Iffy Hard Drive bought online

vinylmusic

I already posted something about this under a different forum but I'm posting it here for some more technical feedback.

Could a moderator please remove the other one?

I just bought a brand new 1TB Barracuda Hard drive online from TechNextDay.co.uk

It really did arrive next day but I was astonished to receive it so unprofessionally packed

Usually Hard Drives come in strong boxes cushioned inside by 2 layers of foam
This one was badly bubble wrapped inside of flimsy plastic criss crossed with parcel tape
3 edges were not even covered with the bubble wrap and so all that was covering them was thin flimsy plastic. It looked as though it was packed in a hurry without due care
Had this been dropped anywhere in transit it could be unstable or useless

Paypal will only cover it if it is defective

I'm afraid to use it because even if it works what if it goes at a later date due to being unstable and loses all my data

I feel very uncomfortable about this

For various reasons contacting the company is near impossible

I'm wondering how others would deal with this. Am I over worried.
It's still unopened and as received so I can still prove the condition in which it came

closed

it will either work or not, try it.

any drive can lose data, never rely on putting your only copy in one place. external hard disks are best used for backup, leaving the master copy on the machine being backed up

real1314

vinylmusic wrote: »

I already posted something about this under a different forum but I'm posting it here for some more technical feedback.

Could a moderator please remove the other one?

I just bought a brand new 1TB Barracuda Hard drive online from TechNextDay.co.uk

It really did arrive next day but I was astonished to receive it so unprofessionally packed

Usually Hard Drives come in strong boxes cushioned inside by 2 layers of foam
This one was badly bubble wrapped inside of flimsy plastic criss crossed with parcel tape
3 edges were not even covered with the bubble wrap and so all that was covering them was thin flimsy plastic. It looked as though it was packed in a hurry without due care
Had this been dropped anywhere in transit it could be unstable or useless

Paypal will only cover it if it is defective

I'm afraid to use it because even if it works what if it goes at a later date due to being unstable and loses all my data

I feel very uncomfortable about this

For various reasons contacting the company is near impossible

I'm wondering how others would deal with this. Am I over worried.
It's still unopened and as received so I can still prove the condition in which it came

They have a returns policy - use it if you're that bothered. :cool:

vinylmusic

real1314 wrote: »

They have a returns policy - use it if you're that bothered. :cool:

I've been trying to complain to them all day and got nowhere

I tried to login to my account but its not accepting my password

Their password reminder thingy doesn't work. I put in my email address but nothing comes to my inbox

I reluctantly called their dreaded 0844 number and only got a recording. Left my number. They actually rang me hours later while I was on another call. I asked them to hold a sec but they hung up.

Their returns policy mentions a £10 charge for returns (I think that's illegal)

I wish I'd never dealt with them in the first place.
Let this post also be a warning of their lousy customer service

cgk1

Their returns policy mentions a £10 charge for business customers, sounds like you are a consumer?

vinylmusic

cgk1 wrote: »

Their returns policy mentions a £10 charge for business customers, sounds like you are a consumer?

yes I hadn't read thet properly.

Is there someone who knows about hard drives?
is it right that it would be either working or not working or is it possible that it could be weakened in anyway but appear to be good on the face of it.?
obviously if there is no in between then i won't need to send it back
Are there any tests I can do which can tell of it's 100%?
Something I could download

GunJack

yes, SeaTools, Seagate's own utility site,

http://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/seatools/

macman

It'll still have a Seagate manufacturer's warranty on it, which will get you a replacement should it fail within 3 years.
Assuming that it works, unless there are physical signs of impact damage, or the test throws out problems, I wouldn't worry about it.
You can lose all your data at any time with any drive, new or old. No warranty will recover your data, so back up now.

vinylmusic

I was lucky that this hard drive works and is undamaged

I will never use TechNextDay again

If I cant have easy contact with a company I am dealing with in future I simply won't deal with them

A company that sends hard drives in such an unprofessional manner with packaging that was obviously hurried without care can't be trusted.

Something that really bothers me from this experience is that although the consumer is well protected by law in my case I felt helpless

I had received this item so badly packaged that I lacked confidence in it being stable
I thought that keeping it unopened in the state in which it was received would be proof enough to receive a refund without any expense to myself

Paypal would only cover me if the HD wouldn't work
To get a refund as an unwanted item I would first have to get an RMA from TechNextDay within 3 days and send it back at my own cost.
That looks to be impossible because I cant contact them by email
They don't answer the phone and when I leave my number they don't call me back for hours and when they did they couldn't hold for the 30 seconds it took for me to end another call
This whole experience has left me angry and vulnerable as a consumer.
In future I'm not going to go for the cheapest deal online. I'll pay more to get peace of mind from companies I know and trust

I hope this message will warn other customers what to expect from this company

poppellerant

I'm guessing that you have already SeaTools to test the harddrive for errors - did you run a Quick/Basic or Thorough/Extended test? I would advise using the Thorough/Extended test, just to make sure.

In addition, I would also run HD Tune, and perform an error scan without "Quick test" ticked. It would also be wise to check the S.M.A.R.T. readings before and after the test, and see if any are flagged up.