Avoid Techfast Like The Plague (Edit: Situation Has Been Resolved)

Mattblack on 16/08/2022 - 19:02
Last edited 18/08/2022 - 21:26 by 1 other user

I have to say.. I've bought from techfast a few times and not only are they actually very slow. They have terrible customer service and quality control.

First I purchased a PC and they sent the entire thing in parts when it was meant to be a prebuild. So I had to take the whole package back to the post office to send it back to them and wait all again for them to actually build the PC and send it.

Secondly I specifically asked for them not to send one particular brand of GPU, they advertised they had a few different brands being sent out. They sent the only one I didn't want.

Thirdly I requested that I receive the GPU box, they did not send it.

Fourth, when the PC arrived it had been built so poorly that fan cables were in the way of the fans and made a terrifying sound as soon as I switched on the PC. Is it that hard to pull the cable taut and cable tie it to a fixing point in the back of the case?

Fifth, one of the RAM modules was not fixed in place upon arrival, they have a locking mechanism so it obviously wasn't ever actually connected properly.

Sixth, the PC would not boot to Windows after resolving the RAM issue. Had to spend an hour troubleshooting and playing in the BIOS as they hadn't set the PC up properly. They hadn't set boot priority and I had to disable 'LAN PXE Boot Option ROM' and 'Network Stack'.

Seventh, the system did not have any network drivers installed. I was instructed to use a second PC to download them and then manually install them myself.

After all this the PC seemed to be okay for a while. After a couple of months the PC would just auto shut itself down. I have had a lot going on in life and I own another system so I put it in the too hard basket for a while.

Then 2 months ago I finally contacted them to advise what was going on with the shut-down issue.
It turns out the poor quality AIO that they supplied is faulty. They say that the system is no longer under warranty but the AIO is, and if I want it to be replaced I have to pay for shipping both ways and wait for it to be assessed.

This would cost me roughly $34 in shipping (not including shipping insurance) and waste even more of my time. I don't trust the competence of the staff there for obvious reasons so I decided to replace the cooler myself. Low and behold the system hasn't crashed once since.

Now TechFast won't budge on replacing the AIO unless I agree to pay shipping both ways.

All in all, a freaking nightmare to deal with. ACCC states that buyers are entitled to recover reasonable postage costs if items are found to be faulty.

TechFast doesn't care.

Terrible company with terrible customer service and quality assurance.

Never again will I deal with them and I will be spreading that message far and wide.

Edit:

They know I've been involved in a (not at fault, rear ended by negligent driver) motor accident recently and have suffered considerable injuries. They know that I can't just mosey on down to the post office.

They know that the ACCC says that buyers should not be out of pocket for warranty returns.

They know that my PTSD doesn't allow me to handle stress well. They know that I didn't want to have to resort to the ACCC.

They don't care. I feel so stupid for spending around $6000 with this company.

Edit2:

I would like to write to say that Luke/Techfast has been in touch and made significant steps to amend for the massive issues that have occurred throughout this entire procedure.

He has accepted full responsibility for the issues and has provided a reasonable and fair outcome.

I would like to make it absolutely clear that Techfast had plenty of opportunity to resolve the concerns privately and failed in doing so. There would never have been need to make this post had they done that in the first place, and had I not publicly complained I would never have received satisfaction.

I would like to believe that Luke wasn't personally aware of the extent of the issues and the lack of customer support, as once Luke took over, he took it very seriously.

Thank you Luke for doing the right thing. As I have said above, the measure of a company is not how they perform when everything goes right, but how they react when everything goes wrong.

I am happy with the resolution.

Computing

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Comments

        • Leggy on 18/08/2022 - 15:23

          they typically don't send the padding, just the outer boxes, which is a bit lame but makes sense to save on package size

  • Willy Beamish on 17/08/2022 - 13:46
    +12

    Funny how the tune changes the second the customer doesn't get their way:

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/10311378/redir

    Mattblack on 08/04/2021 - 06:25

    For anybody following this post:

    Techfast's complaint resolution has been very impressive. Whilst there were major errors during the course of my order, they've all been adequately addressed and resolved.

    Thank you Luke for your time and Callum in customer service has been fantastic to deal with.

    Mistakes happen, it's natural, the most important aspect is how you deal with them. Hats off to you guys.

    • GrueHunter on 17/08/2022 - 13:54
      +1

      Oof.

    • metrosilver on 17/08/2022 - 14:11
      +1

      Dude is a baby

    • Homr on 17/08/2022 - 14:19

      you win!

  • Dowhatuwant on 17/08/2022 - 13:56
    +8

    They know that my PTSD doesn't allow me to handle stress well. They know that I didn't want to have to resort to the ACCC.

    wtf, take a cement pill. It's warranty not some life threatening situation ffs.

