Rebeltech Sadness. Advise needed.

[throughtheiris25]

So, about a month ago I ordered a expensive Hard Drive from Rebeltech.

Item arrived, and after inspection and testing, reported a mechanical fault which I believe was caused by what appears to be a dent on the one end of the drive. Reported this issue to Rebeltech only a few hours after receiving the product, included pictures, thoughts and testing undertaken. In my observation, drive had taken damage prior to delivery.

Rebeltech labored with picking up the product and ended up booking the product into the wrong supplier which caused a week long delay. After re-booking the product with the correct supplier, the supplier informed Rebeltech that the dent had voided the warranty, and so the story sits. This whole process has taken almost an entire month after first arriving at my premises two days after my order.

Anyhow, posting this for those interested in avoiding such dilemmas and mistreatment. Am currently in process of seeking legal counsel on the matter, small claims approach may be an option.

Any advise from you folks would be great, as it is my intention to spend as little money on finding a solution. Legally, I should be protected against such travesties however, no idea what to expect.

Need to sink my teeth into something, so any information would be great.

 

[DTBA]

Do you have pictures? and what drive?

 

[throughtheiris25]

I have pictures, where the dent is visible. It's just a Western Digital hard drive like any other. Pictures were sent to Rebeltech during initial discussion a few hours after receiving the drive along with my thoughts. The drive, although sealed, didn't seem to be new, considering there were additional cosmetic anomalies.

Surely, if they send out a damaged drive, they, and not the supplier, should be liable for the product they sold me. They continue to investigate, but I don't see a positive result coming from their inquiries, considering the circumstances and service they have delivered up to this point. Seems like they are simply buying time.

 

[Mephisto_Helix]

I would push hard for this to be resolved. Especially if it was first pointed out just after receiving the item and you have proof. Keep bumping this story wherever you can, FB and MyGaming too and demand, demand, demand hey.

 

[DrJohnZoidberg]

Try contacting the distributor directly. Ask Rebeltech for a sales manager contact and start there.

I had a similar issue (not with Rebeltech) with an Asus motherboard that was damaged before arrival and Asus eventually replaced the board after getting in contact with them directly and bitching a lot.

 

[Neoprod]

Rebeltech's reputation is really solid for customer service...pretty surprised by this. I went to check on Hellopeter to make sure my recollection wasn't wrong and it wasn't - 64 positive reviews against 1 negative for the last 12 months.

...I think you dropped it

Either it was shipped broken or it was dropped after you took it out of the box...it's almost impossible for a courier to put a dent in a drive (assuming it was packed in one of those foam-lined boxes I get drives in.

 

[throughtheiris25]

I would push hard for this to be resolved. Especially if it was first pointed out just after receiving the item and you have proof. Keep bumping this story wherever you can, FB and MyGaming too and demand, demand, demand hey.

Was thinking of heading that route, but was advised against it for the time being. Facebook and Hello Peter are always ideas, but they never reply on Hello Peter, and Facebook, no posts like this to base their reaction on.

 

[throughtheiris25]

Rebeltech's reputation is really solid for customer service...pretty surprised by this. I went to check on Hellopeter to make sure my recollection wasn't wrong and it wasn't - 64 positive reviews against 1 negative for the last 12 months.

...I think you dropped it

Either it was shipped broken or it was dropped after you took it out of the box...it's almost impossible for a courier to put a dent in a drive (assuming it was packed in one of those foam-lined boxes I get drives in.

I reckon, that's the stance they will take if they come to that crossroads. I have full accountability for the drive in my possession, luckily. Took it from the door to my desk, checked it out and notified them, took pictures, so on. I also doubt that soft grounding in my household could cause the kinda dent that was found on this device. Went out of my way to prove that this dent and the cosmetic defects could not have been caused here. You won't believe this, but I made clips of dropping and installing an old hard drive all over my house to illustrate that these defects could not happen here, just in case. Glad I did this now!

Anyhow, accountability aside, drive was in my possession for 3 hours, as apposed to months in storage and transit since it was manufactured. They have also shown that they are negligent with stock, by booking the item into the wrong supplier. Remember hard drives are stored is simply plastic mesh without bubble wrap, and the transit packaging was also pretty flimsy this time around. Trust me, things can get damaged in bubble wrap, it happens more often than you think. Hard drives never get transported in boxes in my experience! Foam wrapping you received yours in sounds great, but wasn't used in my case ever!

