Phanteks Admits to Changing Product Page to Cover Up False & Misleading Advertising

[DatScreamer]

I feel like people around the world have a right to know that Phanteks will use false and misleading advertising tactics to get sales. They admitted to changing their product page on call and I have the audio recording(legal in Canada) and 3+ different forms of proof of this including the complete web page download, screen recording of the entire page, screenshots of the page, and stuff like tracking number of course (to prove I'm an actual customer if needed).

 

Phanteks NV9 White Case. There was no "what's in the box" so, naturally people assume every part of the case that is in the photos would come in the box right? But no. They don't include the DRBG light strips (which cost like $5 or less for them to produce), but instead expect people to pay $70USD+tax ($150-$190 CAD after taxes and duties/customs fees, no joke) for a light strip that's like less than 2 feet. long. I called and left a voicemail saying that I would have to file a chargeback with my bank if they didn't send me the part that I was expecting to come with the case (since I paid $300 in duties taxes and customs import fees and the case is only worth $450, and they wouldn't refund me those costs). They called me back 10 minutes later saying it's not included, and that I should have checked the 'scope of delivery' section. I stated the fact that there was no such section, he argued with me, refusing to even entertain the idea that I was telling the truth (lying to me), I downloaded the web page immediately at that time and recorded screen recordings and took screenshots, and then I asked him to send me a screenshot of the section of the site that he is referring to (after confirming we were both on the exact same URL web page) and it took him 10-15 minutes to send me this one screenshot. I think everyone knows it doesn't take 10 minutes to send a screenshot. He was stalling so they could change the website. I asked him why it was taking him so long and he said he had to sign into the web portal for the company email. That takes 30 seconds and everyone knows it. Not 10 minutes. The customer service representative would not give me his name or even tell me what his position in the company was, other than "Well I'm answering the phone right now" (Vague and means nothing)

 

I could attach proof but I'm not sure of the legality of that so I can send proof to LTT privately if they want to make a video about it or something lol. Either way I'm just getting this information out there because people need to know that Phanteks will just change their entire website to skirt responsibility if something doesn't match up with what they claim and/or advertise.

[Blue4130]

13 minutes ago, DatScreamer said:

 it took him 10-15 minutes to send me this one screenshot. I think everyone knows it doesn't take 10 minutes to send a screenshot. He was stalling so they could change the website.

I am also pretty sure that it takes more than 10 minutes for the help desk worker to change a corporate website...

 

Also, you make VERY BIG claims in your title, You will need to show some serious proof otherwise, you are just another butt-hurt internet troll.

[DatScreamer]

16 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

I am also pretty sure that it takes more than 10 minutes for the help desk worker to change a corporate website...

 

Also, you make VERY BIG claims in your title, You will need to show some serious proof otherwise, you are just another butt-hurt internet troll.

It wasn't just a desk worker I bet. And it really doesn't take that much time to make that change. And either way, I have proof, the guy on call literally admitted it.

[whispous]

It sometimes takes me 10 minutes to make changes that clueless users think should take 5 seconds.

[DatScreamer]

27 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

I am also pretty sure that it takes more than 10 minutes for the help desk worker to change a corporate website...

 

Also, you make VERY BIG claims in your title, You will need to show some serious proof otherwise, you are just another butt-hurt internet troll.

Theres the screen recording before and after (before is the last one and after is the first video)

[DatScreamer]

On 1/26/2024 at 6:07 PM, whispous said:

It sometimes takes me 10 minutes to make changes that clueless users think should take 5 seconds.

What are you talking about? They lied, admitted they lied, refused to admit that they lied, and changed the website to prove their lie wasn't a lie, and so they wouldn't lose money. And I got proof of all of that. Like it's not even about the light strips anymore at that point. It's about their lack of integrity as a company, over a $4 piece of plastic and led diodes (basically $4 in cost).

[DatScreamer]

Oh and why would I bother posting about this if it wasn't true, like I just spent a couple thousand on a custom water cooling loop. I chose to return a Corsair 7000D and pay ~$770 for a case after customs fees/duties and taxes. I'm not broke. It's the principal of the whole thing.

