"Physical Damage" ??

[DWhitley]

I find Scan's interpretation of "physical damage" a little strange.

After only 6 months, the USB3 micro socket has broken off the circuit board of my Icy Box IB-230StU3-G external HDD enclosure. The socket was attached to the internal PCB with a small amount of glue and the rubber housing didn't provide any additional support whatsoever, so it was only a matter of time. Even a cursory examination would show that the method of attachment was weak. It is clearly a poor design and I note from comments elsewhere that this problem is not new:

Amazon reviews:

"After TWO uses, the socket disappeared into the enclosure having come away from the circuit board."

"Just like the previous review, initially I thought the enclosure was well made and felt very solid as was the supplied cable. That soon changed as soon as I first plugged in the cable. The socket seemed very flimsy when compared to the stiff heavyweight cable supplied and lo and behold after only a couple of uses, the socket disappeared into the enclosure having come away from the circuit board."

"However, unlike the various other Icybox enclosures i've owned, the circuit-board on this model is free-moving and, even worse, the USB connector on the board is mounted parallel with the surface of the board itself. Keeping it there are two tiny spots of soldering that won't withstand any significant pressure. This evening, while pushing the USB 3.0 cable into the socket, the socket simply disappeared inside the case."


Scan have stated "unfortunately physical damage is not covered under the terms of your warranty". Well, to me, "physical damage" means something done to something, not failure due to poor design.

I'm not going to roll over on this. The Sale of Goods Act 1979 is quite specific - goods must be of satisfactory quality and fit for the purpose for which they're intended. A badly attached socket dropping off is not fit for purpose, IMO.

[Mark@SCAN]

Hi,

I will issue an RMA and get the item back for inspection. I cannot however at this time comment on whether we will be able to replace it under the terms of the manufactures warranty.

Regards