Info Asus Motherboard RMA - Worst Customer Service Ever

x360dan

Junior Member
Jun 18, 2019
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Thought I'd share my ridiculously bad customer service experience I just had with Asus.

Had a motherboard (ROG B450-F Strix) stop working after 6 months. Sent it in for RMA and followed all the instructions. After a week they contacted me and said I didn’t include a plastic bracket it came with and as such, they wouldn’t cover the repair and sent me a bill for the full cost of the motherboard.

Nowhere in the document they sent did it say I needed to send in the plastic bracket that does literally nothing for the function of the board, that you remove and forget about the second you install a CPU fan. I spoke to 3 customer service reps, 2 supervisors and a customer service manager at the head office in Canada (who hung up on me after 15 mins of waiting).

They said they couldn’t do anything and that the board wasn't in original factory condition without the useless plastic piece. I offered to mail it to them and they told me they would need to ship the board back to me, have me open the package and put the plastic piece on, then have me pay $20 to ship it back to them before they could repair it.

Beware of Asus customer service, they literally look for any possible reason to not repair the board.
 
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UsandThem

Elite Member
May 4, 2000
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That's pretty standard with any motherboard manufacturer. They will deny coverage if you ship it without the CPU socket protector.

Sometimes a learning experience is pricey.
 

x360dan

Junior Member
Jun 18, 2019
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41
That's pretty standard with any motherboard manufacturer. They will deny coverage if you ship it without the CPU socket protector.

Sometimes a learning experience is pricey.



I did include the CPU socket protector though. I was told the following was to be included:

"Motherboards:
  • Please remove the CPU from Motherboard and place the original CPU covering plate over the socket"

The piece I'm taking about is the CPU fan bracket that is only there before you install a CPU fan as a placeholder. That was not mentioned as necessary to include.
 

UsandThem

Elite Member
May 4, 2000
16,068
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I thought you were referring to the socket cover, my bad.

So you forgot to put these back on when you shipped it in?

Asus.jpg

That's another thing to ensure when sending back in electronics (especially computer components). From what I've seen over the years, the item needs to be returned to stock (even minor things like putting the CPU mounting brackets back on it).
 
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EXCellR8

Diamond Member
Sep 1, 2010
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Yea, I recently returned a board to MSI and nearly forgot about those mounts. I don't remember specifically if they said they required them to be returned but I would figure anything that originally came bolted to the board, or lack thereof, would prompt RMA denial or delays.

As a rule of thumb, when returning a board make sure it is packed and sent back with everything that was originally attached. This does NOT include accessories or the I/O plate IIRC. Intel socket boards should always be shipped with the CPU socket protector regardless, since the socket is LGA.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
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Yup, pretty standard. I mean, think of the hapless customer, that buys the board, after it gets checked out by techs / inspected / repaired / and then "refurbished" and put out to sale. The mobo company doesn't want to pay for parts + labor to replace those stupid little CPU heatsink support brackets for those boards who's customers forget them.

Kind of like returning carts to the corral at a grocery store or Walmart. Just do it, be a decent human being.