[Laxi]

Hopefuly they sort this for you, i wouldnt imagine they would intentionaly lie and taint their reputation just to save £5 on RGB strips

[DatScreamer]

On 1/26/2024 at 6:41 PM, Laxi said:

Hopefuly they sort this for you, i wouldnt imagine they would intentionaly lie and taint their reputation just to save £5 on RGB strips

I have the audio recording PROOF that they admitted that they changed the website, and then further along in the conversation, they lied, saying they never changed the website. As well as the videos. And the times of the original screen recordings match up with the call from their public company phone number on my phone call logs. And the original audio recording times also match with the call log times.

[Blue4130]

55 minutes ago, DatScreamer said:

What are you talking about? They lied, admitted they lied, then refused to admit that they lied, and changed the website to prove their lie wasn't a lie, and so they wouldn't lose money. And I got proof of all of that. Like it's not even about the light strips anymore at that point. It's about their lack of integrity as a company, over a $4 piece of plastic and led diodes (basically $4 in cost).

Can you do a screen shot pointing out the changes on the site? I can't see what you are talking about. On the actual product page, not the store page, it is very clearly listed that the premium light is not included.

49 minutes ago, DatScreamer said:

Oh and why would I bother posting about this if it wasn't true,

Because people get worked up over things that they precieve differently that what the reality is. This may or may not be your situation, but I've seen MANY times on these forums that people overreact when they think they have been slighted. I've seen so many of these posts that I don't blindly trust them without some SOLID proof. You say you have it, post it.

[DatScreamer]

12 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

Can you do a screen shot pointing out the changes on the site? I can't see what you are talking about. On the actual product page, not the store page, it is very clearly listed that the premium light is not included.

Because people get worked up over things that they precieve differently that what the reality is. This may or may not be your situation, but I've seen MANY times on these forums that people overreact when they think they have been slighted. I've seen so many of these posts that I don't blindly trust them without some SOLID proof. You say you have it, post it.

"Scope of delivery" Section wasn't there until they added it after I called them and they lied to me. They changed one website, they could've changed both. And either way, the actual product page has to contain a "whats in the box" if not everything in the picture is in the box. This is common practice. Them not doing that until I call them is a massive red flag. Consumer Protection in Canada says if it doesn't come in the box then don't put it in the picture, or it's false/misleading advertising, and against the law. And this is especially true in this case because in every other photo the light strip would be basically impossible to see due to lack of contrast in white-on-white-background images and a 0.2cm wide piece of white plastic. Like what do they expect everyone to have perfect eyesight? There's a reason a "What's in the box" section/paragraph is a thing companies do around the world, and the light strip is a part of the case (assumed because its custom designed for the case and its in the picture) unlike the graphics card and PC components, So it's reasonable to expect it to come with the case. 

 

And having a product page on the store and a different website, the only thing that matters in this context in regards to your point is customers could have never even known about the other website, only the store. And if the non-store website had that info and the product page on the store didn't, that would make things look even worse for Phanteks.

[DatScreamer]

1 hour ago, DatScreamer said:

Theres the screen recording before and after (before is the last one and after is the first video)

 

Oh and you can see me refresh the page after searching "scope of delivery" CTRL+F find function page search in the beginning of the first video there.

[Blue4130]

16 minutes ago, DatScreamer said:

"Scope of delivery" Section wasn't there until they added it after I called them and they lied to me. They changed one website, they could've changed both. And either way, the actual product page has to contain a "whats in the box" if not everything in the picture is in the box. This is common practice. Them not doing that until I call them is a massive red flag. Consumer Protection in Canada says if it doesn't come in the box then don't put it in the picture, or it's false/misleading advertising, and against the law. And this is especially true in this case because in every other photo the light strip would be basically impossible to see due to lack of contrast in white-on-white-background images and a 0.2cm wide piece of white plastic. Like what do they expect everyone to have perfect eyesight? There's a reason a "What's in the box" section/paragraph is a thing companies do around the world, and the light strip is a part of the case (assumed because its custom designed for the case and its in the picture) unlike the graphics card and PC components, So it's reasonable to expect it to come with the case. 

