Review suggestion: how about a comparison of major manufacturer's UK RMA procedures?

[MrJim]

I enjoy reading the hardware reviews on Hexus, but one aspect of hardware which I've never seen covered, is how well different manufacturers react when their products fail (as some inevitably do) within the warranty period. Does the company have a UK address where items can be returned to? Are faults found quickly & efficiently? Does the manufacturer cross-ship replacement items? How long does a repair / replacement of an item take?

I, like most people weigh up the balance of features, cost, & warranty when selecting components for my PC systems, but a long-warranty is worth little if the whole exercise in returning an item turns into a long drawn-out nightmare (as I have experienced in the past).

What do other people think?

[kalniel]

In the UK it'd be rather a review of retailers rather than manufacturers, since we return to the shop rather than to the manufacturer. Some manufacturers may have direct customer service, but others may have chosen to focus on their retailer relations with that in mind.

As for a retailer returns review, I agree that'd be very useful, but Hexus probably isn't the right place for it as they typically focus on the hardware, not the retailers - they would possibly open themselves up to conflicts of interest if they did.

[MrJim]

In the UK it'd be rather a review of retailers rather than manufacturers, since we return to the shop rather than to the manufacturer. Some manufacturers may have direct customer service, but others may have chosen to focus on their retailer relations with that in mind.

In the UK it's usual for the first year of a product's warranty to be with the retailer; after that you normally have to RMA products with longer warranties like motherboards, power-supplies & graphics cards back to the manufacturers. It's how well the manufacturers deal with these situations which is of interest me.