Stuck with RMA, need advice

I bought my N61VN-A1 in the US about 6 months ago. I then moved to the UK. The left click of the touchpad developed a problem wherein it only responded to 1 out of 3 clicks. So I decided to RMA in the UK. This is handled by SBE ltd.

Status:

Laptop 'registered' as received by them on 23rd Feb ( they received it 3-4 days earlier but only registered as received on 23rd)

They decided that the motherboard is faulty (not sure why, I expected them to just replace the top casing, but anyways). So they ordered the motherboard and the status was 'waiting for parts'

Approx 8 days later, status changed to repairing and then back to 'waiting for parts'. Called Customer service, apparently they received a faulty motherboard.

Approx 10 days later, same thing happened. They received another faulty motherboard and have ordered a 3rd motherboard.

It has been with them for 25 days now, and hopefully they will be attempting the repair when they receive the 3rd motherboard.

Now the problem is that I am moving to India in exactly 10 days, i.e. about 6 working days. I dont think that they will receive the part in time, repair it and post it back all within 6 working days. So I am stuck.

Customer service is of no help. they keep saying that it will be fixed asap. I also called SBE and they say that all they can do is wait for parts to arrive.

I also suggested them to either just return the faulty laptop and I will RMA it again in India or they can ship it to my India address. Neither SBE nor Asus is willing to provide either of this option.

I have heard that if the laptop is not fixed within 30 days, Asus provides either a refund or a new laptop? Is this true? Can someone advise what I should do? If they again receive a faulty motherboard then I will have to leave the country without the laptop!

I paid approx $1300 + $129 (warranty extension) = $1429 for the laptop.

Any pointers will be grateful.

 

Not too much to add.
Try reading a few topic who to contact here for asus help.

You had some small dirt under the button or a lose switch part ... would have took maybe 1h to fix it by a screwdriver at home ..

Now they took it apart god knows how many times and replaced good parts with used repaired ones .. would expect future hardware problems or shorter life from it. You lucky if they can put it together without braking left and right.

I would have repaired myself and for everyone else would have told buy a mouse.

I would not consider to rma anything unless it is really badly broke .. anything that can be fixed cheap locally I would do it.
(broken buttons/keyboard/switch/plugs/wires..)

 

sama98b, thanks for your reply.

i have been through a few posts, seems that all contacts provided are US based, not sure if they will be able to help in UK. Also it seems from the posts that asking Customer service to prioritise the RMA or asking for a manager callback would lead me nowhere!

I did attempt opening the laptop and cleaning it. However, in order to reach the top case, the CPU assembly had to be taken out. I thought it would be best to avoid doing it as I would have had to put a new thermal paste which could have voided any warranty repairs in the future.

are you aware if asus have a policy of refunding or providing a replacement if they cant fix the laptop in a certain amount of time?

 

Where did you hear that? That's true in a few american states, but hardly the norm. Given that you bought it outside of the country where it is being serviced, you'll have a hard time applying local laws (they'll claim that it doesn't apply to out-of-country purchases) or the laws of the place you bought it (they'll tell you to get it serviced there, then).

Anyways, just keep sending it in. Asus doesn't have a worldwide policy of refunds, they do whatever is necessary to adhere to local laws, and will not give you back any money unless forced to do so by local laws - which is a fair business practice: Can you think of a car manufacturer that will repay you for a car after you've driven it for 6 months and suddenly feel it needs to be refunded?

Asus will just keep repairing it until it is fixed. They may eventually give a refund, but I wouldn't hold your breath.

 

Hi Dcx, it was actually Asus rep over the phone who mentioned the 30 day timeframe!

Problem is I have to leave the country in 10 days - I am happy to RMA it in the new country only if Asus return the faulty laptop back to me next week!

 

Absolutely...

Even if my touchpad completely dies I don't RMA it. Buy a cheap USB mouse and that's it.

I have seen so many horror stories about RMA that I can only RMA a machine that will certainly go to trash otherwise.


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Might not be an asus policy, just a local law