem0nium said:
They still have the CPU and Ram. That's good in a way, since in the case of a refund, they would need to have the CPU and board back as it was sold as a bundle.

Buying another board and asking for the items back might be a good option. But it means more cost up front as you say and having to try and sell one of the boards once it's all resolved. And that means more hassle on my part and losing probably 30% on one of the boards.

As there stance is there doing you a favour while you just want a firm date which they can't provide due to Asus.

Tough decisions it's either wait or PayPal

Make that phone call to PayPal.

flea.rider · 14 Aug 2023 at 17:02

straight to paypal .. sorry i have bought there before ...