ASUS (DIS)SERVICE

I sent in my ASUS M70SA to ASUS because the primary hard drive had failed completely and wouldn't boot, even in a USB enclosure,etc.. I got it back with a note saying that they had replaced the motherboard since I was having trouble turning the unit off and on (????) I checked and sure enough, the dead hard drive was untouched and the OS was installed over my 2nd Hard Drive (I had included a note to leave it alone since it had a lot of stuff on it. Yes, it was backed-up, but it's still a hassle.

I called ASUS customer service to explain what had happened and see what they would do. They agreed to pick up the unit at my house on SATURDAY no less and to fix the problems, then overnight it back.

After a week and a half, I called them to see what the problem was. They said that someone had accidentally shipped it by mule train, but that it should arrive in a few days. Actually, they said ground second class or something and then said that they had no idea why service would do that since the contract says overnight.

I got it back today. The box looked like they'd thrown it down a few shafts at coal mines. Completely trashed and blackened. It was new before I sent it.

I got the notebook out and noticed that the lid of the notebook which is gray and looks like carbon fiber looked like they slid it across a concrete floor on its lid. No kidding. Big scratches all over the lid. Some arcing, some straight, lots of swirls. Looks like a ten year old notebook.

Then I fired it up. Starts alright. I check to make sure the OS is on optical hard drive 1 instead of 2. It is. Problem is, my former drives were 250GB apiece. This has one that show as 116GB and 109GB. They aren't even matched! So I've lost over half of my capacity. I've been without my notebook for a month and will be without it again. My formerly new laptop looks like hell, and even the box is trashed.

I never spoke directly to the repair dept. but I get the feeling they didn't like my complaining about them screwing up the first time. What are my options?
Can I make them buy it back? Replace it with an equal or better unit? I don't believe the exact model is available.

Sorry you've had to go through this. I've had a similar experience with Toshiba and like you, will never buy from them again.

In the service contract for Toshiba, there was a "Lemon clause" that if there were 3 separate tickets open, they would replace it with one of equal value. Excited, I called them up and gladly pointed out that it has been in for repair no less than 11 times (yes, eleven) and I want a new one. They told me "they didn't close the tickets for each one, so there is only two". Yes, two tickets for many many different problems over 2.5 years. They screwed me over basically.

Look in your contract to see if there is a clause such as that. If you just got this thing and paid via credit card/local bank, you could see what you can do there via Chargeback. I'd use that as a last resort though, give them at least some time to clear up the issue. I know how you feel though, my laptop was supposed to be a desktop replacement and I dropped 4k on it to get a nice one; failed 2 weeks later.


IMPORTANT:
So, Thideras' advice for "I've been there". Sit back, relax and start working your way up the chain of command at Acer. Call them up, and this is extremely crucial, be 100% calm and be extra nice. I work in the technical support field and THE LAST thing I want to hear is a customer yelling at me. This sounds rude, but if they get in my face and are being rude without me even getting as far as trying to help them, I don't really try. If you call up, explain the issue and say "I'm having a really bad day and this problem isn't helping, what can you do?"; I will go well out of my way to make sure that the problem is fixed as quickly as possible.


I really do hope you get the issue resolved. Keep us updated.