Scan didn't find fault with my faulty motherboard

[JamesG]

I recently bought some computer parts from Scan (motherboard, CPU and RAM). It worked fine for a couple of days, then I found the motherboard would fail to POST (just get blank screen) about 1 in every 3 times.

Fortunately I have lots of spare components, so swapped out the RAM and PSU. I disconnected all hard discs and am using integrated graphics. I still had the same problem so only the motherboard or CPU could be faulty.

I RMAed both the motherboard and CPU. Scan have tested them and say they can't find a fault. I haven't phoned Scan yet, but based on their terms & conditions, I expect they will want to charge me 10 quid and send back my faulty items.

Any advice as to what I should do?

[MrP]

did you change the PSU?

[ikonia]

phone scan.

[flipzero]

I RMAed both the motherboard and CPU. Scan have tested them and say they can't find a fault. I haven't phoned Scan yet, but based on their terms & conditions, I expect they will want to charge me 10 quid and send back my faulty items.

I'm afraid you'll have to make that either £20+VAT, or even worse £30+VAT if they collected the item from you...

See http://forums.hexus.net/scan-care-he...ng-policy.html

[usxhe190]

flipzero is right, it is £30+VAT
that thread brings memories - wesleyaldred of scan told me off lol

[JamesG]

Thanks all for the info. I'll give Scan a ring tomorrow and I'm sure they will be reasonable.

I know that the parts I sent back have an intermittent fault - the nature of this means that Scan won't necessarily pick up the problem with a quick test. I've been very thorough with my own testing - I have swapped out the RAM and PSU for replacements, and there's simply no other common part that could be causing the problem. I've also updated the BIOS to the latest version and tried RAM in different slots.

Obviously I won't be accepting Scan's initial test, certainly won't be paying them any money to return these items, but I will be able to advise them how to duplicate the fault.

Cheers,

James.

[UltraMagnus]

phone scan.

whats the point in a scan contact forum if all anyone ever seems to say is to phone them....

[ikonia]

hey asked for advice on what to do, I'm advising him to contact scan and deal with the facts rather than peoples opinions

[sammie377]

I would ask for a more thourough test, I'm sure it's in everyones interest to find the fault.

[zpos]

Hi, could you advise the make and model of the 'faulty' motherboard?

Thanks,

z

[JamesG]

zpos, the motherboard was an Abit AN-M2HD.

Just to update this, I phoned Scan. They had kept a good record of the testing they performed - something like 10 power-ups, 10 resets. The fault was not seen in this time.

It wasn't a very thorough test, but in fairness, I guess they must have a lot of other stuff to test. They were unwilling to perform any further testing, even though I suggested the board exhibited the fault more often when warm (I should have mentioned this in the initial email).

I reached a compromise with them where I pay the testing and courier fees, and they refund me the cost of the motherboard. This should get me about 15 quid back in total from my 50 quid motherboard. I haven't seen this refund back on my credit card yet so I have sent them a message to prompt them.

I think the moral of this story is: don't send items back to Scan without instructions that will guarantee they find the fault.

It really wasn't worth my time to argue with them further for the cost of a motherboard. Sadly for them, they've lost any future business with me.

Finally, if anyone from Scan is reading this, your automated emails leave a lot to be desired. Once my items were tested, I got this message:
"We can confirm your returned goods have now been tested by our technicians. Depending on your original request, replacement goods or a refund will be issued shortly."
leading me to believe they had found the fault.

The courier costs are also well hidden. Their email to arrange collection through their couriers had no mention of the cost to me, and I found no mention of it either in their T&Cs.

[flipzero]

The courier costs are also well hidden. Their email to arrange collection through their couriers had no mention of the cost to me, and I found no mention of it either in their T&Cs.

Hear hear!

They claimed they were going to improve the visibility of the costs involved during the RMA process in response to my complaint in the aforementioned thread, sort it out Scan!

[Lucio]

I think the moral of this story is: don't send items back to Scan without instructions that will guarantee they find the fault.
.

I think that's something everyone should bear in mind regardless of where you buy it from. Make sure the fault is reproducable and tell them under what conditions it's reproducable, they may find for example, it's not the item you sent back but another part of your computer that's causing the issues.

I don't think any computer part's company out there would have treated you any differently for a No Fault Found report on an item.