    • Mattblack on 17/08/2022 - 14:48
      -6

      Is there an OzBargain link for the cement pill? I'm on a budget.

    • [Deactivated] on 17/08/2022 - 21:12
      +1

      When it's you v a national company that does not care, at face value, for your rights and entitlements enjoy the feeling of being the ant.

      • Dowhatuwant on 18/08/2022 - 09:20
        +6

        He's full of shit mate. He knows techfast cares about their reputation on ozbargain so he overdramatizes the shit out of his issue in a post here to get special treatment. He's done it before and will probably do it again, he's pure Karen material.

        • [Deactivated] on 18/08/2022 - 21:23

          Oh no, someone held a company accountable on social media.

          Anyway.

  • metrosilver on 17/08/2022 - 14:14
    +2

    Ordered from them and had nothing but amazing experiences especially with support. They sold out of the GPU i wanted so they upgraded it for free and threw in some codes to the lastest cod for free for the delay.

  • Mattblack on 17/08/2022 - 14:33
    +7

    I would like to write to say that Luke/Techfast has been in touch and made significant steps to amend for the massive issues that have occurred throughout this entire procedure.

    He has accepted full responsibility for the issues and has provided a reasonable and fair outcome.

    I would like to make it absolutely clear that Techfast had plenty of opportunity to resolve the concerns privately and failed in doing so. There would never have been need to make this post had they done that in the first place, and had I not publicly complained I would never have received satisfaction.

    I would like to believe that Luke wasn't personally aware of the extent of the issues and the lack of customer support, as once Luke took over, he took it very seriously.

    Thank you Luke for doing the right thing. As I have said above, the measure of a company is not how they perform when everything goes right, but how they react when everything goes wrong.

    I am happy with the resolution.

  • Misplaced on 17/08/2022 - 14:37
    +2

    Techfast is fine. The computer is a box of parts. Stuff can get loose in transit, no biggie (unless you're a newb). Cables out of place, "I wanted the empty box", whatever. If you want to ensure quality hand-pick the exact parts you want that will work nicely together and build it yourself. A faulty AIO out of warranty (what is that even, some sort of cooler?), just get a new one. I don't understand all the fuss really.

    • Mattblack on 17/08/2022 - 14:45
      -2

      The AIO was under warranty. Techfast and Allied are basically the same company. The brand of the AIO is Allied.

      Excuse me for calling you out but you're obviously a newb if you don't know what an AIO is….

      • Misplaced on 17/08/2022 - 14:53
        +2

        That's funny. I used to build XTs and 286s. I very rarely build PC's anymore but I also don't order pre-built PC's and complain about it or make a fuss over faulty out-of-warranty parts.

        • Mattblack on 17/08/2022 - 14:58
          -2

          Congratulations man. You should be really proud! Give yourself a pat on the back.

  • lookingforTV on 17/08/2022 - 15:19
    +8

    “They know I've been involved in a (not at fault, rear ended by negligent driver) motor accident recently and have suffered considerable injuries.”

    “ They know that my PTSD doesn't allow me to handle stress well. They know that I didn't want to have to resort to the ACCC.”

    Why do they know this information? You sound like the crazy one to me.

    • Mattblack on 17/08/2022 - 15:23
      -3

      Because I've been in extensive contact with them privately prior to going public. I am a little crazy, no doubt.

      • lookingforTV on 17/08/2022 - 15:30
        +13

        The context of your contacts should have been around their mistakes, but sharing your personal experiences implies that you were waving around a sympathy card to get them to offer something unreasonable from their perspective. I am assuming when this didn’t work, you went out of your way to make this post to intentionally damage the reputation of TechFast - and TechFast deemed it was just easier to give you what you wanted. Congrats.

        • Willy Beamish on 17/08/2022 - 17:40
          +11

          Terrible customers are great at this, they give you a tonne of information but majority of it doesn't need to be there.

          You can spot a legit customer when their grievances are short and specific and they don't include anything personal.

          • Misplaced on 18/08/2022 - 09:06
            +4

            @Willy Beamish: This !!!!!

          • CodeExplode on 18/08/2022 - 14:55
            +1

            @Willy Beamish: Well TechFast themselves said: "Our conversation was entirely civil, and your points and criticisms were all entirely valid" so maybe they're not exaggerating in any way and you're not as insightful as you think?

            • Willy Beamish on 18/08/2022 - 15:09

              @CodeExplode: You compared two different things, OP's post on ozbargain and their conversations that were private.

              • Mattblack on 18/08/2022 - 23:52
                -2

                @Willy Beamish: Lol. Do you want the email chain man?
                Luke has taken full responsibility and if anything I wrote was untrue he would address it. They'd also be free to pursue defamation charges if anything were untrue.. but obviously he has accepted that they (profanity) up again and has done what he can to make amends.

