Scan.co.uk have taken 7 weeks for RMA. What can I do?

kissinger

I think this is the most appropriate subforum for this, but if not I apologise.

Here's my situation: in December a PC motherboard I'd bought from Scan several years ago broke. It was still in warranty (3 years) but only barely. I started an RMA on the 16 Dec and they received it less than a week later. They tested it, acknowledged it is faulty and then sent it on to get replaced by the manufacturer (Asus). This was on the 29 Dec.

It's now the 7 Feb and I still haven't received my replacement. That's nearly 8 weeks since I started the RMA!

Furthermore, I don't have any idea of how much longer it will take because they won't/can't give me that information because they're waiting on Asus to do something. As you might expect, I've told them I'm not happy and besides generally being quite non-plussed about it, the only options they've given me are:

1. An inferior replacement motherboard.

2. A refund 'as a gesture of goodwill' for £10. This despite the fact that I paid ~£150 for the motherboard.

As for an explanation for the delay, they said it was because the middle man company they bought it from (Asus doesn't sell direct to retailers apparently) rejected the RMA because it was out of warranty by the time they got it. They also said that because it was over the Xmas period and because it was nearly out of warranty I shouldn't be complaining and to just wait.

Anyway, the point of all this is I'd like to ask what my options are in terms of getting a replacement or a better refund deal quickly.

Moneymaker

Visit your local Trading Standards office and give them the facts in brief.

Fightsback

Quite an old problem with Asus:

see here:

pcadvisor.co.uk/forums/2/tech-consumer-advice/4083851/asus-3-year-motherboard-warranty-not-recognised-by-pc-world/?ob=datea&pn=2

kissinger

Fightsback wrote: »

Quite an old problem with Asus:

see here:

pcadvisor.co.uk/forums/2/tech-consumer-advice/4083851/asus-3-year-motherboard-warranty-not-recognised-by-pc-world/?ob=datea&pn=2

I must admit I've heard bad things about Asus in the past too, but on this occasion I think it's actually the retailer's fault because Asus have only got the item in the past week or so, and it's been 7 weeks altogether.

kissinger

I've been in touch with Trading Standards/Citizens advice by email and they've not been enormously helpful TBH. I could do with some clarification.

They've said I have 2 options: (1) cite the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and ask for either a like-for-like replacement or refund (minus depreciation) or (2) go the warranty route and hold the relevant party in breach of contract for not honouring the warranty (which is a form of contract).

I suppose the best option for me would be option 2, because I was within the warranty period, but that raises some questions.

1. Does the fact that I've been made to wait 8 weeks represent a failure to honour the warranty? Couldn't they just say, we will honour the warranty, you just need to wait?

2. Who am I holding in breach of contract: the retailer or the manufacturer? The manufacturer has only had the item for ~2 weeks, but the retailer has been faffing about for ~8 weeks.

3. If the retailer can't provide a like-for-like replacement and I end up getting a refund, how do I calculate what a fair refund would be given depreciation? If I end up with £10 like the retailer is offering, what's the point?

wealdroam

kissinger wrote: »

I've been in touch with Trading Standards/Citizens advice by email and they've not been enormously helpful TBH. I could do with some clarification.

They've said I have 2 options: (1) cite the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and ask for either a like-for-like replacement or refund (minus depreciation) or (2) go the warranty route and hold the relevant party in breach of contract for not honouring the warranty (which is a form of contract).

I suppose the best option for me would be option 2, because I was within the warranty period, but that raises some questions.

1. Does the fact that I've been made to wait 8 weeks represent a failure to honour the warranty? Couldn't they just say, we will honour the warranty, you just need to wait?

2. Who am I holding in breach of contract: the retailer or the manufacturer? The manufacturer has only had the item for ~2 weeks, but the retailer has been faffing about for ~8 weeks.

3. If the retailer can't provide a like-for-like replacement and I end up getting a refund, how do I calculate what a fair refund would be given depreciation? If I end up with £10 like the retailer is offering, what's the point?

To address your questions in turn:

1) A warranty is in addition to your statutory rights and as such can include restrictive terms in it.
Yes they can say wait a little longer.

2) Your Sale of Goods Act rights are with/against whoever sold the thing to you, i.e. Scan. You have up to six years to seek a remedy from the seller, but the manufacturer owes you nothing beyond the terms of any manufacturer's warranty.

3) If the seller cannot provide a repair or replacement, then you are entitled to a refund which can be reduced to take account of the use you have had.
There are various methods that might be used to calculate the amount of the refund but no definitive method.
One way might be to guess at the expected life of the product and offer a percentage based on the proportion of that 'life' used. So if the product has an expected life of say 4 years then after two years you might expect a 50% refund.
Others might say that technology products depreciate greatly in earlier years such that a 50% was only available after one year.

I purposely haven't offered an opinion on your product as I simple don't know... sorry.
You also haven't said when you originaly bought he motherboard.

kissinger

Thanks for the answers. I bought it 3 years ago. The warranty was for 3 years and it died just before the 3 years were up.

wealdroam

kissinger wrote: »

Thanks for the answers. I bought it 3 years ago. The warranty was for 3 years and it died just before the 3 years were up.

Hmmm...

Some might say that three years is the expected life of the thing, especially as technology moves so fast, and after three years it has very little value... say £10.

What is your value of a three year old motherboard?
Not that it is the same question, but how much would you pay for a three year old motherboard?

Personally I would be inclined to suggest to Scan that £20 would be acceptable... that's if you don't want to wait for the manufacturer.

Cisco001

wealdroam wrote: »

Hmmm...

Some might say that three years is the expected life of the thing, especially as technology moves so fast, and after three years it has very little value... say £10.

What is your value of a three year old motherboard?
Not that it is the same question, but how much would you pay for a three year old motherboard?

Personally I would be inclined to suggest to Scan that £20 would be acceptable... that's if you don't want to wait for the manufacturer.

I would say more than £20.
If it is £150 motherboard 3 years ago, it would be something like P67/ Z68 chipset motherboard. I would expect a working motherboard would worth at least £50 if you sell it on ebay.

wealdroam

Cisco001 wrote: »

I would say more than £20.
If it is £150 motherboard 3 years ago, it would be something like P67/ Z68 chipset motherboard. I would expect a working motherboard would worth at least £50 if you sell it on ebay.

Yes, I have no problem with that... it's another opinion.

All the OP has to do is convince Scan.
£10 to £50 might be too big a jump for them... no harm in asking though.

Sparx

Motherboards last a hell of a lot longer than 3 years and is most definitely not an expected lifespan. In the 10+ yrs I've been building rigs, I've only come across 1 dead mobo and that was because someone chucked a drink in the case. Although it didn't stop the manufacturer (Gigabyte) replacing the board within 3 days, now that's service!

With your scenario, I would try escalate further with Scan or Asus directly. I've always heard that Asus' RMA service is pretty poor so I'm not surprised. Failing this, go to Scan with the Sale of Goods Act armed and (try) demand a similar replacement or credit for say £60-80 (whatever you'd be happy with) to buy a new board.