Corsair PSU Damage Claim - Negotiating Reimbursement Offer?? AX1200

rm - ottawa · Mar 9, 2015

Hi all,

I'm really looking for some guidance here. I recently sent back my AX1200 PSU along with most of my subsequently damage PC, and received an itemized reimbursement offer. I want to know what I can do to get a reimbursement that is more "fair". It was hard for me to find the current market value of my parts, since they were purchased at the beginning of '12, but they were quite expensive and I fear trying to replace any of the damaged components with the total they suggest is not going to be a good time.

My stance is that they admitted they ruined my computer, and now either they eat the cost, or I do. I would rather it be the former. Even on top of parts replacement, I paid hefty diagnostic charges ($200), lost my personal data, and time and effort involved in the RMA. If the company is taking responsibilty for damaging my computer, and they understand the model of PSU is only going to be in a high end rig, reimbursements should be in line.

Please tell me if what I'm saying makes sense, as I really don't want to have to buy a new rig, I don't think I have the budget for it right now.. and my setup was no where near needing to be replaced when the damage kicked in.. I mean I had great SLI and everything. The summary of the reimbursement offer is below:

CORSAIR:
"Our Engineering Team tested all the parts and based on the results, our Power Supply unit caused the damage to your components.

We will offer the following compensation based on current market value:
EVGA Geforce GTX580 QTY 1 $128 USD or $159 CAD
Seagate Barracuda 3TB QTY 2 $160 USD or $199 CAD
AsRock Z67 Extreme7 Gen3 QTY 1 $111 USD or $138 CAD
i7 2600k QTY 1 - $85 USD or $105 CAD
TOTAL REIMBURSEMENT $483 USD or $602 CAD

Here are my item by item comments,
- They offer $128 USD on my GTX 580. First of all, I had the 3GB version, which they don't specify, however more importantly, I have a second one and was running my rig SLI. Good luck to me getting my SLI working again, they expect me to replace it was $128 USD??
- The 3TB hard drives, honestly I can't replace them with $160 but it's probably more reasonable than their offering on the other items.
AsRock MOBO - $111 USD.. I'm probably going to need to spend a lot more than that to get a mobo..............
i7 2600k - $85 USD.. this seems like a low ball offer, I don't think I'll get very far with it.

One the positive side of things, they will upgrade the ax1200 to a new ax1200i when i accept their offer.

All in all, since I haven't responded to Corsair yet, and since this was their first attempt at contacting me with an offer, should there be a course to improve my position here? I appreciate their company's offer, but at the end of the day I HAVE to replace all of these parts, and think their reimbursement may fall very short of that. Not to mention I ate the diagnostic costs from my local repair shop,

Thank you in advance for anyone who can offer a suggestion for my response to corsair

C12Friedman · Mar 9, 2015

You might inquire as to how they came to those prices, I just looked up i7-2600k's and the cheapest I found was $260 US - where are they getting an $85 price (can anyone shop there? I'm interested)

Mr5oh · Mar 9, 2015

Honestly I'm not sure what you can do here. The fact they are willing to give you anything for the other components is pretty impressive. Either way your components are not new now, and their values are honestly more than I'd be willing to pay for any of that stuff used. Just like insurance on your car, they pay what the car is worth, they really don't care how much you owe, or how much it will cost you to replace it.

It wouldn't hurt to try a counter offer, but I would look up numbers so you can back up your counter offer, with this is what it will actually cost.

rolli59 · Mar 9, 2015

Normally they will not replace other components, small print under warranty. The I7 is what I would be most disappointed about since we all know it is a $300 US replacement.

laviniuc · Mar 9, 2015

i think it's the second time ever i hear of a corsair ax failing that badly.
you should call them, reach a peaceful agreement, in the end you probably end up with them paying for a pc in a current config similar to your old one to go with the ax1200i and you get to sell the old 580

also, they didnt multiply the hdd times 2 when computing the total

edit: like above, yep, i'm surprised they are willing to pay anything, the warranty fine print has them covered. they probably don't want the bad publicity

bunta714 · Mar 9, 2015

Not saying I agree with all of their offers for the hardware, but the pieces you are trying to replace are all quite old, and you cannot easily purchase them new in retail stores anymore. If you can find them, they will most likely be extremely overpriced due to them not being produced anymore.

After looking on ebay for some of the parts, Corsair really isn't that far off on their offers. It's going to be very difficult to find brand new identical replacements for each of those parts, except possibly the hard drives, and their offer did specify "current market value".

You might try to give them some prices on completed auctions, particularly for the i7 and maybe the GPU, and see if they're willing to negotiate at all. If not, that may be the best deal you're going to get.

