OC3D Article: Overclockers UK - Swish New Website, Same Shoddy Service?

[ajax]

Oh noes!..i feel i am just entering RMA hell with ocuk.I recently RMA'd a 2900xt 512 after 5 months of use(Ram errors)..today i received word that indeed they would honor the 12mths warranty then another mail 2 hours later saying that my replacement has now been despatched(i only saw the mails this evening several hours later).Thing is they sending a 3850 PRO 512 which to my mind isnt a fair replacement at all...i definitely figured on a 3870xt or 8800gt.I plan on calling tomorrow(i expect will be a lot of fun).Anyone think that the 3850 is indeed a worthy replacement?

The 2900xt was a smashing card..i paid £250 for it and 3850 is retailing at £110 and as far as i can tell its going to be nowhere near as good a performer.Any ideas or advice as to what i should think about doing much appreciated.

 

[ali_james]

Oh noes!..i feel i am just entering RMA hell with ocuk.I recently RMA'd a 2900xt 512 after 5 months of use(Ram errors)..today i received word that indeed they would honor the 12mths warranty then another mail 2 hours later saying that my replacement has now been despatched(i only saw the mails this evening several hours later).Thing is they sending a 3850 PRO 512 which to my mind isnt a fair replacement at all...i definitely figured on a 3870xt or 8800gt..as well as the matter that the card they sending is a dual slot cooler which aint going to fit in my system.I plan on calling tomorrow(i expect will be a lot of fun).Anyone think that the 3850 is indeed a worthy replacement?

The 2900xt was a smashing card..i paid £250 for it and 3850 is retailing at £110 and as far as i can tell its going to be nowhere near as good a performer.Any ideas or advice as to what i should think about doing much appreciated.

No its not a worthy replacement. A warranty is surely a replacement product, of the exact same specification? If they don't have any of the said card I'm pretty sure they should give you a near priced alternative, I wouldn't settle for much less than an 8800gtx which they sell for ~ £250 if you bought your card for that price. Considering the horror stories on here I'm sure they'd do anything to cheat anyone out of thier money.

I hope you get it sorted, personally I'd be furious. In fact I think I am now.

Good luck to you mate

 

[ajax]

Wost fears confirmed...phoned the company and said i not happy with the replacement(calm and rational throughout) despite the guy insisting that a 3850Pro is definitely a card comparable to the 2900xt...when i suggested that AT LEAST a 3870xt was more suitable he piped up "if you going to swear at me ...."and hung up the phone.Lol..like i said i not one to get in a fluster about such matters and certainly never cursed at the fellow.Seemed like it was done for effect to those near him.I will try again later today.However it certainly seems like all the RMA horror stories you hear about this outfit are true.

 

[mrapoc]

If they wont listen to you, im sure if you bring up the subject of trading standards + faulty products + unfit for purpose annnnnd the fact they are fobbing you off with a value card compared to the one you purchased - they wud be stupid not to listen

 

[realitybytes]

Damn that is bad news, those two cards are in noway comparable!

At a minmum I would want an 8800 GTX but would rather have the 2900xt replaced. If they not going to do that then they should give you option to select a card of your choice at the original value.

 

[ali_james]

They shouldn't be fighting you over it either, as it goes back to the manufacturer surely, and the reseller doesn't pick up that much of a loss?

A warranty is a warranty, if they won't honour it then I guess, like mrapoc said trading standards are the only way to go.

 

[realitybytes]

Yes as above, I would probably try and take it up with somebody else not just first line support.

Possibly even do it via email to explain better, and show the comparisons in the cards also stress on the fact you hardly had a chance to use your 2900xt which at the time of purchase placed it at or near the top of the GPU charts yadda yadda. The 8800 GTX is about the only card they have that is comparable I would personally accept that trade off as a last case senario but I think you have every right if they are not going to give you a 2900xt to get any card at the original price. You cannot pick up the 2900xt 512 brand new for £110.

 

[JN]

Sorry to hear about this mate. I always want to hope that they have got better since I wrote the original article about my problems with them, but it looks like nothing has changed.

If they won't come to an agreement with you on a suitable card then can you try and request a refund? IIRC consumer law states that you are entitled to a full refund at the original purchase price.

If that fails, then maybe ask for the faulty card to be returned to you, and you RMA direct with manufacturer? I've always found manufacturers much more generous when replacing EOL products.

