GigaByte Motherboard RMA Hell...

[thefluxster]

Thought I'd post my recent experience with Gigabyte support and my motherboard. Hopefully my experience will deter others from buying from this company and experiencing the same pain I've gone through over the past 5 months...

Here's my NewEgg posting detailing my initial headache:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Single...viewID=4011856

As you can see, there was a canned follow-up response with a case number included by Gigabyte. "Nice!", I thought. "I'll finally get my money back or a new MoBo instead of just a crappy refurb."

So I followed their instructions and sent off this e-mail:

"This e-mail is in response to your comment on NewEgg.com to my review. See the subject for the case number [107537].

I have purchased a replacement board from a different vendor and am using that now. If possible, I would like a refund on the dead Gigabyte board as I no longer intend to use it. It has different hardware than the current board so a re-install is required even if I wanted to keep it as backup. I would be more likely to RMA the in-place board rather than swap it out with an RMA'ed Gigabyte board. I purchased the board in December 2013."

3 days later, no response.

So I sent this e-mail:

"RE: Case Number 107537

I'm not sure how you intend to handle this case, but no response is probably not the best way to go... It's been three days since I e-mailed. The ball is in your court."

That was on March 20th. It's now April 16th. No response. Not even an automated, "We're looking into it."

Needless to say, I'm pissed.

Today, I filed an RMA request with a link to this forum post. Hopefully they'll get the message. Something tells me they won't.

 

[RVC]

Not good... I have read of similar (and worse) support stories with Asus. I think the home consumer has been in this state for longer than they have realized and industry and sales agents are leveraging this. I have recently attempted to get a few Amazon retailers to provide me with the revision level of the GA-990FXA-UD7 and several were not sufficiently competent to be able to tell me. The most recent response stated the motherboards were in a non-local virtual warehouse and there is no way they can provide me with the board revision level under these circumstances. This is really and indication of the computer industry not just a particular manufacturer.

Stories like these are exactly why I decided to build my own server/workstation and have it function as my personal computer (see post below).

It looks like the used car market has expanded!

 

[Charlie98]

 

[Meghan54]

I have recently attempted to get a few Amazon retailers to provide me with the revision level of the GA-990FXA-UD7 and several were not sufficiently competent to be able to tell me. The most recent response stated the motherboards were in a non-local virtual warehouse and there is no way they can provide me with the board revision level under these circumstances.

Actually, this is quite common for 3rd party sellers on Amazon using Amazon's FBA (Fulfilled By Amazon) packing/shipping.

This is how it works....the 3rd party seller buys product, like a case of motherboards, then ships it to one of Amazon's warehouses, where Amazon takes care of all packing and shipping responsibilities. At this point, the seller has no access whatsoever to his/her product as it's now in an Amazon warehouse. Amazon pushes its FBA a lot on Amazon 3p sellers.

So, any time you see a 3rd party seller on Amazon that has product listed as "Fulfilled by Amazon", the product is NOT in the seller's hands but instead at an Amazon warehouse, not a virtual warehouse as you mistakenly put it, and is very likely commingled inventory with other 3P sellers with the same exact product. You'll never get specific questions answered about the product as the seller cannot see, touch, hold or otherwise look at the product.

Just wanted to clear up your misconception.

 

[DigDog]

so.. your RMA problems is with Newegg.. or with Gigabyte ?

honestly i dont know anything about Gb's RMA process because i've never had a product of theirs fail on me - my 965p-ds3 still works.
i've heard horror stories from newegg, and i know firsthand how bad asus is, but "dont buy Gb products" seems a bit harsh.

 

[thefluxster]

so.. your RMA problems is with Newegg.. or with Gigabyte ?

I've done RMAs through Newegg in the past with no problem. Same for Amazon. This is specifically my personal, ongoing experience with Gigabyte's RMA process.

If you haven't had this experience yet, pray you never have to. The request website is horrible, there are no e-mail notifications of what's going on, terrible support line reps, and no way of knowing what they did to 'fix' the problem. I even considered putting a small, unrecognizable mark on the board or components so I could tell if they just bandaged it up and sent it back to me ready to break again (as was the case the first time around).

 

[SunnyD]

Did you at all bother to, you know, pick up a telephone and attempt to SPEAK to an actual human being at Gigabyte about your issue?