                As I've stated, I'm happy with the resolution. For the record, I requested nothing. I was offered X and accepted. I was also free to make my own decisions on whether I'd update the post or not.

                That being said, I will not be purchasing from them again.

                Techfast also is not a small company. Allied owns Techfast and together they hold a significant market share.

                • Willy Beamish on 19/08/2022 - 00:29

                  @Mattblack: Supply the entire email chain, start to finish, no alterations or redactions.

                  • Mattblack on 19/08/2022 - 06:05
                    -3

                    @Willy Beamish: The rat eats the bait.
                    I'm not supplying you anything as you don't deserve it, cannot believe you actually thought I would give you anything with my personal details on it. Thank you for confirming how pathetic you are.
                    If you have actual questions hit Luke up. Til then, stay pathetic.

                    • Willy Beamish on 19/08/2022 - 08:42
                      +1

                      @Mattblack: You offered, I knew you wouldn't because you're an absolute karen.
                      You failed hard trying to bluff that offer but got instantly called out.
                      You can't back up anything you're too scared, ahahaha.

            • cheng2008 on 19/08/2022 - 04:53
              +1

              @CodeExplode: I'm assuming they are taking his story of PTSD and the accident at face value. But everyone here can't be sure of course.

  • Marketingluketechfast @ TechFast on 17/08/2022 - 15:39
    +28

    Posting my reply on the deal thread: Thanks Matt. Our conversation was entirely civil, and your points and criticisms were all entirely valid. As you've stated, I took responsibility that we got it wrong, due largely to some internal communication issues and decisions that were made in light of incorrect information. For those reading on, the time taken in responding privately and publicly was to ensure that I had the full information, including interactions about the other issues with the order, which were in a separate case via previous customer service reps no longer with us.

    But regardless, it should never have reached the point where you felt the only viable option you had was posting publicly, with or without expectation of resolution after doing so. While it's pleasing that others have offered experiences where our service has been good, and cases that reach this level are rare (and have also decreased significantly from previous years), that does not all invalidate or diminish your experience, which I have quite clearly seen was unacceptable.

    I would also like to publicly support Caleb who has taken over a good portion of my work here on OzBargain recently, and who I know does a great job in Customer Support. No one gets it right all the time, he's not the only one to have erred in this case, and we've addressed that both as a unit and with management.

    Luke

    • jatyap on 17/08/2022 - 23:37
      +5

      It just seems to me that OP could have achieved the exact same thing by just asking for your or Caleb's help here, before posting this.

      • garetz on 18/08/2022 - 20:36
        +5

        Sometimes you have to do what you have to do, imagine what the op had to go through, the time wasted to get to this point, put yourself in their shoes. If this happened to me I would be pretty angry and may not have responded as civilly as they did.

    • [Deactivated] on 18/08/2022 - 21:25
      -1

      Guy's who's literal job it is to minimise reputational damage from internal breakdowns successfully minimises reputational damage from internal breakdown.

      Upvote your lord and god, OzBargain. Clamp onto that teat.

      Glad to a see a company that actually resolves issues once aired, still a step up from most, but the hero worship in this thread for delivering, now, your legally mandated base level of service is getting ridiculous.

  • pformag on 17/08/2022 - 16:55
    -4

    Total Karen, https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/10311378/redir

  • AlienC on 17/08/2022 - 17:30

    But who else is competitive to Tech fast?

    I haven't seen many deals as good as Tech fast deals.

  • Canberralad92 on 17/08/2022 - 17:47
    +1

    I believe I've achieved satisfaction.

  • potm on 17/08/2022 - 18:00
    +5

    I've purchase 2 PCs from Techfast. No issues with the first one. The second one stopped working after a couple of weeks. They treated it as a DOA claim and paid for return postage and a complete refund. Responses to enquiries were very slow until I PMed Luke on here and he got things sorted out fast.

  • Dack Smith on 17/08/2022 - 18:24
    -4

    Small Australian business doing their best in pandemic times.

    I believe this level of vitriol should be reserved for other large overseas businesses and multinationals

    • smartazz104 on 18/08/2022 - 08:13
      +4

      Businesses shouldn't get a pass because they are "small" and "local".

  • hasher22 on 17/08/2022 - 18:42

    Thanks for the feedback and heads up

    In saying that, mistakes happen, crap happens, poop happens. But I do agree with you, it's how the company deals with the issue/complaint that leaves a lasting positive impression on a mistake. The resolution gets worse when a company is larger thus reps are following cookie cutter resolutions and processes and are not allowed to think outside the box, not even their manager is allowed to think outside the box for a resolution outside company processes which is very very sad. I'm looking at you Optus when I worked for you….

