Newly purchased goods damaged due to negligent instruction manual. What can I do?

nogaff

MattMattMattUK said:

I would guess that it has become a known issue, they have probably had some complaints, but that still does not make them liable, it comes down to user error. 

User error for precisely following the supplied instructions? I just don't see how that can be a sustainable argument on their part.

MattMattMattUK said:

I would guess that if it is pre-installed then it almost always needs to be there and it is the exception rather than the rule that it is used, to be fair I am struggling to think of a situation where having a stand off in place could cause damage when fitting a component.

The size of component I selected is the most commonly available. The extra standoff is only needed for unusual sizes, which makes it all the more baffling as to why it comes pre-installed.

Uptown_Boy said:

Is it a metal standoff on Product A? Did it compress the label to expose circuitry underneath, and this may have caused a short on Product B?

Have you tried removing the standoff, reassembling and trying again? (Sorry if you've already said - I haven't read every word of every post).

The label is unbroken, just marked. No circuitry is exposed.

I have tried removing the standoff and reassembling, and I have also tried moving the component to a different slot entirely just in case the slot was faulty (having removed the extra standoff from the other slot as well). The component is dead as a doornail.

MattMattMattUK

Without knowing what both components are I am baffled, as mentioned I have never known a standoff pre-fitted, but even then I can not see how it could damage a component even if it was. I am still curious as to why you are so worried about telling us what the products are.

Uptown_Boy

Whilst it is possible that compressing Product B against the standoff may have caused a crack in the PCB of Product B, it is highly unlikely. It is more probable that Product B was DOA - just start the RMA process for Product B. (Mention during the RMA process that you assume it is Product B that is faulty, as you've tried it in different slots in Product A, but can't say for sure). If the replacement Product B is also non-working then RMA Product A.

nogaff

MattMattMattUK said:

Without knowing what both components are I am baffled, as mentioned I have never known a standoff pre-fitted, but even then I can not see how it could damage a component even if it was. I am still curious as to why you are so worried about telling us what the products are.

Sorry, I know it must be a bit frustrating for you, but if the advice from the community here had been "just RMA it", and then I'd been here giving detailed descriptions of what I bought and how I think I might have damaged it, I'd have felt a bit paranoid that the retailer might somehow find this thread, put two and two together and reject the RMA without a fair assessment.

At this point I can't prove if the component was damaged during installation, or actually never worked to start with, so perhaps I'll just have to go down the RMA route and see what happens, but I just wanted to establish if there would be any legal liability anywhere due to the omitted information in the supplied manual, and if so, upon whom that would fall.

Uptown_Boy said:

Whilst it is possible that compressing Product B against the standoff may have caused a crack in the PCB of Product B, it is highly unlikely. It is more probable that Product B was DOA - just start the RMA process for Product B. (Mention during the RMA process that you assume it is Product B that is faulty, as you've tried it in different slots in Product A, but can't say for sure). If the replacement Product B is also non-working then RMA Product A.

Yes, that was going to be my initial course of action, until I came across the revised manual for Product A which made me think I had completely screwed up and failed to read the supplied manual properly, in which case I would have just sucked it up. I'm certainly not in the habit of making false RMA claims.

However, when I checked the supplied manual again and found that it was indeed lacking those key instructions, I decided that I do want to pursue this in some way; I just didn't know how to approach it.