RMA-I am being asked to pay £30 get a 6850 gfxCard as replacement for my 5850!

[florinb]

Hi all,

Is it just me or is this completely unfair:

Short story:
2 months ago my £200 ATI 5850 gfx card breaks down so I return it. (RMA: RC26054 )
Since the manufacturer could not offer a similar card, PC Specialist offered me first a 6770 as replacement, then a better card, a 6790 ( but still roughly 20% less performance than a 5850).
Or I could have a 6850 for £30.
Is this fair? I really don't think it's correct that I should pay extra to get a similar(6850) graphics card !


Longer story:
I bought 1 year ago a computer from pcspecialist. (completely happy with everything until)
2 months ago my £200 ATI 5850 gfx card breaks down so I return it. (RMA: RC26054 )

For the past week I'm talking on the phone everyday with pcspecialist support and they tell me that the manufacturer won't be able to repair/ provide the same type of gfx card, but they are able to offer me a replacement.
First I was sent this email:

From PC Specialist:

I am emailing with a few options relating to the card you sent back to us recently for repair.
The card has been credited to the tune of £75, you can take this as a credit note or put it against the value of a new card.

1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6670 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - DX® 11 = No cost to pay
1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6790 - DVI,HDMI,mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 3 Capable = £20 to pay
1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6850 - 2 DVI,HDMI, DP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 3 Capable – approx £30 to pay.

(note: I was later told it was a spelling mistake and 6670 should read 6770 - ok, that happens, but 6770 is still significantly inferior to 5850)

To which I responded:

Me:

I've done some research online and the proposed options are not satisfactory.
I really don't think it's correct that I should pay extra to get an inferior graphics card (and after 2 months of waiting).
In my opinion a fair way to sort this out would be for you to offer at no extra cost a HD 6850.

Does this sound reasonable?
Otherwise how long is it going to take to get my 5850 fixed/replaced?

After that I was offered a 6790 - again I was assured that it has a similar performance as a 5850! (when in fact it offers 20% less performance!!).

After this I had a couple of chats with various people from pcspecialist all telling me one by one that 6670/6770/6790 offer similar performance as 5850.
I almost believed them at first, because I had a good opinion of the company, but it turns out after a bit of research that all suggested free replacements are unfortunately inferior to a 5850.

Here's a comparison :
5850 1GB vs 6790 1GB vs 6850 1GB on a small sample of games:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AnEQZRIZMjT4dElNSm9zRmtzNFNRbTI5QktOOWxxLXc
Values were taken from here: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2011/04/05/amd-radeon-hd-6790-1gb-review/6

I think that a fair replacement should be a 6850:
"6850... In terms of performance, ... it's pretty much the equal of the old HD 5850, which costs around £200."
source: http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/graphics-cards/1280638/amd-radeon-hd-6850

in DX10: 3DMark Vantage they have similar scores:
HD 6850 - 15700
HD 5850 - 16580
Source: http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-6950-6970-review/19

I also had a chat for 10 minutes today with someone repeatedly telling me that that's the company's policy on this and there's nothing that can be done about it.
He said that he can ask the manager but that's the same thing he'll say...

Answer me this: Is this fair?
And why did the people from customer support misled me by telling me those inferior cards are similar to a 5850? A 20% difference in performance between a 6790 and a 5850 is significant in my opinion. Not a pleasant experience. Not at all.

Which is a shame because I was amazed at the ease of ordering and customizing my pc when I bought it, at the general friendliness of the staff, strong helpful presence on the forums.I was really impressed with the usefulness of the website - call waiting times page in particular!

Which kind of makes me hopeful that we'll find a solution to my problem...

 

[Maestro]

Long story short. We are happy to provide you with a 5850. But it will not be new, it will be refurbished / second hand. This satisfies the terms of your warranty and our obligations. Please note your warranty is not new for old. Alternatively you can have a brand new card, HD 6790 I beleive was offered. This offer is just that. You dont have to accept it, but its an alternative. Quite simple.

You wont get a 6850 becuase we can supply you with a HD 5850, which satisifes our obligation and your statuatory right to a card of equal or better performance and value at the time of failure. That is why you have the choice.

A refurb HD 5850 or a brand new HD 6790

The cheaper option for us is to provide you with a refurb HD 5850. Let us know (via official channels please).

 

[florinb]

I sent an email today to [email protected] as instructed. I asked for a refurb 5850. It turns out PCS can't supply me with a refurb 5850 because PCS doesn't actually have any at the moment. It will hopefully be available "early next week at the latest".

"If the buyer requires the seller to repair or replace the goods, the seller must repair or, as the case may be, replace the goods within a reasonable time but without causing significant inconvenience to the buyer"
source: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/...amendments-to-the-sale-of-goods-act-1979/made
It's been 2 months now. That's beyond reasonable.

If next week you won't be able to provide a refurb 5850... let's look at this from a different perspective:

You can't repair it. You can't replace it with a refurb.
The manufacturer said that it can't repair it. They can't replace it with a refurb.

The broken 5850 has been credited to the tune of £75.
I can see on your "customize your pc" page that you price a 6850 at approx £95.

You're supposed to get the credit and buy a "card of equal or better performance" because the manufacturer is not able to repair it for us.
You're supposed to take the credit (£75) from the manufacturer and look at the prices from the manufacturer ( you can get a new 6850 for £75 maybe? )
You're not suppose to take the credit (£75) and look at your selling prices for 6850 (£95).
Because you are just replacing something that can't be repaired or replaced with a refurb.
You are not selling me a new card.


Is my thinking correct or am I missing something?


If even next week you won't be able to provide a refurb 5850, would you do the decent thing and provide a "card of equal or better performance and value at the time of failure"? After more than 60 days of waiting?
In my view, that's a 6850 (new or refurb) - whatever you have on hand. 6790 has inferior performance and is not an acceptable option.

 

[PCS]

I'm sorry that you have had problems and we will do our best to provide you with a replacement card of equal or better performance as soon as possible. Please contact us through our official channels. Posting openly on our forums will not resolve the issue.