Their rep is good on Hellopeter and I've had nothing but good service from them before, hence my surprise at the situation. But yeah, any company can take the piss sometimes, no matter how good they have been before.

 

[sajunky]

They have also shown that they are negligent with stock, by booking the item into the wrong supplier. Remember hard drives are stored is simply plastic mesh without bubble wrap, and the transit packaging was also pretty flimsy this time around. Trust me, things can get damaged in bubble wrap, it happens more often than you think. Hard drives never get transported in boxes!

Don't bother with booking mistake, it happen.

However packaging is important. Whenether I pickup a drive from Rectron, Drive Control (official dealership) or even Esquire, it comes with 3 components:
- antistatic bag
- bubble wrap
- carton box

I know it is WD drive, but I saw on the Seagate Web site official requirements for packaging. I think it was information regarding shipping faulty drives back to Seagate. Check it out.

Bottom of line, if seller violated WD conditions for shipping, the seller is liable for damages.

 

[throughtheiris25]

Don't bother with booking mistake, it happen.

However packaging is important. Whenether I pickup a drive from Rectron, Drive Control (official dealership) or even Esquire, it comes with 3 components:
- antistatic bag
- bubble wrap
- carton box

I know it is WD drive, but I saw on the Seagate Web site official requirements for packaging. I think it was information regarding shipping faulty drives back to Seagate. Check it out.

Bottom of line, if seller violated WD conditions for shipping, the seller is liable for damages.

Thanks for the information. I received the hard drive in anti-static bad and bubble wrap. I've ordered many hard drives before and never received in a box. I'll definitely check WD's conditions for shipping to see if its the case with their drives.

Even if they have violated WD conditions, I doubt that without legal intervention, they will take ownership of the matter. That's just an opinion though, knowing the absolute brilliance of South African sellers. If this was Amazon for instance, I would have received a replacement ages ago.

 

[killerbyte]

Don't bother with booking mistake, it happen.

However packaging is important. Whenether I pickup a drive from Rectron, Drive Control (official dealership) or even Esquire, it comes with 3 components:
- antistatic bag
- bubble wrap
- carton box

I know it is WD drive, but I saw on the Seagate Web site official requirements for packaging. I think it was information regarding shipping faulty drives back to Seagate. Check it out.

Bottom of line, if seller violated WD conditions for shipping, the seller is liable for damages.

DCC don't sell WD internal drives any more. Pinnacle is the best place to get them now.

 

[ABU]

I was planning on ordering a hard drive from them tomorrow, this thread changed my mind
Thanks and I hope you manage to get it sorted out

 

[throughtheiris25]

I was planning on ordering a hard drive from them tomorrow, this thread changed my mind
Thanks and I hope you manage to get it sorted out

I've never had problems with Rebeltech before. Generally, they have been great, but this was the exception. Sorry for the hassle bro! Hope your experience is better than mine.

 

[throughtheiris25]

Try contacting the distributor directly. Ask Rebeltech for a sales manager contact and start there.

I had a similar issue (not with Rebeltech) with an Asus motherboard that was damaged before arrival and Asus eventually replaced the board after getting in contact with them directly and bitching a lot.

I may try this as well depending on the advise I receive on the matter. Thanks for the idea, and although hurdles are involved, it may be an important later resort. I have contacted Western Digital for advise too... looking forward to response.

 

[HideInLight]

Pcitures or it didn't happen, I don't think I can dent a drive even if I tried.

 

[throughtheiris25]

Pcitures or it didn't happen, I don't think I can dent a drive even if I tried.

Truth be told, I have an old 1 TB hard drive I last used 5 years ago. Decided to use it as a crash test dummy to prove I couldn't have caused the dent. Using brute force to try and create the scratches, I couldn't replicate it. Dropped on all four edges directly, couldn't get the metal to dent like it was on the hard drive in question. This testing baffled me completely. If I can't make the dent happen with a few falls, how much pressure must have been applied to the corner to cause the dent. It's insane!

Here's two pictures. One where you can see the damaged edge. The other with the scratches on the side. None of my plastic enclosures cause pressure marks on the sides of a hard drive, and my soft floor couldn't cause a dent like that. Those marks, including the dent, point to some kinda pressure being applied over a period of time.

