Approximately a year ago...
...I forked out some notes for PC components with a well known UK supplier (name withheld to protect the retarded). I was building an i7 rig, so a fair amount of money was spent and a fair amount of splooge ended up in my boxers when the components actually arrived.

So, the assembling of said components began, went by without any real trouble and I was up and running within a couple of hours.

The system lasted 2 days before it would not post 9 times out of 10. After finally troubleshooting that the problem was with the PSU I contacted the company to arrange a return/exchange for a new PSU.

Now, here's where it gets tricky:

According to the DSR, I have a 7-day 'cooling off' period in which I can, quite simply, demand a refund for my purchase irrespective of condition i.e faulty or not. They had decided in their infinite wisdom, to arrange an RMA for the item. This can be a painful experience - I send it back, they test it, then they replace with another repaired item or repair it themselves. It basically means that I could end up with a second-hand or repaired component that I had effectively paid full-price for since the original PSU had only lasted 2 days!

They were totally not budging on this, even after my threatening them with the info found in the DSR, so I decided 'fuck them' and printed the relevant section from the DSR pdf found on oft.gov.uk, highlighted the applicable parts, then decided to wait until Sat morning and drive for 3 hours to Stoke to sort this shit out in person.

Whilst waiting for Saturday morning to arrive, I had also found information related to another issue with the motherboard socket.

Basically, some of the contact points from the pins found on the Foxconn socket were missing from the CPU, some appeared to be doubled-up also. It's almost as if the socket on the m/b was manufactured faulty and the contact pins were missing the contact pads on the CPU - there's actually documented tests with the i5 1156 sockets where the CPU has burned out after extreme overclocks because of this issue, so I had decided to get another m/b under the same DSR regulations that would secure me a new PSU.

Anyway, I arrive, extremely pissed off internally, but sporting a calm manner because, you know, no use starting a big argument or I might get fuck all. I explain the situation to the customer service monkey at the front desk who gets one of the warehouse boys through to check my issue.

The PSU situation is fine - obvious fault when they test it, but the m/b issue is another matter altogether. "They're all like that" says the dickhead from the warehouse.

"Don't care," says I, "I want a replacement under the DSR regulations." as I slap the PDF on the counter. "It's under the 7 day cooling off period and I want a new motherboard."

Now, bear in mind that the i7 m/b socket has 1366 contact pins in an area not much bigger than the size of a matchbox, and is precision engineered to nth degree of a millimetre and would require some serious instrumentation to build, test, and repair.

I showed them that some of the CPU contacts were doubled up and some were missing. I even showed them another i7 CPU that had all 1366 pin marks smack-fucking-bang in the middle of the CPU contact pads.

This ass-muncher looks at the motherboard socket from 3 or 4 different angles, scratches his chin, holds up the motherboard one more time, looks at it again, then says: "looks alright to me."

If he can see a discrepancy that small, he's in the wrong fucking job and I told him, in no uncertain terms that there's absolutely no fucking way on earth that he'd be able to tell just by looking at it.

I couldn't hold it any longer - I went mental and demanded a replacement. It must have been the scary (and very, very loud) Scottish accent, along with the fact that I was redder than a spent tampon and there were a fair few customers gathering around to see what the fuss was about, but the warehouse cocksucker suddenly disappeared and the customer service jobby printed off a return/exchange invoice without another word being said.

I'm not buying from them again.

Cunts.

Length? About 250 Miles.
(god_is_a_ghoti Carpe Deum., Fri 3 Sep 2010, 11:38, 5 replies)

length?
tl;dr
(The Cat Hater punch a cow for the planet, Fri 3 Sep 2010, 12:20, closed)

Stoke, you say?
Doesn't take a lot to work out who they are.

And, yes, their attitude to returns suck royally. Yet I still keep buying from them (or DABS) because they remain the cheapest.
(dxg, Fri 3 Sep 2010, 12:51, closed)

I stopped using dabs after they mangled one too many deliveries - but the one thing they invariably got right was returns. They were really very good about it, even when the mistake was entirely mine (wrong part ordered, box opened, facepalms all round). They were not obliged to do any of this, because businesses are exempt from a lot of the protection consumers get. I use ebuyer now - fractionally cheaper, not anything like so good with returns. But at least the stuff turns up on schedule.
( Happy Phantom has been to Hastings, Brighton, and Eastbourne too, Sat 4 Sep 2010, 13:52, closed)

did you check the rotator splint?
or the carbonising fiddle valve?

if i had a nickel for every time one of those has let me down!
(Frample Tromwibbler climbs an obstacle like old people fuck, Fri 3 Sep 2010, 16:43, closed)

Scan Computers tried diddling me with a knackered hard drive
After spending almost three grand on hard drives with them, one came along that was SLIGHTLY different from the rest. Same drive, but the jumpers were set differently and the bag sealed differently.

Funnily enough, the day after it was installed, I had a phone call to say that it had failed. Cue 100-mile round trip to replace.

Closer inspection of the bag though, revealed why. There was writing on Scan's SCIL label, as though it had transferred off some sort of covering letter. Scanned it, mirrored it, read it. Turned out that someone had send the drive back as faulty, only for Scan to reseal the bag and ship it straight back out again!

A polite-but-firm email was quickly fired off, asking for (a) a replacement and (b) an explanation. A standard RMA email is what I received. No explanation. Rang up to arrange collection and the arsehole who answered obviously wasn't used to the company having to pick up the tab. "I've got a hard drive that needs to be sent back to you?" "Yeah?" "Well you lot are paying for the courier." "Are we?" (checks on computer) "Er, oh yeah."

Arrogant fuck. Oh and I never got an explanation out of them, just a replacement (and new this time) drive.

They lost about another three grand in sales for that little stunt, 'cos I switched to a mix of Dabs and PCNextDay from there on. And if Scan don't like me posting about their antics here there and everywhere, tough 'cos I've still got the bag the drive came in, label and all. So sue me.
( eXOBeX, Mon 6 Sep 2010, 0:39, closed)