Absolutely Insane ASUS RMA Story (Edit:Misunderstanding)

[Liquid_Static]

So, I tried to RMA an X99-WS E motherboard with Asus a few weeks ago. The board just stopped booting one day, code 00. I submitted the RMA, packed the board in it's original box (which was put in another box) with socket cover installed. I even took photos of the board while packing it (for shipping insurance purposes). Here are said photos.

My RMA was subsequently denied for "Customer Induced Damage" of which they sent me photos. The tech that got ahold of my board actually BENT A FEW PINS. They claimed they would fix my board for $154. I keep everything I own immaculate and was incredibly surprised by this claim. ASUS shipped the board back to me, which showed up earlier this week. This is the board when I got it back (without a socket cover, might I add).

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I had heard the ASUS horror stories over the years, but I had not ever had to RMA a board with them. Now that I have, what an absolute joke! I have never dealt with such an unprofessional company. I have RMA'd with EVGA and Gigabyte in the past with no issues (let alone anything like this).

I went and contacted there corporate care team. I spoke for about 30 minutes with a rep (who was actually quite nice) who promised he would get the issue sorted out for me after I sent the photos I had taken. As requested, I sent the photos and waited. Yesterday I got an email from what I presume is the rep's manager saying my "request for free repair" had been denied and that if I wanted my motherboard fixed I should have paid the fee they requested.

 

I have no idea what recourse I can take. If anyone has any advice I'd gladly take it. It's essentially my word vs. theirs. I'm sure plenty of people have successfully RMA'd through ASUS - I just got screwed here. Unfortunately I'm the one out a couple hundred dollars looking for a new X99 motherboard. Needless to say I'm incredibly upset with ASUS and will NEVER be purchasing or recommending another product from them.

 

EDIT: Apparently a misunderstanding, will be getting resolved.

[mikat]

can you select your text and up the size? the font is really small

[Liquid_Static]

Sorry, should be fixed now.

[ItsMitch]

4 minutes ago, Liquid_Static said:

My RMA was subsequently denied for "Customer Induced Damage" of which they sent me photos

I'm confused, where is the customer induced damage?  Where even is the damage, I'm guessing from the pictures it's the pins on the CPU socket that are fucked? You aren't clear. 

[TetraSky]

How would anyone even damage the socket like that in the first place... makes no sense unless it was done deliberately.  Even dropping a screw in there would cause a large area to be crushed. This is a few pins here and there that were crushed.

Unless the shipping company decided to sabotage the board before it reached Asus, this is just plain criminal on their part to refuse to honor the warranty and making you pay for it.

[mikat]

1 minute ago, SC2Mitch said:

I'm confused, where is the customer induced damage?  Where even is the damage, I'm guessing from the pictures it's the pins on the CPU socket that are fucked? You aren't clear. 

the socket, it has a lot of bent pins

[Liquid_Static]

2 minutes ago, SC2Mitch said:

I'm confused, where is the customer induced damage?  Where even is the damage, I'm guessing from the pictures it's the pins on the CPU socket that are fucked? You aren't clear. 

Edited for clarity, yes it's the bent pins.

[ItsMitch]

Just now, mikat said:

the socket, it has a lot of bent pins

Ah, then in that case I'd personally advice contacting an attorney and getting it handled via the legal method. Or just go to a news publication and send all the info to them and get them blasted for not honoring an RMA. (Fairly sure that this kind of stuff is illegal in the EU) 

[Liquid_Static]

5 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

How would anyone even damage the socket like that in the first place... makes no sense unless it was done deliberately.  Even dropping a screw in there would cause a large area to be crushed. This is a few pins here and there that were crushed.

Unless the shipping company decided to sabotage the board before it reached Asus, this is just plain criminal on their part to refuse to honor the warranty and making you pay for it.

My thoughts exactly. Someone took a needle or something to the socket.

[Unimaginative Name]

In the US, there are consumer protection laws in place that have worked to my advantage on issues like this in the past. Keep in mind that this process takes time. The first thing that I would usually do is file a complaint with the Better Busines Bureau. Be as professional and as non-emotional as possible. If that does not amount to anything, I would contact your state's attorney general or follow whatever consumer protection protocol is in place in your state. I had to do this when a TV I bought has a mounting bracket come loose and short the PCB. It took a couple of months, but I came home to a brand new TV on my doorstep after going through all of these steps.

