Rebeltech Sadness. Advise needed.

Looks to me like it was dropped. @OP, you have carpets in your kitchen? Lol
 
throughtheiris25 said:
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 ;)
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While I do appreciate that you were willing to assist with some test to prove that the damage was not done dropping it, unfortunately, it would not have made a difference in the eyes of the supplier and WD. Instead of wasting your time I pleaded with the supplier and WD to get this sorted. In the eyes of the supplier, as I am sure you can understand, the drive was delivered and then used (data on the drive), implying it was free from physical defects, and the damage came from after it was removed from the packaging. My issue is that the even though the drive has damage on it - the damage doesn't justify the removal of the warranty.

WD doesn't send HDDs in individual boxes - just protection foam on the top and bottom of the box. The HDDs are stacked.

hdd_box_1_large.jpg


I understand if you are sending the HDD back to them - but this is done at a distributor level and not at a consumer level.

All products require stable and sufficient packing material, needed to protect the product from ESD (Electro Static Discharge) influences and possible damage during transport. Required Packaging Steps:
A. Place drive in ESD (Electro Static Discharge) Bag (For internal drives only.)
B. Wrap with 2 inches of bubble wrap or non-movable foam cushioning
C. Place in sturdy cardboard box. Do not use chipboard, as it is not strong enough to withstand the rigors of transit. Please make sure the corrugated carton is free from defects and is structurally sound. Note: Returning a WD hard drive in an envelope, will void the warranty.
D. Please print out the RMA Label and affix on the box. Write the Return Material Authorization number on outside packaging, on three sides in bold print.

E. When shipping multiple items, each item must be, packed as above, hard drive must not directly touch each other and cannot move inside the packaging. All products must be, packed in individual anti-static bags and in a sturdy cardboard box. Please utilize Western Digital original packaging when available. DO NOT USE peanuts or packing material that can shift or settle during transit. Warning: Returning a WD hard drive in an envelope, will void the warranty
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As long as the HDD is returned to the retailer/supplier without any physical defects then the warranty should remain intact.

Pitbull said:
One word for future reference: Wootware
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Doesn't matter who the retailer is - physical damage will void warranty. Only certain stores will fight for the consumer while others just accept things as they are. Rebel Tech fights.
 
I am glad that this matter received your attention and is going to be resolved soon. However packing issue requires further attention:
Rebel Tech said:
WD doesn't send HDDs in individual boxes - just protection foam on the top and bottom of the box. The HDDs are stacked.

hdd_box_1_large.jpg
Click to expand...
This is how you receive a product in bulk packing. Requirements for single pack are different.

I focused in my earlier post on Seagate RMA requirements, as it sticked in my memory. Quick Google brings more clarity.It would void Seagate warranty if you had shipped Seagate drive in a bubble wrap. From the link:
http://www.seagate.com/support/warranty-and-replacements/packing-and-shipping-instructions/
Secure each unit in 2 inch-thick foam rubber in a corrugated box. Do not use popcorn, peanuts, bubble wrap or newspaper
Click to expand...
More details are in this document (see page 8): http://www.seagate.com/files/support/service/pdf/pack.pdf
The above document applies equally to the Customers and Resellers (page 3). It means that for Seagate drives you must use your own carton boxes if you unpack and ship single drives to the customers.

As I wrote before, Seagate authorised distributors supply their own carton boxes when supplying drives to dealers who are trained people and know how to handle hard drives. You use bubble wrap for postal shipping. It was strange to me from the begginning.

Just made more research on the subject and found that carton box is also mandatory when doing RMA to Western Digital. Here is a link: http://support.wdc.com/Warranty/packingInstructions.aspx
What is says? "Place in sturdy cardboard box"
 
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sajunky said:
I am glad that this matter received your attention and is going to be resolved soon. However packing issue requires further attention:

This is how you receive a product in bulk packing. Requirements for single pack are different.

I focused in my earlier post on Seagate RMA requirements, as it sticked in my memory. Quick Google brings more clarity.It would void Seagate warranty if you had shipped Seagate drive in a bubble wrap. From the link:
http://www.seagate.com/support/warranty-and-replacements/packing-and-shipping-instructions/

More details are in this document (see page 8): http://www.seagate.com/files/support/service/pdf/pack.pdf
The above document applies equally to the Customers and Resellers (page 3). It means that for Seagate drives you must use your own carton boxes if you unpack and ship single drives to the customers.

As I wrote before, Seagate authorised distributors supply their own carton boxes when supplying drives to dealers who are trained people and know how to handle hard drives. You use bubble wrap for postal shipping. It was strange to me from the begginning.

Just made more research on the subject and found that carton box is also mandatory when doing RMA to Western Digital. Here is a link: http://support.wdc.com/Warranty/packingInstructions.aspx
What is says? "Place in sturdy cardboard box"
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Rebelious people, WD linked me to a page themselves to verify what is standard, but yeah, I imagine its not that strict in theory, although they were voiding warranties for people on Amazon who returned HDD in non-standard WD packaging.

In my opinion, this is insane and Amazon got quite a backlash from customers because of it, which makes sense. I have never, after almost ten or so HDD orders, received a single HDD in a box, like ever.

Check out the page they linked me, there are some others links on Amazon forums too. Don't think its important to be honest, unless your RMA'ing a return directly to them.

http://support.wdc.com/classic/warranty/rmapics.asp?lang=en
 
blogbytes said:
Looks to me like it was dropped. @OP, you have carpets in your kitchen? Lol
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Why would anyone take a HDD into their Kitchen. You cook HDD stew or something.