  • The Value on 17/08/2022 - 18:50
    +6

    Thirdly I requested that I receive the GPU box

    Stopped reading after that.

    • AustriaBargain on 18/08/2022 - 01:09

      He maybe wanted any modular cables that might have come with the GPU. You can't, or aren't supposed to, mix and match modular cables with other GPUS, even if they are the same brand.

      • lookingforTV on 18/08/2022 - 02:39
        +1

        You don’t get modular cables with GPU lol

        • AustriaBargain on 18/08/2022 - 02:41
          +1

          I thought he said PSU. It's past my bedtime. Maybe OP thought having the box would make it easier to RMA it himself.

      • solidussnake on 18/08/2022 - 20:01

        Most i.t places bundle all that stuff up into a bag or the motherboard box for the client to have..

  • CalmLemons on 17/08/2022 - 21:07
    +3

    In life, it's not the event that hurts us, but our emotional response to it.

  • jimbobaus on 17/08/2022 - 21:15
    +2

    Tech fast went above and beyond with a warranty claim for me when the manufacturer refused to warrant.
    I can not reccomend them enough and in fact many in my circle have tech fast pc’s now and are super happy.

  • CPU2 on 17/08/2022 - 23:24
    +1

    Just wanted to share my experiences for anybody who was thinking of buying from them

    Bought 2 PCs from them in the last 2 years.
    One of them had the SSD fail within 6months and a later PSU failure just past the 1 year mark.
    Luckily avoided damage to any of the other components, but I can see where they skimp for their margins.
    The second had bad cable placement rattling against the GP fans. Easily fixable, but not something you'd expect from a pre-built touting good customer service and quality control.

    You get what you pay for ¯_(ツ)_/¯

  • AustriaBargain on 18/08/2022 - 01:06
    -3

    fan cables were in the way of the fans and made a terrifying sound as soon as I switched on the PC

    That sounds so frightening, and wow probably dangerous too. Your heart must still be racing from that traumatic event.

  • ItchyBallsack on 18/08/2022 - 06:59

    This is why I just buy pc parts from a shop that I can physically visit in person and pick it up. In the rare case when something goes wrong I can take it back straight away for a replacement and won’t have to deal with postage.

  • TheMindsetTraveller on 18/08/2022 - 11:02
    +2

    OP is like the weather forecast, keeps on changing and is never right.

  • burningrage on 18/08/2022 - 13:05

    I am in the market for PC prebuild but this experience makes me thinking twice. Who do you guys go to for prebuild? Like for example I have my configs ready and ask someone to build it, who would you go for if not TechFast.

    • askbargain on 18/08/2022 - 14:03

      You go prebuilds because it's cheaper because of OEM parts.

  • askbargain on 18/08/2022 - 14:05
    +1

    So will OP keep buying from TechFast? Yes.

  • aerona on 18/08/2022 - 14:55
    +1

    I had okay experience 2 years ago with tech fast.

    One was being i sent a message to pick up instead of getting it delivered. They said it was okay but they didn't get back to me to tell me it was ready. I had to message again.

    Also problem with the biostar motherboards that came with my pre built. It kept damaging my wifi sticks and wifi adaptors. Since changing motherboards to a gigabyte, i havent had an issue since.

    Op sounds sounds over dramatic to be honest

    Most of the events aren't really that bad and request for picking a brand you don't want is asking too much.

    Abit like going to kfc and only asking for breast and Thighs. People wonder why they get like 9 wings and drumsticks.

    • Willy Beamish on 18/08/2022 - 20:37
      +1

      The kfc wings these days (that I get anyway) are actually decent sized, I don't mind them personally. Just not too many ofcourse.

  • ajm07 on 18/08/2022 - 16:29

    I had the plague once. It resolved in about 2 business days.

  • ozoner on 18/08/2022 - 17:59
    +1

    Ozbutthurt

  • congo on 18/08/2022 - 20:49

    Sounds like TF had to many deals and sold too many pre-builts that they were not able to keep the quality in control.
    I almost pulled the trigger on several deals (ASSCRUSHER if I recall correctly), but ended up DIY.

  • DiscoJango on 18/08/2022 - 21:22
    +1

    op is unhappy with a business but repeatedly goes back and give them money, why?

  • GreyChris on 05/11/2022 - 07:56

    I had a similar issue, maybe with power supply. When I used the front USBs the PC would power off. Techfast were amazing. They did their best to diagnose and fix the issue even if it did take a few months to get it all sorted. They ended up sending out a completely new system. Unfortunately I'm not the best with tech to diagnose and there were some gremlins so I didn't envy their situation either. The setup is awesome now though. I didn't need to pay for shipping for sending the systems back. They also custom installed cases and upgraded power supplies to prevent the issue occuring. I highly recommend techfast.

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