Mr5oh · Mar 9, 2015

laviniuc :

I'm starting to wonder if I should have attempted to warranty my H80i that dumped coolant all over my 3570k build. I knew I didn't want to go water cooling again, so I didn't bother, as I didn't think they would cover the damaged hardware (CPU, MB, PSU, GPU, LAN card, and RAM).

FALC0N · Mar 9, 2015

Corsair's customer service is top notch. Most PSU companies aren't going to reimburse you for lost components.

I don't really see any reason to look the gift horse in the mouth. That's a good chunk of money and a high end replacement PSU they are offering. It's hard to do better than that and easy to do a lot worse.

Mr5oh · Mar 9, 2015

FALC0N :

I will second this, even though one of their products destroyed a machine of mine. Heck I even had to RMA that product when I first got it, as it was defective. Their customer service was excellent, and I had no complaints at all about the whole process. They even had a program to ship the replacement first, with a credit card deposit, which I wish more companies would do!

synphul · Mar 9, 2015

Looking at it realistically, it's a disappointing situation. No one wants to lose their system. Most companies have fine print that says they're only responsible for their failed unit, not any subsequent losses. Similar to hdd warranties, if the hard drive unexpectedly fails 6mo in to a 3yr warranty, they'll replace the hdd. The data loss isn't their concern, just their hardware.

Unfortunately, like others have said their replacement pricing isn't based on replacing your hardware with new since your hardware wasn't new. It was 2-3yrs old so they would be pricing your used components according to used prices. Even though it was you using it and another used part may have been used by someone else, used is used. If you tried to go out and buy a 3tb hdd, you'd be looking at brand new parts with newer technology, intact warranty etc - essentially better value/condition than your 3tb hdd that had a good 2yrs or more of unknown wear and tear on it.

It doesn't change the fact that you're still stuck with some money out of pocket, but it would be a different story if their defective unit burned out a brand new build within say a week of use. Essentially then your loss would be a brand new system. Value on parts is a difficult thing to assign. From the original owners viewpoint, they paid say $1000 for all the components in their rig. It's worth $1000 to them, even 2-3yrs later since that's their investment. From a buyer's perspective, those are used parts without warranty and only x amount of life expectancy remaining as well as older tech. The buyer could likely buy something equal or more technologically advanced for that same $1000 and get all new parts same as the original buyer did, so there's no incentive to pay that for used stuff. Value is never the same for the buyer vs the seller and in this case corsair would essentially be 'buying' what they broke.

Same thing happens with auto warranties and covered damages/loss. Many times people think that vehicle owners don't care about repairing their damaged car and would rather pocket the insurance money. The truth is, the insurance money usually isn't enough to completely cover those damages which is why the repairs don't get made. About the only thing you might do is mention you had 2 gpu's running sli since they only mentioned one, but be civil about it. No one's a winner here and at least I give them props for even trying to make it right.

It may not be the news you want to hear and doesn't cover all the downtime on your end but almost $500usd on top of a $300 psu isn't a terrible offer. Hope things get resolved soon for you.

CorsairJoseph · Mar 9, 2015

First off, I am really sorry to hear that this has happened to you. I understand that inconvenience plays a good part when something like this happens. Fortunately, you have Corsair's support guys to handle this unfortunate situation for you. I'm sure that they will do their best to accommodate your damage claim.

I'm guessing that you already have an existing ticket # or a DC # for this whole incident.. if you do, you can send that reference # (ticket or DC), that way I can see to it that we handle your case your as painless as possible.

I see that you have a bit of discontent on what we have offered you on the CPU. To be honest with you, that offer is more on the reasonable side and far from a low ball. You are correct, it was far from what you have paid for years ago, but I'm sure that they have mentioned to you that the values they have presented to you were all based on current market value. In which I believe that 2600K currently sits sub $100 USD, hence the $85 USD offer. BUT if you feel that the offer was unjustified, let me know and l will work with our customer service and I'll see what I can do to make the value more acceptable. Just send me the ticket # and we can go from there.

For the most part, I believe the support guys are doing an amazing job handling your case including the PSU upgrade. You heard the guys above, we are one of the few organization that is wiling to bend backwards to make sure that we do not disappoint our customers. BUT if at some point, you run into any issues during the process, best is to contact me right away so I can clear any misunderstanding.

rolli59 · Mar 9, 2015

CorsairJoseph :

First off, I am really sorry to hear that this has happened to you. I understand that inconvenience plays a good part when something like this happens. Fortunately, you have Corsair's support guys to handle this unfortunate situation for you. I'm sure that they will do their best to accommodate your damage claim.

