Canada Computers Return Policy

[boffo]

I bought a new 80 gig Western Digital SATA drive from Canada Computers over the weekend and when I went to plug the SATA cable into the male connector port in the SATA hard drive my aim wasn't good enough when I went to plug it in (off by 2mm) and I accidentally damaged the hard drive port where the SATA cable gets plugged in on the SATA drive. (The tiny plastic bracket that holds the cable inside the hard drive broke off.)

I showed the hard drive to someone who knows a lot about SATA drives and he said the drive port is damaged and will never be able to hold a SATA cable inside it. He said the hard drive is now basically useless.

Question: If I brought that SATA drive back to Canada Computers and told them the port was damaged when I pulled the wrapping off the drive do you think they would believe me and give me an exchange for a new drive?
If I told them I accidentally damaged the bracket in the drive they'd likely tell me to get lost I assume.

 

[hunter001]

You never know but I am willing to bet you are the proud owner of a dead drive. They don't cover installation problems.

 

[boffo]

My thinking is that Canada Computers can send that drive back to their supplier as a defective drive for credit and it would involve no loss for them financially to give me an exchange.
I think I'll try that and see what happens. The worst they can tell me to do is get lost. I know if I took that back to Costco they'd give me a refund no problem even though I screwed up when I plugged it in.

 

[hunter001]

There is hope from the CC site

f you feel more comfortable to resolve the issue in person, as an alternative, you may bring the defective item to any one of Canada Computers stores at your convenience. The store service personnel will be happy to help you solving the problems.

Canada Computers' Warranty: 90 Days Direct Replacement Only
Manufacturer's Warranty: 5 Years

So they will be happy to resolve your problem. Good luck!

 

[xdog]

You could try to be honest and responsible. Karma is a real bitch.


x

 

[boffo]

I had a funny feeling that someone would make that intriguing argument.
But as Bart Simpson once remarked: "In this topsy turvy world, who can say what is really right and wrong anymore."

My defense is that they were negligent in not clearly explaining to me how fragile and vulnerable these SATA connector bracket points are. This is the first time I've bought a SATA drive and people out there: be very gentle and very careful when you plug into them because they are not nearly as robust and strong at connector points as the IDE drives are.

And, besides I've bought about a dozen hard drives from Western Digital in the last 7 years and will continue to buy more; so, in the long run they are in a good positions having me as a customer.

 

[The Bandit]

If they do anything for you, you're lucky, but you have to realize it was your error.

 

[boffo]

I took it in on Monday night to Canada Computers and I just said that the tiny bracket that holds in the SATA cable was broken off.

(Now that I think about it, I'm not really sure that I broke the thing. It's a tiny piece of plastic about the size of a tooth in a hair comb that was broken and I never saw the tiny piece of plastic anywhere.)

Anyway, the tech guy just quickly took it from me and exchanged it for a new one. He never asked any questions and if he did I could truthfully say that I'm not really sure if the piece of plastic was broken when I got it or whether I'm the dummy who broke it.

When Canada Computers sends it back to Western Digital all they have to do is replace a little plastic dam at the front of the drive. The part looks like it's worth 50 cents or even 10 cents and can be clipped in in a couple of seconds.

 

[hunter001]

Cool.

I don't think you would get the same deal at Tigger direct.

 

[Edifice]

Cool.

I don't think you would get the same deal at Tigger direct.

Why? What would Tiger Direct do?

 

[hunter001]

Why? What would Tiger Direct do?

I have had problems with returning stuff to TD even in same unopened package.

 

[The Bandit]

Tiger Direct is famous for charging a re-stocking fee.

 

[jimace]

Tiger Direct is also famous for:
1) Using a shit delivery company (UPS) which is notorious for leaving things on your doorstep when you aren't there. I bought a digital camera from TigerDirect and when I came home from work one day, I discovered the UPS box outside my doorstep even though the box said "signature required". I could have called TigerDirect and told them I never received it and they would have no proof that I didn't receive it since the UPS driver just left it at my door without getting a signature. It could have easily been stolen.
2) When they send you a defective product (not a product that you broke yourself), after getting the RMA number, you have to pay to ship it back to them. I bought a computer from them to be used as a server (always powered on, etc.) and it used to freeze every few hours. I reformatted and reinstalled from scratch and the same thing happened. Nothing showed up in the event logs. I called TigerDirect about the problem and they told me that I would have to pay to send it back to them. I checked Canada Post, Purolator, etc. and the pricetag for sending the computer back to them was over $25.00 (don't recall the exact price). I decided to just use their PC as a regular desktop PC as opposed to a server that would be running 24 hours a day and didn't send it back to them.

 

[LurkingInMyTent]

I know that I'm coming late to this thread, but regarding Tiger Direct' reluctance to accept returns mentioned by jimace - for awhile I was ordering the occasional item from them for work. On one order that included a (then enormous) 19" LCD plus a couple of other things, they actually delivered 2 monitors. I got on the phone with the sales rep immediately, mostly to make sure that they hadn't billed us for it, and told him I'd need an RMA and shipping info to send the extra monitor back. He apologized for the error - they hadn't billed us for it, and said that he'd have to get someone else to issue the return info. I waited for two weeks, then called the rep again, again he said he'd get someone to contact me. No contact for about 2 months, then I had to order something else, so I mentioned that we still had the extra monitor and were still waiting to get authorization to return it. This went on for six months, I reminded the sales rep at least eight times and never heard back from anyone. So, finally I opened the box and installed the monitor for one of our users. Three years later, I rarely order from Tiger Direct anymore, but the monitor is still working fine.