There's 2 big issues that I can see that have contributed to this situation. The big first issue is yes, the time involved. I can address the portion of this, over which we had control.
18 December 2012: We were informed that your 2nd replacement card was faulty. Yourself and Chris spoke on the phone, it was agreed that we'd handle the RMA, first thing once we reopened in the new year, since we were closing on the 21st of December. As per email, you indicated that you were fine with this.
7 January 2013 (first day we were in-office): Chris contacted you to arrange for collection of the graphics card. It was confirmed for the 8th of January by yourself
8 January 2013: Collection was attempted, but there was an issue at the reception desk and the driver couldn't wait
9 January 2013: Collection completed
10 January 2013: RMA received by us
11 January 2013:RMA tested by us and dispatched to supplier
Weekend: Neither ourselves, nor our suppliers are open for business over the weekend. Neither do our couriers deliver on non-business days
14 January 2013: Tested faulty at supplier and credited
Within 3 business days of us having the card, resolution was reached. I didn't need to be involved for this outcome to be reached either, our supplier confirmed the credit on Monday afternoon within a few hours of your original post. Again, I know this doesn't make things any better for you, since there was the period in which both ourselves and our suppliers were closed and it was your 2nd RMA for this card. The circumstances are unfortunate, since they exacerbated the wait that you had to experience in order to get the RMA resolved.
The 2nd issue may have been one of communication. The only other thing that I would've said, is that you could've logged a complaint earlier and made explicit what you wanted us to do or to have contacted me directly. I did see an earlier email where you mentioned that you wanted the process expedited. At the same time, my colleagues have to follow proper procedure as well. Chris followed protocol and did everything as swiftly as he could've. He kept in contact with yourself, during the whole process. I do believe that given the circumstances, we did handle everything promptly and that Chris did give your RMA the attention that it deserves.
When he received it Friday, he told me that he would send it to his supplier. I never said I was ok with that. I never responded to that email because I found it quite annoying, but I decided to accommodate Wootware and left it with no response. (This was 1 week after you had opened already)
I would've preferred it if you'd rather made an explicit complaint then even, rather than keeping quiet about it. It's worse for both parties if we have to deal with complaints retroactively, rather than proactively. The first that I knew that there was an issue here, was when you emailed us to mention that you posted this thread, just after Chris mentioned that the RMA would be resolved within the following business day.
In the absence of a complaint and a suggested action, there's nothing that we can do, simply because we won't know about the issue. Again, I'm sorry that your card did fail twice and that there was a long wait because of the festive period, that's an exceptional circumstance. At the same time, if you'd communicated to us exactly how you wanted us to make things right in your eyes, I can guarantee you that we would've done our best to accommodate, wherever possible.
So I simply ended up selling it for a very cheap price without ever really using the card.