 

And having a product page on the store and a different website, the only thing that matters in this context in regards to your point is customers could have never even known about the other website, only the store. And if the non-store website had that info and the product page on the store didn't, that would make things look even worse for Phanteks.

Phanteks.store is based in Arizona, They don't need to follow Canadian consumer proctection laws.

[DatScreamer]

On 1/26/2024 at 7:39 PM, Blue4130 said:

Phanteks.store is based in Arizona, They don't need to follow Canadian consumer proctection laws.

It's not about the law that applies to them, It's about how they run their company and their business practices that they've shown to be more than unfriendly to consumer/customer (at the very least, me the consumer/customer). I'm entitled to my money back through my bank if they agree about my evidence. Phanteks has no issue with me doing this. They were super unfriendly when I said I would, saying nobody (the bank) will believe you, essentially.

 

I'm sure I'll get my money back but its not about the money personally. It's about the principal. Like how can they think they can run their business this way? How do they think they can false/misleading advertise while selling products on a global scale and then lie to people about what they did, only to be proven to have lied? The audacity of them. It's just disgusting in my opinion.

[Blue4130]

26 minutes ago, DatScreamer said:

Consumer Protection in Canada says if it doesn't come in the box then don't put it in the picture, or it's false/misleading advertising, and against the law.

 

7 minutes ago, DatScreamer said:

It's not about the law that applies to them

You say it's not about the law, but you were the one to bring up the law... I still don't see your proof as proof, I just see someone overreacting when learning that they didn't do proper research before ordering. On all of the sites (and videos) I can see words that say "Motherboard lighting" nothing about case side panel lighting (other than my picture which shows it as optional)

[DatScreamer]

2 hours ago, Blue4130 said:

 

You say it's not about the law, but you were the one to bring up the law... I still don't see your proof as proof, I just see someone overreacting when learning that they didn't do proper research before ordering. On all of the sites (and videos) I can see words that say "Motherboard lighting" nothing about case side panel lighting (other than my picture which shows it as optional)

They don't care about being good to their customers clearly from what I've seen. And you keep saying "The information is right there, you just didn't look." I have literally so many different ways to prove that the information wasn't there until I phoned them. I've sent some of the proof. Yet you still don't believe. And why is it so hard for you to believe that they would treat a customer this way? And you talk about me bringing up the law as if that's the only point that mattered. They rather risk losing the entire value of the order through a chargeback because they wouldn't send me a $4 piece of plastic due to a deceptive product page with the information saying it's not included, or the information saying what IS included, just completely not being there. I have proof. Why are you so unwilling to believe? Why would I embarrass myself online if this stuff wasn't true? Like do you think that I'm not aware that it's just an RGB strip basically? I completely understand but I bought the case expecting the stuff in the photo to be in the case, a completely reasonable expectation. That's literally the reason why Canada has laws about this. Consumer Protection. Generally courts find the business is at fault if information that was needed to prevent false advertising issues wasn't provided or made clear. Even if it's a tiny little disclaimer in a description its misleading advertising and you'd be entitled to your money back in Canada. These are actual laws that the economy has been constructed around amongst other laws to protect consumers due to massive power difference between consumer and business. And I only posted because they literally lied to me about the information being there, when it wasn't. Like what do you not understand about that? The information should have been there in the first place, and they opened themselves up to this possibility when they released the product without any clear photo showing the RGB not being included, and without any information about what's in the box, or any information about the RGB strips being separate. It doesn't even have to be criminal for a business to be in the wrong. What do you not understand?

[DatScreamer]

Mr American or something out here refusing to accept that the business *should* take the hit for misleading advertising causing purchases that wouldn't have otherwise been made. It's called integrity. Like how can you even try to deny that being a good thing, protecting consumers.

