Direct Samsung warranty invalid?

[Vertigo1]

Hi,

Purchased a Samsung 2.5" SATA HDD (HM321HI) which should come with a three-year direct Samsung warranty.

I've just checked the serial number on the Samsung site however, and it's come up as "Out of Service area", with error code 103, which states "The product has been brought in from outside of this service region and cannot be serviced. Please contact your reseller or distributor."

Can someone please clarify the situation here? It looks like the drive wasn't intended for the UK market and the direct warranty is thus invalid.

Many thanks,
Toby.

[DavidM]

http://forums.hexus.net/scan-care-he...ml#post1975203

[Vertigo1]

Thanks for that. Despite the fact that Scan will honour the warranty, it still means that the drive does not have a direct Samsung warranty as advertised and that any RMA has to be done via Scan themselves. This is additional hassle plus it also may raise problems if the drive is sold on to someone else and they try to raise an RMA through Scan when they weren't the original customer.

[TAKTAK]

So where do people stand if SCAN go bust?...

[jim]

My money is on "stuffed".

[Vertigo1]

So is the answer posted in the linked thread the official word on this? If so then I'd like to request an RMA for a full refund as the item is not as advertised.

To be honest, and with respect, this has really made me question my loyalty to Scan. They're my first port of call for hardware due to their great prices, free delivery, good after-sales service and, recently, the new DPD delivery service.

Now, however, I'm questioning how many other items from Scan are "grey imports" like this one and wouldn't have a valid direct manufacturer warranty. How widespread is this type of issue? Is it restricted to Samsung hard drives or those of other makes, or possibly other types of hardware?

I'd appreciate an official word on this tbh.

EDIT: I've just checked the drives in my main machine, both procured from Scan, and the Samsung F3 shows the same problem, whereas the older Samsung F1 is ok. I'll presume that the F3 in my other machine also has an invalid Samsung warranty.

Many thanks,
Toby.

[ehhhhhhh]

It would be nice to have all the items clearly distinguished when they do not have the valid uk man. warranty.

I've bought some wd drives a while back, and when one of them developed bad sectors it was very convenient to deal with wd directly.

I would prefer to practise this with my other items too if something goes wrong

[jim]

I've only ever heard this grey import business with regard to Samsung hard drives - no other product.

Not saying that it doesn't happen with others, but I've only ever known it in this category.

[Funkstar]

I don't believe that the Samsung drive issue is necessarily because they are grey imports. I seem to remember reading that Samsung have different levels of how OEM their drives are. Some are the same as retail but without a box, a traditional OEM drive if you like. Others however are true OEM drives and Samsung won't deal with individuals as far as those warranties are concerned. This is probably because they offer the drives even cheaper than normal so their customer does all the testing and replacement, and return drives to Samsung in batches to save on processing etc.

I think in this case, Scan are accepting the drive, confirming the fault and issuing a replacement instead of Samsungs returns department, even though the drive is ultimately being sent back to Samsung and replaced by them. It's not a case of Scan just covering the warranty and binning the drives that come back. So the warranty is still with Samsung, but the processing of said item has to be done by Scan.

[Vertigo1]

Fair enough but I'd still like the situation clarified by someone from Scan tbh.

With most hardware I don't particularly care if the warranty is dealt with by the retailer or manufacturer, as you usually just go back to the retailer anyway. Hard drives are somewhat different as virtually all the manufacturers provide a three year warranty these days and it's usually far more efficient going direct to them than via a retailer, plus it makes selling the drive on far easier for the new owner.

The situation needs to be clarified and the Scan site updated to reflect this. The details for the drive I bought clearly states that it has a direct warranty with Samsung when this is not the case.

[Funkstar]

Agreed. Scan do need to clarify the position, and make it clear on their product pages, especially if they are stating a manufacturers warranty but you need to do it through them.

[Funkstar]

And it turns out I was wrong, these are grey imported stock:

http://forums.hexus.net/scan-care-he...ml#post1981787

[jim]

I guess, if we take what Scan are saying at face value, they haven't done a whole lot wrong.

Short of forcing customers to return the drives and replacing them with "full warranty" equivalents they didn't have much other choice.

I should also mention that I've bought probably 10 Samsung drives from Scan, and I haven't yet come across a grey import.

[Vertigo1]

As I posted in the other thread, I accept Scan's explanation of what's happened here and my faith has been largely restored.

I do still want to return this drive for a full refund however, as it's only three weeks old and has been barely used (I've already bought and installed a replacement WD drive - from Scan of course! ). Can this be authorised and an RMA raised please? I don't mind paying the return postage.

[davidcrofter]

So where do people stand if SCAN go bust?...

Probably the same place they were standing if Samsung went bust!!

[Vertigo1]

Can I get an official response on whether I can return this drive for a refund please?

Thanks.