[Hiitchy]

And this is why I'm trying to get the majority of my new PC to be an EVGA build. 

[Energycore]

At the very least, you have your photos backing up your statement. There should be an organism in your country that protects the consumer; you should go to them with this story, state to them the value of the product that was sabotaged, and hopefully get help from them.

Yeah, I had heard the stories about ASUS RMA in the past, but never something like this. To your honor, for a whole year I will display your post in my signature, and refrain from buying or recommending anything by ASUS.

[Liquid_Static]

2 minutes ago, Energycore said:

At the very least, you have your photos backing up your statement. There should be an organism in your country that protects the consumer; you should go to them with this story, state to them the value of the product that was sabotaged, and hopefully get help from them.

Yeah, I had heard the stories about ASUS RMA in the past, but never something like this. To your honor, for a whole year I will display your post in my signature, and refrain from buying or recommending anything by ASUS.

 

I'm in the USA, and yes, apparently there isn't much I can do beyond filing a BBB complaint and calling them out on social media/forums. I appreciate the gesture, I wasn't kidding when I said I will never be using another Asus product. I simply will not support a company that actually defrauded me.

[Unimaginative Name]

If you can manage to also get the timestamp on the photo, that makes it just that much more credible. 

[Liquid_Static]

Just now, Unimaginative Name said:

If you can manage to also get the timestamp on the photo, that makes it just that much more credible. 

It's in the EXIF data, doesn't do much for me if the company just DGAF.

[Energycore]

Just now, Liquid_Static said:

 

I'm in the USA, and yes, apparently there isn't much I can do beyond filing a BBB complaint and calling them out on social media/forums. I appreciate the gesture, I wasn't kidding when I said I will never be using another Asus product. I simply will not support a company that actually defrauded me.

I think I've seen it happen enough that I'll actively recommend against Asus as well. I already thought about doing that the last time someone had a horror story.

Just now, Unimaginative Name said:

If you can manage to also get the timestamp on the photo, that makes it just that much more credible. 

Cameras timestamp photos, right? I see that as a way to prove that a photo is from a date.

 

Just now, Liquid_Static said:

It's in the EXIF data, doesn't do much for me if the company just DGAF.

Lol yeah, I suppose so. It's credibility for the BBB complaint though.

[ItsMitch]

3 minutes ago, Energycore said:

Cameras timestamp photos, right? I see that as a way to prove that a photo is from a date.

 

Yeah, camera's store timestamps and dates in the camera storage

[Unimaginative Name]

Just now, Liquid_Static said:

It's in the EXIF data, doesn't do much for me if the company just DGAF.

When the BBB and then your state attorney general gets involved, they'll have to care. Like I said, it's worked for me before. Also just threatening legal action is usually enough to get the point across.

 

Storytime: I built a computer for my grandparents last year. They didn't have prime, so we used my Amazon account. I used their credit card (with their permission, it was their computer). M grandmother didn't recognize the charges and had them reversed. We still got the parts because 1) prime and 2) the card company only cancels the charge, not the order. Then Amazon contacts me saying that the charges have been disputed. I told my grandmother and she contacted her card company and had them reverse the cancel. I had Amazon furiously requesting over $800 from me even though I sent them proof of payment via an itemized credit card statement that showed the original purchase, the canceled payment, and the reversal of the canceled payment. Still, they hounded mine for money that was already paid. I had my account locked for over a month. In one email I said that I had sent proof of payment and that any more requests for money would be met with legal action via the state attorney general. In about an hour, I got my account back, a $15 credit, and a month of free prime (to offset time lost). They basically admitted that they were in the wrong. Just stick to your guns, don't admit anything (like it may have been damaged in shipping), save all communications, be as specific as possible, and furnish as much proof as possible. Ultimately, consumer protection laws are in place for a reason, but most people do not know how to take advantage of them when it's needed.