 

Like they don't have any option but to have the money taken out of their account if my bank agrees with me, so when they've been informed that there is proof of them lying and changing product page info after the purchase, because of my phone call, the fact that they didn't just refund me after being made aware of my countries laws just goes to show they don't care about consumers. They're gonna lose the money anyway most likely imo cuz evidence so why wouldn't they have just simply handled that better instead of lying to a customer and risking $450 to save $5. Why would you even defend companies that refuse to make things right in fringe cases like this (at least I hope It's fringe)

[DatScreamer]

Like answer this: Why did they put the RGB strip in the product photo for a product that doesn't come with the RGB strips? To sell more Cases. Exactly. So they are intentionally misleading people when (as I've shown above, and the audio recording proof) they don't tell you on the product page that the RGB isn't included. (Before I called and they lied about it while changing it) They did that to sell more cases. It is intentionally misleading.

[DatScreamer]

And people can keep acting like it's not serious, but if Phanteks was based in Canada, and if they were convicted in court, it would be up to a $200,000 fine and up to a year in prison. Either, or both punishments. The law ain't no joke.

[Blue4130]

1 hour ago, DatScreamer said:

They don't care about being good to their customers. And you keep saying "The information is right there, you just didn't look." I have literally so many different ways to prove that the information wasn't there until I phoned them. I've sent some of the proof. Yet you still don't believe. And why is it so hard for you to believe that they would treat a customer this way? And you talk about me bringing up the law as if that's the only point that mattered. They rather risk losing the entire value of the order through a chargeback because they wouldn't send me a $4 piece of plastic due to a deceptive product page with the information saying it's not included, or the information saying what IS included, just completely not being there. I have proof. Why are you so unwilling to believe? Why would I embarass myself online if this stuff wasn't true? Like do you think that I'm not aware that it's just an RGB strip basically? I completely understand but I bought the case expecting the stuff in the photo to be in the case, a completely reasonable expectation. That's literally the reason why Canada has laws about this. Consumer Protection. Generally courts find the business is at fault if information that was needed to prevent false advertising issues wasn't provided or made clear. Even if it's a tiny little disclaimer in a description its misleading advertising and you'd be entitled to your money back in Canada. These are actual laws that the economy has been constructed around amongst other laws to protect consumers due to massive power difference between consumer and business. And I only posted because they literally lied to me about the information being there, when it wasn't. Like what do you not understand about that? The information should have been there in the first place, and they opened themselves up to this possibility when they released the product without any clear photo showing the RGB not being included, and without any information about what's in the box, or any information about the RGB strips being seperate. It doesn't even have to be criminal for a business to be in the wrong. What do you not understand?

 

1 hour ago, DatScreamer said:

Mr American or something out here refusing to accept that the business *should* take the hit for misleading advertising causing purchases that wouldn't have otherwise been made. It's called integrity. Like how can you even try to deny that being a good thing, protecting consumers.

 

Like they don't have any option but to have the money taken out of their account if my bank agrees with me, so when they've been informed that there is proof of them lying and changing product page info after the purchase, because of my phone call, the fact that they didn't just refund me after being made aware of my countries laws just goes to show they don't care about consumers. They're gonna lose the money anyway most likely imo cuz evidence so why wouldn't they have just simply handled that better instead of lying to a customer and risking $450 to save $5. Why would you even defend companies that refuse to make things right in fringe cases like this (at least I hope It's fringe)

 

1 hour ago, DatScreamer said:

Like answer this: Why did they put the RGB strip in the product photo for a product that doesn't come with the RGB strips? To sell more Cases. Exactly. So they are intentionally misleading people when (as I've shown above, and the audio recording proof) they don't tell you on the product page that the RGB isn't included. (Before I called and they lied about it while changing it) They did that to sell more cases. It is intentionally misleading.

 

10 minutes ago, DatScreamer said:

And people can keep acting like it's not serious, but if Phanteks was based in Canada, and if they were convicted in court, it would be up to a $200,000 fine and up to a year in prison. Either, or both punishments. The law ain't no joke.

I am Canadian for the record, not that it has anything to do with the topic.

 

You keep on stating that you have proof. Please share it all. You have the recordings, post them. You keep bringing up the "law" but then say that it isn't about the law. It clearly is. I understand that you feel wronged. I just don't see it. If you did due diligence when shopping, then you would see that the outer RGB is an extra and not included. It took me all of 5 seconds to find that out.

