Where do I stand on this RMA?

[Mayfair]

Hello there,

I'm here seeking advice on what rights I have and what I can take to sort this problem out,

I recently purchased Radon Intel Core i5 760 2.80GHz @ 4.00GHz Overclocked Bundle around 3 months ago, I've had non-stop random BSOD / Freeze's. I was told by technical support to do many tests etc which I did, I was then advised to send the bundle back for repair. Which I did, I have now been told

(SYSTEM REPAIR: Other (Not Listed), Customer Damaged, Bent pins in CPU socket - irrepairable. Warranty void.)

I have emailed stating I don’t understand how this is possible, as the motherboard came with the CPU in the socket already and I DID NOT remove the cpu from its socket as I did not need to. So if this is true and the pins are bent in the cpu socket then it must have came like it, Since I did not touch the cpu I left it in the socket how it came as I had no reason to remove it, and I don’t see how I can be to blamed for a fault that must have already accrued before I received it.


I then received an email back saying the following.

All CPUs are shipped preinstalled to avoid any possibility of damage. Bundles must pass stability tests before they can leave our department to be shipped - if any pins are bent, they simply would not pass our tests, so there is no possible way that the damage could have occurred whilst the bundle was with us.

I can't really suggest how this could have happened, all I can say is that it definitely did not happen here. It's not a case of us refusing to take responsibility for something that is our fault, it's simply that this could not have happened during assembly and testing.

Basically they are refusing that the fault was caused before I received the product and basically saying there is nothing they can do, I've read some of the DSR / Sale of goods act but I’m here seeking a second opinion on where I stand / what I can do to try sort this issue out, As I don’t feel this is right as it could not of happened while I had it since I did not remove the cpu from its socket.

Also they have shipped it back to me, Should i refuse to sign for it while i find out what legal channels i can take?

Thanks for your time reading this!

 

[Redmint]

If the BSODs were happening since you first received the bundle and it passed stability testing then I suppose it could have been damaged when it was being shipped to you, not sure where Overclockers stand in that situation though as it's possibly now too late to claim damages from the courier.

 

[Alfie]

This is why you should always build your own systems. The kid on the assembly line will never take as much care as you would on your own build. There is every chance that OCUK's testing was not able to produce a BSOD but I would suspect their mind is made up and you would be best to put this down to experience.

 

[Mayfair]

I'd take a look on moneysavingexpert.com it will be more relevant than here and the forums will have people who are more used to dealing with this type of situation than anybody here. DSR is 7 days from receiving and sales of goods cover fit for purpose, the problem I can see is you had the system for three months so it's more complicated than if you checked straight away.

www.moneysavingexpert.com is the best place to look for advice I think though.

Thanks for that, I'll ask there as well.

If the BSODs were happening since you first received the bundle and it passed stability testing then I suppose it could have been damaged when it was being shipped to you, not sure where Overclockers stand in that situation though as it's possibly now too late to claim damages from the courier.

The lockups and bsod were very random could go few days without or have it happen 3-4 times a day, Like I said very random this varied from playing games, browsing the web or even just idle. So maybe it didn’t happen on their 'stability tests' All I know for a fact is that this fault was there before I received the product. Like I said, I'm not too sure where I stand on this and also not sure if I should not sign for the package until I take this further or not.

This is why you should always build your own systems. The kid on the assembly line will never take as much care as you would on your own build. There is every chance that OCUK's testing was not able to produce a BSOD but I would suspect their mind is made up and you would be best to put this down to experience.

So I should be with a faulty board that wasn’t my fault and be out of pocket for just over £100?

 

[Hagar]

I would start by developing a time line of correspondence, telephone calls, emails etc. and how soon this began from recieving the bundle in the first place. What testing you were asked to do and when.
Do OCUK have a QA system traceable to the technician who assembled the bundle showing dates and testing? Also any settings to achieve stability. Was documentation sent with the bundle indicating this testing was carried out?
If you are in dispute, you do not need to accept or sign for the package. I would do all you can to progress this with OCUK before taking it elsewhere.

andy.

 

[SavellM]

I agree with the above, and taking legal action could not be worth it.

The other issue is that the engineer could have bent the pins when taking the CPU out the socket to check, when in the workshop.
How can he prove that he didn't and how can he prove you did?!

This kind of issue becomes a nightmare, and one side will eventually have to take responsibility.

 

[SouthEastBlue]

Does the i5 even have pins? I was under the impression Intel didn't make CPUs with pins unlike AMD who do.

This is a pic of an i5 CPU, so how could the pins be bent?

The parts of the CPU that make contact are FLAT and seperated, it's the motherboard which has 'pins' that touch the flat contact surface of the CPU....

Unless some Intel CPUs are different...

 

[Mayfair]

Does the i5 even have pins? I was under the impression Intel didn't make CPUs with pins unlike AMD who do.