[BrokenProgram]

you could also do something like an NBC consumer complaint because my local NBC does investigations on these complaints and companies do anything to get out of bad PR

 

also, RIP me I just sent in a GTX 1060 for RMA yesterday and I didn't take photos

[Auver]

Someone had a similar experience with EVGA, you may find the comments on the thread useful:

 

[Liquid_Static]

4 minutes ago, BrokenProgram said:

you could also do something like an NBC consumer complaint because my local NBC does investigations on these complaints and companies do anything to get out of bad PR

 

also, RIP me I just sent in a GTX 1060 for RMA yesterday and I didn't take photos

 

You'll probably be fine. Honestly most RMA's probably go through as expected (or we'd hear about it more). My guess is they have target %'s for the techs (e.g. you have to reject 15% of all RMA's for damage) and I was just the unlucky one that day.

[Syze00]

Its sad but in this day n age you have to document everything.  I take product pictures for ebay, amazon, newegg.  Heck I even have a dashcam and I'm not even in Russia.

[Guest]

Totally sucks seeing as those boards are expensive as well! I'd keep annoying them with the dated pictures and go to the media.

Absolutely awful, more and more these big companies like Microsoft and Google, now manufacturers just dont care about their consumers

[Liquid_Static]

1 minute ago, RorzNZ said:

Totally sucks seeing as those boards are expensive as well! I'd keep annoying them with the dated pictures and go to the media.

Absolutely awful, more and more these big companies like Microsoft and Google, now manufacturers just dont care about their consumers

 

If it makes you feel better Apple was absolutely wonderful about repairing the speakers in my 2016 MacBook Pro.

[Donut417]

1 hour ago, Liquid_Static said:

So, I tried to RMA an X99-WS E motherboard with Asus a few weeks ago. The board just stopped booting one day, code 00. I submitted the RMA, packed the board in it's original box (which was put in another box) with socket cover installed. I even took photos of the board while packing it (for shipping insurance purposes). Here are said photos.

  Hide contents

 

 

 

My RMA was subsequently denied for "Customer Induced Damage" of which they sent me photos. The tech that got ahold of my board actually BENT A FEW PINS. They claimed they would fix my board for $154. I keep everything I own immaculate and was incredibly surprised by this claim. THEY ACTUALLY SABOTAGED MY $500 MOTHERBOARD TO DENY MY RMA. ASUS shipped the board back to me, which showed up earlier this week. This is the board when I got it back (without a socket cover, might I add).

  Reveal hidden contents

 

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I had heard the ASUS horror stories over the years, but I had not ever had to RMA a board with them. Now that I have, what an absolute joke! I have never dealt with such an unprofessional company. I have RMA'd with EVGA and Gigabyte in the past with no issues (let alone anything like this).

I went and contacted there corporate care team. I spoke for about 30 minutes with a rep (who was actually quite nice) who promised he would get the issue sorted out for me after I sent the photos I had taken. As requested, I sent the photos and waited. Yesterday I got an email from what I presume is the rep's manager saying my "request for free repair" had been denied and that if I wanted my motherboard fixed I should have paid the fee they requested.

 

I have no idea what recourse I can take. If anyone has any advice I'd gladly take it. It's essentially my word vs. theirs. I'm sure plenty of people have successfully RMA'd through ASUS - I just got screwed here. Unfortunately I'm the one out a couple hundred dollars looking for a new X99 motherboard. Needless to say I'm incredibly upset with ASUS and will NEVER be purchasing or recommending another product from them.

My MSI board has been Rock solid....... When a company screws you, you dont buy from them again. Ive had luck with ASUS boards in the past, but went MSI my last build. Its been great. In all honestly. You could try contacting the State Attorney General's office. The Federal Trades Commission deals with consumer protection, but considering the administration sitting in Washington I wouldn't hold my breath. Make sure you grill ASUS on Facebook and Twitter. You make them look like real assholes on Social Media, I have a feeling they will try to play ball. Public opinion plays a big role now days. The BBB is not a government agency to my knowledge, they have limited power. I think contacting a lawyer is a waste of time, you count how much you have to pay them and court costs, its not worth it. You could buy a new board for cheaper. 

 

I just looked us X99 specs. Your RAM would work on newer boards. Id say if you have the money, it might be time just to cut your losses and upgrade. Just sell you current CPU to help with the costs. If thats not an option, Im sure you can find an X99 board somewhere. Again just dont buy an ASUS board.