 

What I see is you making libelous claims at this point, not fall advertising.

[DatScreamer]

41 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

 

 

 

I am Canadian for the record, not that it has anything to do with the topic.

 

You keep on stating that you have proof. Please share it all. You have the recordings, post them. You keep bringing up the "law" but then say that it isn't about the law. It clearly is. I understand that you feel wronged. I just don't see it. If you did due diligence when shopping, then you would see that the outer RGB is an extra and not included. It took me all of 5 seconds to find that out.

 

What I see is you making libelous claims at this point, not fall advertising.

False/Misleading advertising is a reference to the laws about it, as well as a factual statement imo. And what are you talking about? You CLEARLY don't know the law of your own country, even such a simple set of laws like consumer protection. Easy to understand. I still can't understand why you're defending a company over a consumer.

 

And what do you not understand about posting an audio file with your voice publicly online nowadays opens you and your family up to scams of all kinds and blackmail even, just simply due to the existence of voice ai. Why don't you understand that? Why can't you just simply accept the evidence I've already shown? Who are you to judge anyway? You've got some massive trust problems if you can't see the truth here. Clearly.

[DatScreamer]

And the thing about Libel is it has to not be a fact for it to be libel. Blue you don't even know the law. Like oh nice now you've discovered that if I'm lying I would be opening myself up to legal action being taken against me. Why would I post then if it wasn't true? Literally everything I've said is either a fact or how I feel about a fact (which also cannot be considered libel). Do you think I'm dumb? I know more about consumer protection laws and laws in general than you clearly based on what you've said.

[NorKris]

15 hours ago, DatScreamer said:

Phanteks NV9 White Case. There was no "what's in the box" so, naturally people assume every part of the case that is in the photos would come in the box right? But no. They don't include the DRBG light strips (which cost like $5 or less for them to produce),

Your right, this is bad for sure. 

12 hours ago, DatScreamer said:

They called me back 10 minutes later saying it's not included, and that I should have checked the 'scope of delivery' section. I stated the fact that there was no such section, he argued with me, refusing to even entertain the idea that I was telling the truth (lying to me), I downloaded the web page immediately at that time and recorded screen recordings and took screenshots, and then I asked him to send me a screenshot of the section of the site that he is referring to (after confirming we were both on the exact same URL web page) and it took him 10-15 minutes to send me this one screenshot.

if this is true.. thats wild lol

 

buuut.. when i buy expensive cases i do my research to find out whats in the box. 

[DatScreamer]

4 hours ago, NorKris said:

Your right, this is bad for sure. 

if this is true.. thats wild lol

 

buuut.. when i buy expensive cases i do my research to find out whats in the box. 

I believe they intentionally didn't put the scope of delivery / whats in the box on the product page because of how deceptive the photos were as well as everything else I've said. Like how are you supposed to see a 0.2cm wide piece of clear 2D looking plastic on a white case when the LEDs aren't lit up right? Almost nobody has eyes good enough to see that well. And the pictures should be clear. I have never encountered a company that was this deceptive with their product photography and their behaviour and how they've handled everything I've talked about. Why does anyone think that I posted? Because I have literally never experienced such deceptiveness from a business.

 

And it doesn't matter if the information was out there, if it wasn't on the product page thats a false/misleading representation to the public under Canadian law in my opinion based entirely on facts and the law.

[NorKris]

11 minutes ago, DatScreamer said:

I believe they intentionally didn't put the scope of delivery / whats in the box on the product page because of how deceptive the photos were as well as everything else I've said. Like how are you supposed to see a 0.2cm wide piece of clear 2D looking plastic on a white case when the LEDs aren't lit up right? Almost nobody has eyes good enough to see that well. And the pictures should be clear. I have never encountered a company that was this deceptive with their product photography and their behaviour and how they've handled everything I've talked about. Why does anyone think that I posted? Because I have literally never experienced such deceptiveness from a business.

 

And it doesn't matter if the information was out there, if it wasn't on the product page thats a false/misleading representation to the public under Canadian law in my opinion based entirely on facts and the law.

but 250$ case and u have not watched 2-3 YT vids about the case hmmm