Looks like an old used drive, doesn't it.

 

[BaTouSai]

That drive was dropped simple as that nothing funny about it the drive dropped at an angle directly on the corner. The issue now is proving you didn't drop it. Somewhere between the warehouse and your desk someone dropped the drive.

All WD drives ship in antistatic bag and bubble wrapped all over. It is quite easy to get a drive to look like that put in on top of other boxes and carry it it will slide about and BAM drop on cement or hard surface drive is done.

The supplier classifies this as "physical damage, warranty void"

I suggest speaking to Rune from Rebeltech before threatening legal action.

 

[Rebel Tech]

Resolution.

So, about a month ago I ordered a expensive Hard Drive from Rebeltech.

Item arrived, and after inspection and testing, reported a mechanical fault which I believe was caused by what appears to be a dent on the one end of the drive. Reported this issue to Rebeltech only a few hours after receiving the product, included pictures, thoughts and testing undertaken. In my observation, drive had taken damage prior to delivery.

Rebeltech labored with picking up the product and ended up booking the product into the wrong supplier which caused a week long delay. After re-booking the product with the correct supplier, the supplier informed Rebeltech that the dent had voided the warranty, and so the story sits. This whole process has taken almost an entire month after first arriving at my premises two days after my order.

Anyhow, posting this for those interested in avoiding such dilemmas and mistreatment. Am currently in process of seeking legal counsel on the matter, small claims approach may be an option.

Any advise from you folks would be great, as it is my intention to spend as little money on finding a solution. Legally, I should be protected against such travesties however, no idea what to expect.

Need to sink my teeth into something, so any information would be great.

I must say, I am shocked to read this thread of MyBB (Thank you to one of my customers for bringing it to my attention).

As the OP said - he purchased a WD 5TB Green from us 29/02. All the paperwork, payments, etc etc, was done and the HDD was dispatched on the 1/03 and delivered to him on 03/03 @ 10am. As he said, he inspected the drive and tried to use it but it gave him issues when trying to copy over a Gig of files. He then notified Rebel Tech about it at 12:30am on the 4/03. Jon assisted him and because it is a mechanical HDD - asked for pictures of the HDD. Pictures were sent and Jon advised that we can try assist with warranty but did inform the OP of the damage on the HDD.

During 4/03 there were many email exchanges about the HDD itself - none need to be brought to light in this conversation. On the 5/03 the OP sent his collection address and the couriers were sent to collect the parcel. They collected on the 8/03. Since then we have been fighting for a positive resolution for the OP.

The supplier voided the warranty (visual inspection), WD took a very long to reply and advise that will need to see the drive before they can authorise a replacement/credit. The main issue on why they didn't want to warranty the drive (and believe that the user damaged it) is because the damage on the drive is in the place where it is extremely noticeable. It is in the place where you push the HDD into the case HDD cages, externals, etc etc and if the damage was there on arrival the customer would not have tried to us the drive.

I have been fighting since the day I got the notice of warranty void. The issue has not been swept under the carpet and I refused to give up. As I said to Jon, I do NOT believe this is a warranty void case and I don't want the fight to end here.

Yesterday Jon emailed the OP giving him an update - basically no movement from WD since the supplier is sticking to their guns and WD has yet to reply.

This morning I received an email from WD stating that they are going to issue a credit note for the WD drive (partially based on the fact that I had to make an increase buy-in of WD HDDs) and I will be issuing a credit note to the OP later today.

Guys & Gals, please remember that HDD are mechanical and any excessive force will damage the drive plates (if not more). There is no warranty for this. WD is a bit more sticky with their warranties (compared to Seagate, Toshiba, etc) but they do make one of the best HDD ranges.

 

[throughtheiris25]

I must say, I am shocked to read this thread of MyBB (Thank you to one of my customers for bringing it to my attention).

As the OP said - he purchased a WD 5TB Green from us 29/02. All the paperwork, payments, etc etc, was done and the HDD was dispatched on the 1/03 and delivered to him on 03/03 @ 10am. As he said, he inspected the drive and tried to use it but it gave him issues when trying to copy over a Gig of files. He then notified Rebel Tech about it at 12:30am on the 4/03. Jon assisted him and because it is a mechanical HDD - asked for pictures of the HDD. Pictures were sent and Jon advised that we can try assist with warranty but did inform the OP of the damage on the HDD.

