seeking advice on ASUS warranty problem

[bitt3n]

I recently sent my G53SW-XN1 notebook in for servicing (bad screen) and I'm having a problem getting it serviced. The unit has a 1 Year Accidental Damage Warranty, plus it came with a warranty card that said "Register within 60 days and get an extra one year Accidental Damage Warranty," which I did. I mailed the unit in during the second year, figuring it would be repaired under warranty.

The RMA center emailed me back saying that the warranty is no longer valid, because, under their interpretation, the "extra one year Accidental Damage Warranty" I received actually only applies "Accidental Damage" coverage to the first year.

This appears directly to contradict the warranty specification, which describes the standard warranty as "1 year ASUS Accidental Damage Warranty - Drops, Fire, Spill, Surge" (as listed under the specifications tab here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834230027 )

It appears logically inconsistent to profess that the extra 1 year of accidental damage protection, plus the original 1 year of accidental damage protection equal in total only 1 year of accidental damage protection.

Have I misunderstood the warranty terms? To me this appears to be a clear-cut case of a product that is in warranty not being serviced under warranty. After I observed this, the RMA center offered to perform the service for free but charge for the parts, but on principle it doesn't seem fair to pay to have the notebook repaired in this circumstance. What should I do?

 

[Infohawk]

Did your screen get damaged due to an accident like a drop, fire, spill or surge?

What else did that warranty card come with? Was there another warranty referenced? That sentence seems a bit ambiguous in that it could be the the warranty itself that is extra or it could be the year that is extra. It seems like there's a possibility that the warranty newegg references is the same thing that Asus references.

If you're in the right, posting about it online is probably your best option. A small claims action is probably not worth the time and stress.

 

[bitt3n]

Did your screen get damaged due to an accident like a drop, fire, spill or surge?

What else did that warranty card come with? Was there another warranty referenced? That sentence seems a bit ambiguous in that it could be the the warranty itself that is extra or it could be the year that is extra. It seems like there's a possibility that the warranty newegg references is the same thing that Asus references.

If you're in the right, posting about it online is probably your best option. A small claims action is probably not worth the time and stress.

No it did not get damaged due to accident. I use the notebook with an external monitor/keyboard and haven't touched it in months, but I do use the screen as secondary display.

My problem comes down the fact that specs listed the notebook as having a warranty of 1 Year Accidental Damage protection. Given that, there seems no reasonable interpretation of the enclosed warranty card, promising "an extra 1 year Accidental Damage Warranty", except that this extra year is in addition to the first year as stated in the product specs, making two years.

I suppose they could argue that technically the unit is not covered because it broke on its own and not by accident, but that argument seems hilariously sleazy.

 

[marcplante]

could it be that the additional is the protection and not the year? Just checking...also. did you buy it with a credit card that offers extended protection?

Some do...

 

[bitt3n]

That's what they're claiming, but the laptop specs state it already comes with a year of accident protection, so there's no logical interpretation of "1 extra year" than a second year.

I'll have to check which card I ordered it with. Unfortunately this is now complicated by the fact that the second year has elapsed (after I sent it in for RMA), so the CC company might not want to reimburse me even though the problem occurred during the second year.

 

[sheh]

Did you try communicating with ASUS Taiwan?

 

[Infohawk]

That's what they're claiming, but the laptop specs state it already comes with a year of accident protection, so there's no logical interpretation of "1 extra year" than a second year.

I don't have all the information and you could be right, but this does not seem like an obvious situation of ASUS being in the wrong to me.

It seems like the warranty card is the same thing as what the newegg specs were referring to. It seems like the product comes with a one-year accident warranty (an extra warranty, not an extra year) and that newegg advertised this on their site. If ASUS made a mistake, it's that their warranty was a bit ambiguous, but they probably don't have much control over how newegg characterizes things. And of course it's too bad that ASUS made a product that failed early on. However, this is the kind of thing that extended warranties exist for.

 

[bitt3n]

I don't have all the information and you could be right, but this does not seem like an obvious situation of ASUS being in the wrong to me.

It seems like the warranty card is the same thing as what the newegg specs were referring to.

That might be what they intended, but because the extra protection is not offered on purchase, but only on satisfying an additional requirement, a reasonable consumer will interpret the warranty statement to be offering a second year warranty.

However, this is the kind of thing that extended warranties exist for.

So to review: the terms lead the consumer into believing he's getting 2 years warranty, which doubtless reduces his motivation to purchase an extended warranty above 2 years. Then it turns out that the terms were in fact misleading. Therefore, the consumer ought to have purchased an extended warranty. I find this logic peculiar.