In a story covered closely by the Hardware Unboxed channel, the store took his faulty DIMMs (bought in 2024) and confirmed the failure with a PassMark test, but then told Goran that he would not be receiving a replacement kit. Instead, it offered a refund for the original price of 155 AUD — a mere pittance, considering comparable kits now command between 500 and 600 AUD, or a 3.5x to 4x increase. Despite currently having many similar kits in stock, the store told Goran that a replacement would be an "upgrade." Had Goran taken the offer, he'd have had to dole out another 400 AUD or more for a similar set. Naturally, he refused the offer and brought up Australian consumer law, which is quite similar to the European one for these matters. In a simplified form, retailers are responsible for warranty claims and must replace or refund the defective item; then they take the issue to the manufacturer. When confronted by Goran, Umart went to the trouble of quoting the Australian Consumer Law but made a seemingly byzantine and twisted interpretation of it, reiterating that a refund at the original price was the proper remedy. Savvy PC builders are probably thinking right now that at this point Goran could just save himself the trouble and head straight to Corsair's RMA page , as his set carries the usual manufacturer's limited lifetime warranty. That's when this story gets really interesting, as Umart displayed some serious chutzpa by effectively taking the DIMMs hostage. The store said it couldn't send the RAM back as it had been "forwarded to the authorized supplier," who "issued a credit in place of replacement stock." So, not only could Goran no longer ask Corsair for a direct RMA, but Umart may have gotten a refund at today's pricing and pocketed the difference. Even still, Goran soldiered on and sent all the information to Corsair support, which promptly went on radio silence for three weeks. That's when Hardware Unboxed stepped in to help clear up the situation, even offering to lend Goran one of their memory kits in the meantime. Corsair did end up replying to the channel stating that it was handling Goran's case — though the host naturally raised the question of whether the company had done because of the well-known influencer privilege. For its part, Umart essentially reiterated its existing position with a noncommittal statement posted as a comment to the Hardware Unboxed video. That did not sit well with people, and the channel replied back saying it now has collected more similar stories with Umart's warranty services — it's safe to say this story is probably not over.
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Bruno Ferreira is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware. He has decades of experience with PC hardware and assorted sundries, alongside a career as a developer. He's obsessed with detail and has a tendency to ramble on the topics he loves. When not doing that, he's usually playing games, or at live music shows and festivals. ","collapsible":{"enabled":true,"maxHeight":250,"readMoreText":"Read more","readLessText":"Read less"}}), "https://slice.vanilla.futurecdn.net/13-4-18/js/authorBio.js"); } else { console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); } Bruno Ferreira Contributor Bruno Ferreira is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware. He has decades of experience with PC hardware and assorted sundries, alongside a career as a developer. He's obsessed with detail and has a tendency to ramble on the topics he loves. When not doing that, he's usually playing games, or at live music shows and festivals.
watzupken I am not surprised at this at all. When the cost of RAM have risen so sharply, replacing faulty RAM at a high price will be a steep loss. So I was expecting some if not most companies to eventually try and find ways to void warranties. And here we go. Reply
Jabberwocky79 I hadn't foreseen this issue but geez…. here's hoping my RAM stays healthy! Reply
ohio_buckeye Well at least I’m on ddr4 which is a little cheaper on the used market… Reply
mdpassmo Going through this with kingston right now and they have already sent back the rma to me but this ram also is not working correctly for me. They opened a new rma and are awaiting the results of testing each ram individually which ill.be doing today. Im pretty impressed how prompt kingston has been during this process. Reply
checkbuzz watzupken said: I am not surprised at this at all. When the cost of RAM have risen so sharply, replacing faulty RAM at a high price will be a steep loss. So I was expecting some if not most companies to eventually try and find ways to void warranties. And here we go. In many decent countries (EU, NZ, Australia) this type of action by retailers is illegal. As it should be. Reply
PEnns With stores acting like bandits and some manufacturers acting in cahoot /accomplices) maybe our only hope is DDR3. If it is still being manufactured or used! Reply
Mr Giggles Can you expect more than a full refund at the price you paid Reply
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/ddr5/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/ddr5/retailer-denies-memory-return-due-to-4x-increase-in-ddr5-pricing-says-price-increase-would-mean-an-upgrade-for-the-customer-australian-retailer-refuses-to-replace-faulty-corsair-kit#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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