Canadian RMA Experience

[Cheator]

Hey all. I was looking at Supergrover's Support/RMA Links thread, and I had a thought about Canadian RMA. Its always different than the US, and its hard to find a good company to buy from because know one knows what Canadian RMAs are like. So.. I propose we make a thread detailing it, thats easily searchable.

Write a tiny review about the company and your RMA experience. This can apply to depot repair, product exchange, and retailer RMA as well! Try to follow this format:

Company Name: (company name)
Product: (product description and perhaps model number)
Warranty Period: (manufacturer warranty)
Date purchased: (approximate)
Date RMAed: (approximate)
Where it was sent to: Country, Province, City
Ease of RMA: (scale of 1-10)
Any extra fees?:
Wait time: (time it took to get the RMA completed)
Details: (detail the experience)
Satisfaction: (scale of 1 - 10)

If you have any ideas on how to improve this thread, PM me and let me know!

[Cheator]

Ok lets start this off, here:

Company Name: Dell
Product: 17" Flat Panel LCD
Warranty Period: 3 years from purchase
Date purchased: March, 2005
Date RMAed: April 2007
Ease of RMA: 10
Wait time: ~5 days
Details: My 17" was being a little sketchy, so I RMAed it. They sent me a new monitor within days, and gave me a packing slip to send my old one back. Unfortunately, the box came with styofoam inserts that did not fit my monitor. I called them up and they made a note of it and told me to send it in anyway. I did, and the transaction was complete! IT was a great experience.
Satisfaction: 10

[Babrbarossa]

Good idea- I think quite a few people would be interested in this (I've never RMA'ed to a Canadian company though :()

[Cheator]

Originally Posted by Babrbarossa

Good idea- I think quite a few people would be interested in this (I've never RMA'ed to a Canadian company though :()

This isn't about Canadian companies though. This is ANY RMA to ANY company, like Asus or whatever. The issue this thread addresses is how long it takes and how easy it takes for Average Joe Canadian to RMA his product. It differs from the states alot and is often not as good. This way, people can see a true canadian experience with companies in or outside of canada.

[Babrbarossa]

Company Name: EVGA
Product: 680i AR
Warranty Period: lifetime
Date purchased: December 2006
Date RMAed: March 2007?
Ease of RMA: 10
Wait time: 2 weeks
Details: I RMAed my 680i - not because of a problem, but to get in on the free upgrade to the A1 revision. It was during a massive flood of trade-ins, but took surprisingly little time for them to process it, and I didn't need to send in my old board until I got my new one- on top of that THEY PAYED FOR SHIPPING BOTH WAYS. great company!!!!
Satisfaction: 10

[3oh6]

Company Name: Asus
Product: P5B-Dlx X 2 (on seperate occasions)
Warranty Period: 3 year
Date purchased: 2006 (nov)
Date RMAed: 2006 (nov~dec)
Ease of RMA: 10
Wait time: 7~10 days from the day i shipped out
Satisfaction: 10
Details:

both boards died from the "random death syndrome". doing an RMA with Asus is very easy. i simply called tech support and explained that the board was dead, multiple CPUs and memory where tested with it and no POST (DO NOT e-mail, spend the $2 for the long distance phone call otherwise you could be waiting forever for an RMA number). the agent i talked with understood i knew what i was doing right away and provided me with my case and RMA # then gave me the phone number to the RMA department.

after 5 mins on the phone with the RMA department i had my email with shipping instructions. i shipped the boards on my FedEx account to KY (just standard ground) which cost about $11 each time and within 10 days i had a new one back from Asus with no customs or duty to pay...Asus also pays return shipping. both times i actually got a complete retail package with a brand new board...i am assuming because i RMA'd right after they came out pretty much.

can't really say they could have handled the RMA's any better...the key i think was just making the long distance phone call to tech support instead of e-mail (gotta love Skype out).

[Cheator]

Its good to know that Asus is still good for RMAs.

[mattydies]

Company Name: MSI
Product: DVD Burner 4X + -
Warranty Period: 12 Months
Date purchased: a few years ago
Date RMAed: Approx. 13 months later (YES AFTER the warrenty was up)
Ease of RMA: 10
Wait time: 2 or 3 weeks? I am not sure, it was a few years ago
Satisfaction: 10

Details: I Emailed MSI a letter. I mentioned first cd burner lasted 8 years and still worked before being replaced. I also mentioned I was very happy with the burner before it died and that MSI seemed to have good products at a good price. I also mentioned something about brand loyalty/repeat customer etc. etc. They said they would RMA it

[sswilson]

That's the kind of thing we like to hear!!!!

[SKYMTL]

I think we should add WHERE you had to RMA it to and if there were any fees involved.

[Cheator]

Originally Posted by SKYMTL

I think we should add WHERE you had to RMA it to and if there were any fees involved.

added!

[Cheator]

Company Name: ATI
Product: x600 AIW
Warranty Period: Unknown
Date purchased: August 2007
Date RMAed: August 2007
Where it was sent to: Near Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Ease of RMA: 10
Any extra fees?: no
Wait time: 1 week
Details: I bought an x600 AIW from OCForums classies. He knew it was broken and wanted to see if anyone could fix it. I bought it for the price of shipping, I think. I got it, found that it didn't work, and talked to ATI. They suggested I RMA it, so I did and it was quickly repaired!
Satisfaction: 10 out of 10

[Asspigeon]

Company Name: Dell
Product: 24" monitor
Warranty Period: 3 years
Date purchased: a little over a year ago
Date RMAed: a week ago
Ease of RMA: 10
Wait time: new monitor arrived next day (not kidding)
Satisfaction: 10+

Details: I was on the phone for a grand total of 5 minutes, I told the rep that the component input had malfunctioned, he sent a replacement out. Dell paid for shipping both ways.

[Somed00d]

Company Name: Buffalo Technology
Product: PC2-8500 2x1gb Ram kit
Warranty Period: lifetime
Date purchased: may 2007
Date RMAed: oct 22 2007
Where it was sent to: austin, texas
Ease of RMA: 10
Any extra fees?: cost to ship to texas as well as a $19 custom charge to get it back
Wait time: very fast (5 days round trip)
Details: everything was fairly good. item was shipped fedex but somehow picked up a $19 custom charge
Satisfaction: 6 (because of the added customs) otherwise 9

update: i contacted buffalo technology and they said the customs charges should have gone on their account and it seems fed-ex messed up. It looks like they may re-imburse me. if not i will try through CCRA as skymtl mentioned below

[SKYMTL]

Very few people know this but you can contest customs charges by calling the number on the back of the customs form which you received with your package. People that contest on the basis of it being an RMA are usually granted a rebate of their customs fees after about 4 weeks.Since the original item was bought in Canada before RMA, it already has all the Canadian tariffs charged on it so they are not allowed to charge you customs fees on it a second time. You will need to provide your original bill of sale, your RMA form as well as the customs documentation which came through the shipper and fax them to the CCRA. You will be able to get your money back most of the time.