ATI Sapphire = Shit Customer Service

[butt]

Man. I thought I'd seen it all. I spent the last few days getting my ATI Sapphire HD 4850 ready to send back to Sapphire for repair/replacment. Jumped through all the hoops, and here is their idea of "customer service". I was a fan/buyer of Sapphire poducts. Not anymore. Next time I see a thread where someone is deciding between two manafactures, I'll be sure to let them know the scam Sapphire has going in the event a return is warented. Man I am pissed. A processing fee? I am stunned. I've had to RMA several things before. to ASUS, Corsair, OCz... As long as it was under warranty, all was cool. Anyone else ever seen this kind of BS w/ hardware returns before?



Hello,



Thank you for contacting Althon Micro, Inc.



RMA# REPAIR/REPLACE Product Name: HD4850 512M GDDR3 PCI-E S/N:



1. RMA number must be marked on the outside of your return carton box or package will be rejected.

2. DO NOT returns any CDs, cable accessories and the retail color box with return shipment.
3. Enclose $15.00 USD processing fee (money order/check) inside the RMA return package and payable to Althon Micro, Inc.

is required to complete this RMA process.
4. Make sure your mailing address is correct. Incorrect mailing address will be caused shipment delay and extra charge.

If you're moving, please let us know immediately. To update your mailing address, please send us an email to

RMA@althonmicro.com and include both your previous and new addresses.
5. Customers are responsible for RMA return shipping costs. Please ship return packages back using a carrier that provides

tracking and insurance. Althon Micro, Inc. is not responsible for any lost or damaged returns.

Therefore, we highly recommend that your package be insured with a delivery confirmation

6. Warranty will be voided for the following cases:
. Return product is physically damaged or modified by customer.
. Return product become non-functional due to customer improper use.
. Return product can not be verified as Sapphire product.
7. RMA# is valid for 20 days from the date of issue.
8. RMA turn around time is 1-2 weeks after we receive the return product.



Please return to:

ALTHON MICRO, INC.
280 S. PASEO TESORO
WALNUT , CA 91789

RMA# _____________

Thank you for the cooperation and if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.


Regards,





RMA Dept.

Althon Micro Inc.

Fax: 909-594-9771

Email: RMA@althonmicro.com



Tech Support: tech@althonmicro.com


Note:

Warranty period of yoru VGA card will be calculated from the product manufacturing date. The manufacturing date can be verified by
the serial number found on the product. S/N starts from letter A or Z with 12 digits next to Made in China .

The first four digits of serial # indicates that your video card was manufactured in XXth week of 200X (A0XXX or Z0XXX)
$15.00 processing fee will be applied for RMA service. $15.00 covers one card only; any subsequent card will add $5.00 each.
Additional process fee may apply to HI and AK.

[kenpmason]

The emil below is Althonmicro's idea of RMA'ing from Canada. Please note the $25-45 charge. This is indeed crap! Rather than Althon sending my card to the US, where they have re-certified cards, they want me to send it back and forth to Aisa--that means Hong Kong, I think.

Original Althon Email
Our company, Althon Inc., is a logistic company handling warranty (RMA) service on Sapphire product in Canadian territories.

For technical issue, please file for a ‘Support Ticket’ via Sapphire website.  Sapphire technician will reply back to you.

For RMA (Warranty) claim against Sapphire, first of all, please check the warranty provided by your dealer.  If it is within their warranty period, you should get the service from them.

Should the dealer warranty expired, and you like to file a claim against Sapphire, then, there are steps which we have to go through before Sapphire would issue an official RMA number to authorize such return.

Note that, Sapphire is not a Canadian company and their head office is in Asia (Hong Kong). Sapphire warranty covers free parts/labor only.  Therefore, for any RMA claims against Sapphire, we have to send the card back and forth to Asia, and back to you afterwards, so there will be costs involved (Administration and Freight).  Cost of each card is ranging from CAD$25-CAD$45 depending on your location/province (this does not include the transportation cost from you sending the defective card to us).

Should you decide to go ahead with the claim, please provide the below information:

1. Serial number of the card

2. Part Number of the card

3. SKU number of the card

4. Complete full product description of the card (AGP/PCIE, 512M/1GB, Dual DVI / DVI, VO / VIVO.....etc)

5. Details of your name and mailing address

6. Copy of the purchase invoice

7. Read the attached RMA Policy & Procedure, and email us back with your confirmation of acceptance to all terms/conditions.

Should you have any queries regarding the Sapphire warranty policy, please visit this reference link: http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/support/?cid=3&psn=000203&lid=1

 RMA Dept

Althon Inc.