I'm guessing that you already have an existing ticket # or a DC # for this whole incident.. if you do, you can send that reference # (ticket or DC), that way I can see to it that we handle your case your as painless as possible.

I see that you have a bit of discontent on what we have offered you on the CPU. To be honest with you, that offer is more on the reasonable side and far from a low ball. You are correct, it was far from what you have paid for years ago, but I'm sure that they have mentioned to you that the values they have presented to you were all based on current market value. In which I believe that 2600K currently sits sub $100 USD, hence the $85 USD offer. BUT if you feel that the offer was unjustified, let me know and l will work with our customer service and I'll see what I can do to make the value more acceptable. Just send me the ticket # and we can go from there.

For the most part, I believe the support guys are doing an amazing job handling your case including the PSU upgrade. You heard the guys above, we are one of the few organization that is wiling to bend backwards to make sure that we do not disappoint our customers. BUT if at some point, you run into any issues during the process, best is to contact me right away so I can clear any misunderstanding.

Just to support OP here are some used prices on the 2600K http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&ghostText=&_sacat=0&_nkw=I7+2600K&rt=nc&LH_Auction=1 apparently sub $100 is way off!

CorsairJoseph · Mar 9, 2015

I don't think ebay prices are considered to be standard for current market value..

rolli59 · Mar 9, 2015

CorsairJoseph :

Who then? Ebay is probably the biggest side selling used computer hardware!

FALC0N · Mar 9, 2015

I agree with CorsairJoseph. I wouldn't pay $190 for a 2600k.

CorsairJoseph · Mar 9, 2015

Yep, I am pretty sure that ebay is one of the biggest network where ppl can utilize used items.. but I don't think that they're considered to be authority when it comes to actual value, there are other things that needs to factor in to get the market value they suggested

As far as I can remember (I could be wrong, so don't quote me), customer service has some sort of formula to calculate EOL'd PC hardware market value based on # of years the product is on the market, suggested used prices (ebay/CL) and I think part of it to is current comparable technology. Not sure if those are all the variables, but what ever value that was offered to the OP initially could always change based on both parties agreement - One of the reasons why I stepped in and offer my assistance, to make sure the OP is well taken care of in $ reimbursement and to over see the whole process.

rolli59 · Mar 9, 2015

Here is the problem therehas been very little progress since the 2600K was introduced resulting in it being classed on this side as a top tier gaming CPU http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-5.html
Really the only thing that is wrong with it is that it does not support PCIe 3.0 but neither do AMD's current AM3+ offering so not bad at all.

laviniuc · Mar 10, 2015

i think what was lost in translation here is the fact the op does need to purchase a new system now. for me the math is relatively simple, he had a pc working fine (pretty sure it did all the tasks he needed done to perfection) and a top of the line psu bought hoping to avoid this whole mess.

it's simple, can he buy the same components (or similar - even sh) using the money he-s getting?

Mr5oh · Mar 10, 2015

laviniuc :

You are assuming it's Corsair's responsibility to fix everything. For most things the company's liability is to that product only. I think the fact that they are offering anything is pretty incredible.

-HH- · Mar 10, 2015

Mr5oh :

I will not third this. My experience with Corsair's RMA service is terrible.

I haven't RMA'd a psu before but seriously if their PSU breaks your system they should either A buy all the parts back for you or B give you FULL money on damages they caused to YOUR computer. IMO.

What I said is really controversial but it's only what I'd expects

FALC0N · Mar 10, 2015

HH wrote:

I will not third this. My experience with Corsair's RMA service is terrible.

I haven't RMA'd a psu before but.......

So your experience with Corsair customer service is terrible even though you state in the very next sentence that you have No experience with Corsair customer service? Brilliant Sherlock!

CorsairJoseph · Mar 10, 2015

It'll come down to the OP being well compensated for the whole ordeal and I'll make sure that happens... It is unfortunate that things like this happens from time to time, in fact, almost unavoidable due to the nature of electronics - but rest assured that every time we handle cases like this, we see to it that our customer is satisfied at the end of the process, because to be honest, we know exactly how it feels to lose precious hardware, its not fun - most of us here are enthusiast just like you guys.

I'm still waiting for the OP to contact me. Once that's been established, we can probably go from there and see what the best option is in this situation.

-HH- · Mar 11, 2015

FALC0N :

No, read a little clearer. I haven't experienced the PSU RMA service I have however experienced their keyboard RMA service and it took me over a month to get a keyboard back which frustrated me as they neglected to tell me they didn't have it 'in stock'... I'm not slating Corsair, I am just saying don't expect an item back too soon. I just think communication could be a lot better...

I hope it all works out anyway.

Corsair PSU Damage Claim - Negotiating Reimbursement Offer?? AX1200

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