 

[ajax]

Well all...i mailed and complained about the situation to someone more senior i think and received a reply back apologising and stating it down to "human error" and i was to contact him and discuss a suitable arrangement.Ive re-mailed thanking him for apologies and suggested a replacement from the 8800 series(i remember at time of originally purchasing the 8800GTX was way more costly than the 2900 so now i feel kind of uncomfortable requesting the GTX as a replacement but a GTS or maybe even a GT is fine depending on Manufacturer etc)...so now i just need to wait and see what happens.Will let know what transpires either way.GL all.

 

[realitybytes]

Good to hear, I hope you get a reslove you are happy with!

 

[ajax]

Well...im still waiting for a replacement card although after the initial complaint the Customer Service fellow has been excellent agreeing to exchange for a Leadtek pre-OCed 8800gt without a problem.However..on this supposed card arriving i found it was the regular 8800gt(despite the invoice stating it the pre OCed one)...so again a set of comms between me and CS...again warehouse/human error problems and again me having to return a card and am currently awaiting to see what im going to get this time.I cant decide whats what with this outfit...the CS guy has been very pleasant and helpful throughout but they seem pretty poor at getting basic things done proper when it comes to RMA.Thats almost a month now i been without a decent Card 2 weeks of which has been totally unneccesary.

My advice...if you like haggling and a bit of hanging around until you eventually get what you want there no problem.But it does seem to have maybe(?) moved on from the horror stories of past?

 

[mrapoc]

I think they are trying to hopefully fob u off with less - waiting for a complaint - if you do they put it down to "oops sorry sir"

If not - "Haha nice one lads, whose round is it now?"

grr

 

[ionicle]

ring them up

tell them if they keep treating you like a idiot you will inform trading standards, and make sure somthing is done about this

ask for a 3870, and prove that it is equivilant, say about price etc...

if they still dont, then do actually inform trading standards of your findings..

 

[Duecut]

I stopped using overclockers about a year ago.

Reason:

I was upgrading my system, going from a socket A & AGP system to a AM2/PCI-express system. On the socket A system I was really impressed with the Gigabyte 3D CPU cooler so I wanted the upgrade equivalent the Gigabyte 3D rocket II.

The day my parts arrived I was like a kid with new toys, anyway the out packaging from overclockers was perfect (no damage what so ever). I wouldn’t say the CPU cooler was damaged …. I would say it was bloody destroyed!! Blue bits of plastic were everywhere, the cooling fins were twisted, the heat pipes were bent and then when putting it back in the box the fan actually fell off of the unit.

Called up overclockers, 30min of trying to get it through to the brainless twit on the end of the line that I couldn’t possibly do that much damage to the unit if I had run over it with a JCB, he finally gave me a RMA number so I could send it back and they would send me a replacement (Cost £12 to post it back, money that I never got back from OcUK :fish: )

Second one arrives about a week later, Same thing Outer box in perfect condition, but this time the inner box (the unit packaging is a clear plastic afair) is split and has gaping holes in it. The CPU cooler itself would you believe it is 10 time worse than the first one. Again after a lengthy phone call OcUK claim that it must have been courier damage and I had to send it back (another £12 Poorer for posting :fish: :fish: )

I was then asked it I wanted the last one they had in stock, I don’t believe in third time lucky. It then took 4 (and a bit) weeks to refund my creditcard with the £34.99 it cost for the unit, I never got the original £6 +/- postage refunded let alone get the £24 return postage refunded. :ar:

So In a nut shell, with overclockers Uk it cost £30 for a product you don’t get cause the supplier damaged it (twice) and in the end you go shopping at www.Dabs.com.

Rant over :nutkick:

 

[unikt]

cool:wavey:

 

[unikt]

:drool:

 

[ajax]

Yeah...reading what you saying im starting to think that one guys "being decent" through a webnote is just as easy another guys "fobbing you off"...and evidence is certainly there to suggest this.If anything at all is skewiff with the next delivery im going "all bets are off" and i want my original £240 worth of refund or equivalent priced card now.I was willing to compromise somewhat just to try and make sure things went smooth and quick but tbh its not really paid off.

 

[Deshman]

Yep they haven't changed a bit then.

 

[BloomerzUK]

I particularly hate they're forum to. You can't breathe in there.

You'll get punished.

I remember when a person got PermaBanned for having a picture of his setup, with a CustomPC Magazine face down. On the back was the ad for Scan.co.uk.

You can guess what happened then.

 

[ajax]

Blimey...eventually after sending off another message a week after id returned the 2nd wrong card i received my agreed replacement.I will definitely think v. carefully about using 'em again....all the hassle when something goes wrong just isnt worth that £5 or £10 saving.Thanks all.