Here, I'll even help with the process:

Tel: +1-626-854-9338

Their RMA policy seems pretty straightforward to me, and not terribly different than most companies' policies. The lack of book keeping is a bit of a turnoff, but I have a distinct feeling you'll find that the information would be in your registered account on their site anyway. I could be wrong.

But yes, the lack of response is definitely not the greatest customer support. Unfortunately the larger companies seem to be lacking for decent support lately.

 

[996GT2]

Always better to call instead of using any online RMA form. I've had excellent experiences dealing with Asus RMA, but I always made sure to call instead of using their support website.

 

[thefluxster]

For the record, a phone call resulted in a less-than friendly conversation with a rep who repeatedly told me there was nothing he could do to help me in spite of my situation and to use the RMA process on their website. I assume he was then able to return to his in-progress video game without further interruption.

 

[thefluxster]

I checked back on the RMA website today. My RMA request was approved (no email notification or communication) so I'll be sending the bad board back to Gigabyte again. For those interested in Gigabyte HW, hit me up. I'll have a 'certified' board going for cheap here in a couple of weeks.

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

This threat should be removed, as clearly the OP is here to flame Gigabyte and nothing more.............

 

[UaVaj]

This threat should be removed, as clearly the OP is here to flame Gigabyte and nothing more.............

x2.

RMA was timely and same issue re-occurs. leave reasonable doubt that the replacement motherboard was bad again or it was another component causing motherboard to go bad.

as for demanding for money back cause your intention changes. we all would love to have refunds when our intention changes too.

as for demanding new replacement for RMA. perhaps you should buy full replacement insurance instead of warranty.

gigabyte offers one of the most painless and quick RMA in the industry. there is even a live person on the phone too if you choose that route.

 

[SeeWhy777]

I purchased a Gigabyte 990fxa-ud3 last october. I had to RMA it at the beginning of this month. The older Gigabyte items I purchased that had no problems were all manufactured in Taiwan, where the "new" Gigabyte items are mfg'd. in China. I don't know if this has anything to do with this being my 3rd Chinese Gigabyte board failing, but It will certainly be my last attempt to hold on to a company that seems to be having issues. The diagnosis on my most recent RMA was a 3v Ground issue. Fried my motherboard and cpu. I don't overclock any system for that few extra % and early failure, so I feel that it's rotten that I am being sent a refurbished board that has possibly been overclocked / ran at high temperatures, improperly handled, etc. as my replacement. In the past I swore by Gigabyte products, I will not recommend them to anyone anymore. I called the RMA department for Gigabyte after they've had it for one business week. I was told that it was in shipping and that it would ship in one to two days. After three days, I called them to ask them why I never recieved a tracking number / email. The representative told me that it was in shipping and that it would be shipped in one to two days. (lol). I told him that (Thursday) that another rep told me (Monday) that same exact thing. The rep was very helpful and told me that if it had not shipped that he would upgrade the shipping on it. He made it a two day (business day) shipping, which puts the board here tomorrow. (Three weeks from the recieve date). It makes me nervous thinking that I spent $130 on a board that now has a questionable future. I have been building systems for almost twenty years now, and know proper handling / grounding procedures... I see people on videos grabbing motherboards not grounded by the top and bottom of the board vs. the edges. Wrapping this up, I feel that Gigabyte products made in China (from my experience) are of a lesser quality from the ones previously manufactured in Taiwan, and the RMA policy for replacement is a bad idea. I wouldn't buy a refurbished board by choice, and now this is what I get to work with. Will it fry my next cpu also? I just don't think things are being built to last anymore.

 

[SeeWhy777]

Hi. UaVaj, I just signed up for the forums here, after reading them for years. I have a question about your mentioned "Replacement Insurance" left in the "GigaByte Motherboard RMA Hell..." forum. Is that something purchased through Gigabyte or through newegg.com? Thank you for your time.

 

[UaVaj]

good question.

many places offer such plan.

best buy has one of the best policies. geek squad will swap you out brand new (most of the time especially when item is in stock). no question asked. and yes you can buy mother board from best buy too. here are a few to choose from.

as for newegg. here is the info you seek. called service net service contract.