This is a pic of an i5 CPU, so how could the pins be bent?

*SNIP*

The parts of the CPU that make contact are seperated, it's the motherboard which has 'pins' that touch the flat contact surface of the CPU....

Unless some Intel CPUs are different...

It's the motherboard they have said that has 'bent pins'

 

[AtreuS]

This is the main reason why i always buy a mainboard or cpu ( when they had pins ) in a shop and personally visually inspected the pins at the counter. I had a small magnifying glass as well lol.

I bought a gigbyte board last year from a place in manchester and when i got the item at the counter i asked to visually inspect it before i signed for it, they refused to i asked for my money back... they refunded me rather than open the box ( it wasnt taped ) and let me just LOOK at it. I never bought from there again, as it happens i noticed the board had already been opened/tampered with as the usual place that gigabyte stick the promo stickers was wrong. It was one of those boxes with a openable window in it and see though plastic so it was easy to see.

Quite clearly they put stock that was returned or opened for whatever reason with the new stock. Enough to make me avoid them again, although i am quite sure this happens everywhere to some degree.... even though it is on dodgy legal grounds. A returned item should be sold as such.

The fact that they lose money on non faulty returned items which are then sold at a discount is none of my concern afterall. I pay for a new item i want a NEW item that is as the supplier sent it.... end of story.

 

[PhillyDee]

Does the i5 even have pins? I was under the impression Intel didn't make CPUs with pins unlike AMD who do.

This is a pic of an i5 CPU, so how could the pins be bent?

[IM*G]http://thepcreport.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/intel_cpu.jpg[/IMG]

The parts of the CPU that make contact are FLAT and seperated, it's the motherboard which has 'pins' that touch the flat contact surface of the CPU....

Unless some Intel CPUs are different...

The motherboard pins are a lot more fragile than the CPU pins ever were! But it looksl ike the only way to acheive the densities required.

 

[SouthEastBlue]

It could be that the motherboard is an easy fix, I guess it depends how 'bent' it is, and if it's possible to bend it back.

But then as you said, you're unsure whether to take it back or not so guess I can't really offer any other suggestions.

 

[MoRT489]

if u have correspondence from early on showing that problems were occurring it is harder for them to deny it "could" have happened in the workshop. For them to flat out deny they might be responsible is wrong cos in this case it is impossible to know. The item could have received a knock in loading/transit/unloading which could perhaps have bent a pin, or it could have been bent when the tech removed it. In the last case the bent pin might not even be what was causing the instability.

if u get nowhere PM a don on these forums and see if they can help.

 

[Mayfair]

I would start by developing a time line of correspondence, telephone calls, emails etc. and how soon this began from recieving the bundle in the first place. What testing you were asked to do and when.
Do OCUK have a QA system traceable to the technician who assembled the bundle showing dates and testing? Also any settings to achieve stability. Was documentation sent with the bundle indicating this testing was carried out?
If you are in dispute, you do not need to accept or sign for the package. I would do all you can to progress this with OCUK before taking it elsewhere.

andy.

I have some sort of time lime with all my emails / post's with ocuk, the tests I was asked to do was

1. remove the overclock.

2. memtest 11 passes.

3. OCCT power supply test.

4. Furmark

5. failed/BSOD IBT at stock and overclock

I was then told to increase CPU VCore by two notches but I was still getting freezes and failling/bsod on IBT.

I had problems quite early I didn’t contact ocuk until 20th Sep (13 days after receiving it, 11 days after having the computer running)

 

[modez]

How the system work with bent pins ?

 

[PhillyDee]

How the system work with bent pins ?

Extra heat (Well within specs!) can move the pins, so pins which were only barely touching start moving under load, and then skip off the pads. Repeated thermal expansion and contraction can move it microns at a time, never going back into quite the same place!

 

[MeatLoaf]

I would sign for the package becuae the last thing you want is it going missing or taking a month to get back to them. Also you dont want to risk damage to your other parts whilst there rattling round the delivery network

 

[Dano]

Did you pay by Credit Card?

 

[Mayfair]

I would sign for the package becuae the last thing you want is it going missing or taking a month to get back to them. Also you dont want to risk damage to your other parts whilst there rattling round the delivery network

But if i sign for it, Wont ocuk just say "oh he signed for it he is agreeing with us" and then just refuse to take it back?

Did you pay by Credit Card?

I paid via Barclays Visa Debit Card.

 

[Lustral]

How the system work with bent pins ?

My recent system build had a slightly bent pin and it still worked , but it was showing 4GB of RAM instead of 6GB of RAM.

So i bent the offending pin back to position and not having a problem since.

 

[MeatLoaf]

But if i sign for it, Wont ocuk just say "oh he signed for it he is agreeing with us" and then just refuse to take it back?



I paid via Barclays Visa Debit Card.

I dont know to be honest but id rather have the stuff with me, especially an expensive cpu.