Anyhow, never happened in my case. Have mostly carpet and some vinyl wood, which is a soft surface. Anyhow, there were two knocks on alternative ends, as in the pictures, which makes me think it was something else, like pressure. I doubt a double drop happened, unless it rolled, but that would surely not cause dent's on the other side. No idea, everything is theory. I just know, I didn't drop the HDD. All it touched was a desk and two plastic HDD enclosures for testing, and then back into the original packaging.

No idea what happened really.
 
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Anyways guys, REBELTECH has come good on their promise.

I moaned like a legend because this thing was really starting to get to me, and a friend told me to moan before it was too late.

In truth, anyone who pays for a product and doesn't get a working product in a month, especially if they didn't do a thing wrong, would be worried and take some sort of action or say at least bring it up in some form. I didn't want to be extreme, so seeked advise here.

I know some people believe in worst case scenarios in these situations. I know that accidental damage voids warranties, so I would never moan if I dropped it, threw it at someone or tried to eat it, but I didn't do any of those things.

Please do not think that I have discredited REBELTECH or anything like that. I use them quite often, and have never had a bad thing to say about them. They offer a good service, and try as hard as they can, by South African standards. It's just time makes things worse, and I think few would have the patience to wait a month for this kinda thing.


Anyhow, REBELTECH are replacing the drive, which is great. Case Closed, I Hope!
 
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sajunky said:
However packing issue requires further attention:

<snip>
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I think this is a common practise. I cannot remember the last time I purchased a hard drive where it did not come in one of those plastic covers or just a antistatic bag & this being both distributors & dealers. Cannot remember the last time it came in a proper box with shock absorbent foam inserts.
 
ponder said:
I think this is a common practise. I cannot remember the last time I purchased a hard drive where it did not come in one of those plastic covers or just a antistatic bag & this being both distributors & dealers. Cannot remember the last time it came in a proper box with shock absorbent foam inserts.
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Yeah I remember one time I bought a motherboard from I think kalahari where it wasn't even secure, and was out of the bubblewrap which it came from and there was like two peanuts in the oversized box.

Drive luckily worked, but the peanuts were deflated so I assume they had done their job just enough.
 
This happened to a client of mine about 6 years ago, also with a WD 3.5". But, the drive worked for the first day. I fought for the client and resolved it the very next day, even though it was even more complicated than the OP's case (DOA). Tough one given how deceitful end users can be.
 
ponder said:
I think this is a common practise. I cannot remember the last time I purchased a hard drive where it did not come in one of those plastic covers or just a antistatic bag & this being both distributors & dealers. Cannot remember the last time it came in a proper box with shock absorbent foam inserts.
Click to expand...
This is a fact that for both Seagate and WDC the carton box is required for shipping. Online resellers ignore it, but when accident happen, warranty is void. In such case who is liable for damages? Ask yourself from legal point of view.

This is obvious that the same condition are for selling the product and the same for returns. Seagate document makes it clear: It applies to Customers and Resellers (page 3).
 
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Glad to see Rebeltech putting customers first. Need to order some more pc parts.
 
sajunky said:
This is a fact that for both Seagate and WDC the carton box is required for shipping.
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I'm not disputing this, I'm merely stating what I find to be 'common' practice in the industry.
 
ponder said:
I think this is a common practise. I cannot remember the last time I purchased a hard drive where it did not come in one of those plastic covers or just a antistatic bag & this being both distributors & dealers. Cannot remember the last time it came in a proper box with shock absorbent foam inserts.
Click to expand...

Absolutely true. I did receive it in a box many years ago, and back then it was just plain weird, because its always been nothing but the antistatic and some bubble wrap every time. Everywhere I checked confirmed that WD advise to transfers in a box to not void warranty. My question then is, why not send it to suppliers in separate boxes. It'll probably save them money in the end. Makes no sense whatsoever!
 
HideInLight said:
Yeah I remember one time I bought a motherboard from I think kalahari where it wasn't even secure, and was out of the bubblewrap which it came from and there was like two peanuts in the oversized box.

Drive luckily worked, but the peanuts were deflated so I assume they had done their job just enough.
Click to expand...

Worst I had was a envelope, with some ram in it. Ram is still working though, so I'll cool with that.
 
PostmanPot said:
This happened to a client of mine about 6 years ago, also with a WD 3.5". But, the drive worked for the first day. I fought for the client and resolved it the very next day, even though it was even more complicated than the OP's case (DOA). Tough one given how deceitful end users can be.
Click to expand...

Exactly my dilemma. End users can be pretty deceitful true, so I always think its best to ask the write questions early and then test them along the line. Even then its tough to catch the pesky ones.

During my sessions with Rebeltech, I at times felt like they were treating me like I was being that dishonest. It kinda got to me quite a bit, because I just didn't know how to feel being on the opposite end of the spectrum. Being completely blameless is ultra hard when you know about the other side of the spectrum and how people in general perceive these sorts of situations.

Anyhow, great to hear ur one of the fighters.
 
sajunky said:
This is a fact that for both Seagate and WDC the carton box is required for shipping. Online resellers ignore it, but when accident happen, warranty is void. In such case who is liable for damages? Ask yourself from legal point of view.

This is obvious that the same condition are for selling the product and the same for returns. Seagate document makes it clear: It applies to Customers and Resellers (page 3).
Click to expand...

And this is the dilemma! Saw that Seagate doc and confirmed the same from WD during my research of my problem. Like I said to another guy though, why don't they just sell HDD's in boxes like other hardware straight away. Those big bulk foamed boxes for HDDs are great, but when it comes to reselling singles, sellers need to have their own extra boxes, which they seldom have.

It'll at least help the situation if they did do this. I have seem WD and Seagate HDDs in boxes retail side already, but I reckon that should be the standard for all sales these HDD companies make.
 
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