El_Capitan Posted February 28, 2013 Posted February 28, 2013 ASUS has always been there for me when I needed to return items through their serial-based warranty service. I do have to pay for shipping most of the time, but hey, in the end, I always got my product back in working condition.Well... not this time.I recently bought (or thought I bought) an ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe GEN3 motherboard from a Tom's Hardware member named WickedxJosh. At least, everything from him wanting to sell an ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe GEN3 motherboard, to me e-mailing him about the ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe GEN3 motherboard, and me meeting him locally to buy the ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe GEN3 motherboard... I thought I was getting an ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe GEN3 motherboard. I'm sorry I'm beating a dead horse, but I'm pretty sure I also checked to make sure the board was an ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe GEN3 motherboard before I handed him my money.Well, it turned out that the motherboard didn't quite work when I brought it home to test it out. I'm not blaming him, he was a nice fella when I met him in person, and I'm sure it was working when he last used it. Plus, ASUS has a serial-based RMA policy, so I wasn't too worried. At the price he was selling, I was willing to take a risk, and so I started the RMA, and paid the shipping cost to ship it back to ASUS RMA.A month later, I finally got a motherboard back. However, instead of an ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe GEN3 motherboard, it was an ASUS P8P67 Deluxe REV 3.0 motherboard, although it had the same serial number on it.What?Let me repeat that.Instead of an ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe GEN3 motherboard, it was an ASUS P8P67 Deluxe REV 3.0 motherboard that I got back, but it had the same serial number on it.So I called ASUS customer service, and after an hour, I got it escalated.Here's the recording (edited a bit to make it shorter with less mumbling from me): Now, I really like ASUS customer service and their products. This incident won't change that. However, this was an eye-opener for me.Some things to keep in mind, even though ASUS has serial-based warranty: Keep the receipt and box with serial number on your product at all times. Don't lose the serial number sticker on your product. If you buy an ASUS product that's used, try to get a copy of the original invoice or receipt, and the box with the serial number, if possible. Unfortunately, WickedxJosh didn't have an invoice or receipt, but I did send him a message to ask if he might at least have the box with the serial number on it, or if someone he bought it from might have an invoice or receipt or box. Haven't gotten a reply, yet. If you send a product for RMA to ASUS, take pictures showing the model, with the serial number, and a picture of yourself with that information, before sending in your item for RMA. Basically, what could have happened in my scenario could have happened two ways: I thought I bought an ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe GEN3 motherboard, and WickedxJosh thought he was selling an ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe GEN3 motherboard, but it was really an ASUS P8P67 Deluxe REV 3.0. Hey, mistakes happen. So what I sent to ASUS RMA was indeed an ASUS P8P67 Deluxe REV 3.0 and not an ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe GEN3 motherboard. ASUS RMA, for some reason, chose to return an ASUS P8P67 Deluxe REV 3.0 instead of an ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe GEN3 motherboard because: Maybe they ran out? Maybe they wanted to cut costs? Maybe instead of fixing an ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe GEN3 motherboard, they had plenty of refurbished ASUS P8P67 Deluxe REV 3.0's they could send back to me and hope I didn't notice? Maybe they have a new plan for making more money by reselling ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe GEN3 motherboard's, because ASUS P8P67 Deluxe REV 3.0's are harder to resell? Anyways, all I can say to anyone out there with any product... before you send in an item for warranty, take lots and LOTS of pictures of it, yourself, and the serial number, and all of it together with indisputable proof, that what you are sending is indeed what you sent. Otherwise, you could just be receiving something else back, and it's just your word against theirs. Also, someone should get a serial sticker from a Rampage IV Extreme and put it on a cheap, broken P8P67 motherboard, and see what they get back. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_bowtie Posted February 28, 2013 Posted February 28, 2013 wow.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarWeeny Posted February 28, 2013 Posted February 28, 2013 Also, someone should get a serial sticker from a Rampage IV Extreme and put it on a cheap, broken P8P67 motherboard, and see what they get back. sounds like a plan! xP Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deathmineral Posted February 28, 2013 Posted February 28, 2013 When he asked if there was anything else you would ever need, you should have asked him to make you a sandwich. Great post though, I'm glad you took the time to share this information because it's actually something I've wondered about before but never had happen to me, or at least not in such a way that it was problematic. I have had a similar experience though, where I RMA'd a Seagate drive and got a different model back, it was the same capacity and specs pretty much though so it didn't matter to me. This is a lot of reason I try to get a reliable product in the first place, I'm not fond of going through RMAs so it's much easier to spend a couple extra dollars if I need to and get something reliable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_bowtie Posted February 28, 2013 Posted February 28, 2013 I've always had a company call or email me if they didnt have the product and ask me if I wanted something else before anything was shipped... Does make you wonder though... why would they put the serial off the old board on the new one? usually when they RMA if they need to swap boards they log the serial of the new board and ship it.... never got back a board with the same serial... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaporX Posted February 28, 2013 Posted February 28, 2013 El I appreciate your position but their position is NOT unreasonable. They are saying that the serial number they have on record is not for the product you sent in. Now I would ask a few specific questions. The RMA that was generated, did it state the model of the motherboard on it? if so and it showed the Deluxe I would then call horse crap on them and demand my correct board. If it did not then you need to always follow that up before shipping. Also as noted if the box has the serial number on it and it is not an added on sticker then you have a chance to argue it as well. At the end of the day I do understand your frustration but this is not an unusual situation for an RMA. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedCrazy Posted February 28, 2013 Posted February 28, 2013 El I appreciate your position but their position is NOT unreasonable. They are saying that the serial number they have on record is not for the product you sent in. Now I would ask a few specific questions. The RMA that was generated, did it state the model of the motherboard on it? if so and it showed the Deluxe I would then call horse crap on them and demand my correct board. If it did not then you need to always follow that up before shipping. Also as noted if the box has the serial number on it and it is not an added on sticker then you have a chance to argue it as well. At the end of the day I do understand your frustration but this is not an unusual situation for an RMA. +1 Always check the generated info. I have had this same thing happen to me several times with hard drives from WD, but in my case i have always gone up, not down. Bought a caviar blue and caviar green, ended up rmaing the green and getting a blue, rmaed that blue and got a black, rmaed the first blue and got a larger black.... im not complaining. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_bowtie Posted February 28, 2013 Posted February 28, 2013 some people just have all the luck... mine didnt work out like that... Mine died the day after warranty and they refused to RMA it and offered me a discount on a refurb if I sent my drive in... the refurb cost more than a new drive off of newegg.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
El_Capitan Posted February 28, 2013 Posted February 28, 2013 El I appreciate your position but their position is NOT unreasonable. They are saying that the serial number they have on record is not for the product you sent in. Now I would ask a few specific questions. The RMA that was generated, did it state the model of the motherboard on it? if so and it showed the Deluxe I would then call horse crap on them and demand my correct board. If it did not then you need to always follow that up before shipping. Also as noted if the box has the serial number on it and it is not an added on sticker then you have a chance to argue it as well. At the end of the day I do understand your frustration but this is not an unusual situation for an RMA. Well, when I report the Serial Number, they should at least check and report back to me that, "Hey, your serial number doesn't match your model." or at least generate an RMA invoice form stating the model/serial I'm turning in for RMA so that I can confirm it's what I'm sending in. However, that's a process that people outside of ASUS can't implement, and that's something ASUS does not currently do. On the other hand, usually when there's an item I RMA where they don't have the identical item to return (in case they failed to repair successfully on the same board), they'll usually notify me that the item that I sent in wasn't available for replacement, and they would normally give me a choice of options. I didn't get that this time. That means they're basing the repairs and return of items not by the paperwork, but by the actual serial number on the item. So my idea of sending in a Rampage IV Extreme serial number taped to an ASUS P8P67 low cost board, they actually might send back a Rampage IV Extreme, which is a crazy if that's how they're doing things. Anyways, I'm also thinking because they have my name and phone number on file, and I've had maybe 20+ RMA sessions with them, I'm a red flag in their database. Lately they've been wanting to make sure I always provide an invoice or receipt or some form of proof of purchase. I'm not exactly why that matters if their warranty is based on the serial number and supposedly not proof of purchase, but to me it's not right how they're changing their warranty process without publicly announcing their changes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroFight Posted February 28, 2013 Posted February 28, 2013 Simple solution to the red flag problem, use another name (perhaps change a surname or forename), use a cheap pay as you go SIM for the RMAs and use another address, such as parents or other family members. Surely they wouldn't keep it on file forever, so you could alternate between a couple of details...not that I endorse this kinda thing Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
El_Capitan Posted February 28, 2013 Posted February 28, 2013 Another complaint about an ASUS motherboard RMA experience: http://www.overclock.net/t/1310484/asus-motherboard-warranty-rma-denied-plus-awesome-xfx-support Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
d6bmg Posted March 1, 2013 Posted March 1, 2013 Also, someone should get a serial sticker from a Rampage IV Extreme and put it on a cheap, broken P8P67 motherboard, and see what they get back. Sounds like a real plan - thanks to their policy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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