MSI rant

[tami]

if anyone recalls this thread, you may remember that my mobo caught fire in the middle of the night for unexplained reasons. it simply spontaneously combusted. i never figured out why.

(pics have been moved here)

anyway, in december, i got an approval for an RMA and just had to send the thing out. but shortly thereafter, i moved, got married, started a new job, etc. mailing my mobo out wasn't top priority, and i still have it with me.

as i unpacked some boxes this past weekend (yes, i'm slow), i found the mobo again and thought about contacting MSI about them being able to honor this RMA that was approved (for free) in december. i showed the guy the pics, and he said "you'll have to pay $35.00"

so i got back to him and asked him why i have to pay $35. he says "The fee is for the physical damage."

WTF?! is he some kind of moron? does he think i sat next to my computer striking matches on the motherboard and looking to cause a fire? what kind of stupid RMA service is this?! :|

i wrote him an email and am awaiting his response (yeah, it's one guy, and it's the same moron that i dealt with in december). my other complaint with MSI is that they only respond to emails once a day at the end of the business day, as if they don't want to continue correspondence. they used to be much better in december.

cliffs:
1. computer burst into flames for no known reason in december.
2. RMA was accepted, no fees incurred.
3. i didn't send the mobo out since i had life issues to attend to.
4. i followed up on it recently, and was told i have to pay $35 because i seemed to have maliciously caused damage to the motherboard. who in their right mind would do that? (if i didn't catch it as early as i did, my apartment would have burned down)
5. MSI is stupid.

 

[Ricemarine]

Doesn't the RMA policy state that if there's any physical damage to it, they have the choice to not accept it?


But yes, msi is really bad at rma service...

I sent my mobo off cause it had too many minor issues. Sent me my mobo back only fixing 1 of the 5 things. 4 weeks for nothing.

 

[psteng19]

RMA's usually have an expiration date, i.e. 10 days after issuance.

 

[quakefiend420]

Originally posted by: Ricemarine
Doesn't the RMA policy state that if there's any physical damage to it, they have the choice to not accept it?

i'm sure it does, but this is somewhat of an unusual situation...how many motherboard have you had to RMA because they caught fire? :laugh:

 

[tami]

well, if you look at the picture, the mobo is irreparable. you can't simply cut a whole section out and reglue it again. they have to replace it. they agreed to that in december.

it's basically their fault. whatever it was, something that connected to the mobo caused the fire. as i mentioned in the older thread, it was in idle state -- completely. i don't overclock. i have a case that has 7 fans to keep it cool. yet somehow, the USB cable caught fire, although i had no devices plugged into the USB port that attached to that part of the motherboard. heck, i didn't even get that USB port working, so that's probably the issue too. i'm really disappointed.

so if he's thinking that he can get away with charging me $35 because i seemed to have intentionally physically damaged the motherboard, he can think again.

if he doesn't honor it, i wonder if there's an agency i can report this issue to to recall the mobo because of structural/electrical flaws. 😛 i believe this isn't the first time it happened (see previous thread)

 

[tami]

Originally posted by: psteng19
RMA's usually have an expiration date, i.e. 10 days after issuance.

i am well aware of this. i emailed him specifically asking him if he would reopen the case, and he said he would. that is not the issue. the issue is that he changed his mind and decided to charge me $35 because i caused "physical damage" to the motherboard. :roll:

 

[SketchMaster]

Oh man, that would look really cool mounted on your wall! 😛

But seriously, that sucks. Try and see if you can talk with that guy's boss, maybe you work it out with him.

Other thank that all I can do is wish you luck!

 

[simms]

I dunno. They were nice enough to open an RMA and you didn't mail it out.

Seems like you made that fault first before they made theirs.

 

[intogamer]

I was going to do a DFI RMA and it said physical damage =35

so yeah, even if you send it in december, they will charge you 35 no matter what

 

[tami]

Originally posted by: simms
I dunno. They were nice enough to open an RMA and you didn't mail it out.

Seems like you made that fault first before they made theirs.

i'm not denying that either. i probably should have mailed it out earlier, but i just never had the time given that i was packing up for my huge move and all. i do admit that i was irresponsible in that regard. a part of me just wanted to avoid going to the post office and dealing with this. a larger part of me knew that i had more important things to deal with than worry about a motherboard that will eventually cost $35 if i buy it on ebay (it's going for about that price now).

regardless, the guy at MSI had been accommodating and never told me about this $35 fee until today.

i don't particularly NEED the motherboard, but i like the idea of having identical motherboards in case one fails. that's how i was able to get back up and running right after the fire -- since i had two identical mobos, it was easy to do (accidental second purchase, which in the end, was worthwhile). i hate INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE bluescreens using new mobos. formatting is a completele last resort.

 

[tami]

by the way, i do have to point out that MSI has accommodated many requests in the past, so they're not awful as a whole -- just their RMA department/dude is. i bought both regular motherboards without accessories. i emailed MSI about how to purchase the accessories, and instead of quoting me a price, they asked for my address and sent me the accessories for free -- for two motherboards. i really have no major complaints with them, but dealing with this RMA is still awfully annoying.

edit: if they're going to force me to pay $35, i might just get a spare mobo from here. good price, all accessories included, and you can't really go wrong with that.

i'll keep this thread updated in case you are all interested in my quest for justice. 🙂

 

[tami]

mini update is that he is going to contact upper management.

i also wrote him an email telling him that a good business practice would be to get back to customers during the business day, not after it :roll: