Is It Normal Practice for a Retailer to Replace PC Components with Worse Parts without Informing The Customers?

iridiumstem on 29/06/2015 - 22:50
Last edited 29/06/2015 - 22:51

Well, a retailer that sells PCs, who provides a return to base warranty, have replaced my PSU with something with lower rating (750W to 460W) without informing me. They've told me this when I've asked why they've done it without informing me.

The Australia Power Supply are out of control from the importers. As a reseller, we can only tell the performance by price. So we give you a more expansive power supply to reply your cheaper one before.

They've tried to pull similar move when the GPU of mine failed, they tried to replace HD7850 to R9 265, which as far as I know worse than what I currently have.

So is this kind of behaviour a normal behaviour in Australia? What should I do in this kind of case (other than showing my utter disgust)?

Computing

Comments

  • pinchies on 29/06/2015 - 22:58
    +6

    That sounds like a load of crock. And, if its a major failure, you have the right to demand a full refund. That power supply would constitute a major change in the value of the machine. Who cares what it costs? If they don't have the right part to fix the computer they need to supply a new identical computer, or refund you!

    https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees

    They have decided that they cannot repair the power supply, and are replacing it instead. From the link above:
    "Replaced products must be of an identical type to the product originally supplied."

  • rompastompa on 29/06/2015 - 23:31

    It really does depend on the power supplies. A cheap 750W might actually be equivalent of a decent 460W. So many dodgy PSU's out there… But yes, dodgy of them not informing you, and even dodgier they've not given you a proper reason. Price does not always dictate load (you'd want a decent 450w+). Do you know the previous brand/model of the PSU? Is the new one a cooler master 460w?

    • iridiumstem on 29/06/2015 - 23:33

      I've no idea on what brand that they've put in beforehand, though, the newer one is this one.

      http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/274296/super-flower-single-fa…

      • ramb9 on 30/06/2015 - 00:39

        Super flowers are good! So maybe he wasn't lying.

        Last time I used a PC retailer shop, I bought the PC off them. The PC died about a year later, took it back to him, he diagnosed it and got me to buy another 500W psu off him with a blue LED(PSU died). Then it died again about 6 months later, mobo this time it was running a p4, swapped it for a amd 64 x2, and he swapped out that PSU I bought off him for a cheap 430W PSU with the same blue led. I never found out until after I learnt how to build a computer myself.

        But what a total arse hole he was.

        • iridiumstem on 30/06/2015 - 15:58

          If they've asked me beforehand, I wouldn't be furious. I think I am just going to report them to ACCC and hope to god their business get burnt by ACCC (I seriously doubt they will, but a man can dream). It'd be for replacing parts with something with less wattage without the owner's consent. Whether it is better or not, I am not sure, they've sold a PC with 750W PSU, if they changed it to 460W PSU without me knowing, I think it's just wrong in many levels. Just the way the shop willingly tells me that and just goes, yeah, that happened, made me go, is this kind of practice normal? At least from comments, it's not, I am taking.

    • pinchies on 30/06/2015 - 00:12
      +1

      A cheap "Shaw 775" might imply 775W, but closer indication shows the actual rated power on the box in small print. From what I've seen power supplies have normally been labelled with their actual rated power somewhere on the unit?

      • iridiumstem on 30/06/2015 - 15:55

        I've bought it as a pre-built machine. In hindsight, I've gotten burnt enough, including this, by my idiotic, irresponsible brother to never trust him to recommend or do anything for me, but me in the past didn't know jackshit about anything. Anyways, slightly digressing, I've bought the PC pre-built and they advertise it with 750W PSU, so yeah.

        • pinchies on 01/07/2015 - 11:00
          +2

          Then they need quite clearly need to replace it with a 750W PSU…

  • danb on 30/06/2015 - 07:09

    I was under the impression they should be giving you a call and advising what is wrong, and what needs to be done to fix it. Then its your decision to go ahead. Im not sure if this is different when claiming under warranty, if you are not paying for it? Seems pretty suss to me, they should still run it past you first.

    Cant go wrong with a good PSU though, so if the PSU they put in is actually a better, more reliable one but just less watts, you would be better off.

  • meong on 30/06/2015 - 10:58

    Reading all of the above, it makes me think if authorized car dealers do the same thing as well with cars under warranty…

  • Ramrunner on 30/06/2015 - 11:02

    In short - no, it's not normal practice as far as I'm aware. My company always liaises with client on any system changes if required.

  • BigTed on 30/06/2015 - 12:19

    No, its not my experience either.
    In fact I recently had a problem with a graphics card. The card was no longer available so they gave me a better one as a replacement.

  • humdingaling on 06/07/2015 - 18:18

    i think you mean R7 not R9?
    also assuming you got the standard 7850

    http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R7-265-vs-Radeon-HD-7850

    in which case the R7 is slightly better but marginal
    so would say its comparable considering 7850 aren't really stocked anymore

    • iridiumstem on 06/07/2015 - 18:38

      I honestly cannot remember the details, it was a year ago, after I've sent them the PC 2 times for failing after 2 hours of usage (first due to GPU, second due to PSU, it might've been the other way around).

      All I remember was, they've tried to replace it with "better model" and which was below what I had (I looked up the model and its equivalent, as R7 and R9 series are just slightly overclocked versions of previous models as far as I know). I cannot remember the details well, as it was after sending them the PC + I was half dying from paper works and other things that my incompetent brother f!@#ed up (including the PC) while he plays LoL on his PC, screaming like an absolute idiot, doing absolutely nothing to help me, all while going through mid-sem assignments/exams. When I refused and told them that I will contact ACCC about it, they suddenly had the model back in stock.

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