During 4/03 there were many email exchanges about the HDD itself - none need to be brought to light in this conversation. On the 5/03 the OP sent his collection address and the couriers were sent to collect the parcel. They collected on the 8/03. Since then we have been fighting for a positive resolution for the OP.

The supplier voided the warranty (visual inspection), WD took a very long to reply and advise that will need to see the drive before they can authorise a replacement/credit. The main issue on why they didn't want to warranty the drive (and believe that the user damaged it) is because the damage on the drive is in the place where it is extremely noticeable. It is in the place where you push the HDD into the case HDD cages, externals, etc etc and if the damage was there on arrival the customer would not have tried to us the drive.

I have been fighting since the day I got the notice of warranty void. The issue has not been swept under the carpet and I refused to give up. As I said to Jon, I do NOT believe this is a warranty void case and I don't want the fight to end here.

Yesterday Jon emailed the OP giving him an update - basically no movement from WD since the supplier is sticking to their guns and WD has yet to reply.

This morning I received an email from WD stating that they are going to issue a credit note for the WD drive (partially based on the fact that I had to make an increase buy-in of WD HDDs) and I will be issuing a credit note to the OP later today.

Guys & Gals, please remember that HDD are mechanical and any excessive force will damage the drive plates (if not more). There is no warranty for this. WD is a bit more sticky with their warranties (compared to Seagate, Toshiba, etc) but they do make one of the best HDD ranges.

Glad to see that someone recognized this thread and is willing to take action. I do understand your process, however, since day one, I have been willing to help you by attempting to prove that these defects were not caused whilst in my possession, and have offered to send you videos of rigorous HDD collision tests to help to prove my statement and speed the process up. Looking at the drive, there are too many cosmetic defects to make sense of in my opinion. I would seriously have to have juggled the drive around, thrown it around the place and used a metal grater to cause the problems in question.

Excessive force does cause such problems, but to allow a customer to feel like they are responsible, after they have gone out of there way to explain their theories and offer you assistance, is uncalled for, especially when they've only had the drive for a few hours when they notified the problem.

Obviously, when I opened the drive I only noticed the scratches on one of the corners, although I did at the time think it was simply a surface scratch where the black paint was peeled off. All in all, I cannot in method prove a thing, only in theory, and I can just try my best to help you believe me, as a customer. I didn't even see that second dent on the plastic, that's insane! So it got knocked on both sides, that means it was dropped twice or pressure was applied from two sides! Makes no sense!

Anyhow, thanks for at least reading these forums and making a stand. That means something, because few companies would go far enough to stand up for themselves. To me, it did feel like you folks were stalling, but obviously you can understand, that, in my situation, with the hiccups and time, I have a right to be frustrated. Its a month since I ordered the hard drive, and its officially been in my possession for a few days, with only an hour or so of use for testing, when you got my first communication.

By the way, Western Digital also responded to me, implying something similar. By the way, for your informationm, according to the one guy on here, and a topic in WD's help section and discussion on Amazon, transporting a HDD without a box does not meet their standards, and it sounds like it may void the warranty too. Didn't know that until last night. Soft plastic envelopes and bubble wrap don't count

 

[Pitbull]

So, about a month ago I ordered a expensive Hard Drive from Rebeltech.

Item arrived, and after inspection and testing, reported a mechanical fault which I believe was caused by what appears to be a dent on the one end of the drive. Reported this issue to Rebeltech only a few hours after receiving the product, included pictures, thoughts and testing undertaken. In my observation, drive had taken damage prior to delivery.

Rebeltech labored with picking up the product and ended up booking the product into the wrong supplier which caused a week long delay. After re-booking the product with the correct supplier, the supplier informed Rebeltech that the dent had voided the warranty, and so the story sits. This whole process has taken almost an entire month after first arriving at my premises two days after my order.

Anyhow, posting this for those interested in avoiding such dilemmas and mistreatment. Am currently in process of seeking legal counsel on the matter, small claims approach may be an option.

Any advise from you folks would be great, as it is my intention to spend as little money on finding a solution. Legally, I should be protected against such travesties however, no idea what to expect.

Need to sink my teeth into something, so any information would be great.

One word for future reference: Wootware