EVGA's World Famous Customer Service...Not

[mrgoodkat]

Just went through the tech support/RMA process for my Supernova 850 GS power supply - awful experience all around. Their website, if not "down for maintenance" is often fatally buggy. I couldnt submit a support ticket so I had to email me them the ticket separately. The problems only continued. Whomever manages that site needs a new job. It doesn't leave you with a good impression and what do you know, I was right!


Just before pulling the trigger on cross-ship collateral (just to receive the same unit from two years ago) I happened across the 21 one-egg reviews on Newegg all stating the same or similar issues, when searching for an answer to my fan issue (The fan kicks-on and shakes the entire PC and desk! Someone traced it back to the unit being fan-side-down which is incredibly common these days with cases almost always having bottom venting. Apparently this nano bearing fan hates being upside down. Or at least some of them do.) These reviews highlighted other issues I have had since day one but always attributed to general weirdness. PC won't come back from sleep, sometimes it will not power on unless I power-cycle the PSU by unplugging and replugging, etc. A switch to a very old backup and even underpowered PSU solves all issues.

Some people are claiming multiple RMA's with the same results when being returned the same GS PSU, in both Newegg reviews and the EVGA forum. Then it moves on to new cables, etc, with EVGA trying everything but the logical thing. I've offered to even take a lesser unit as I have zero confidence in this thing. I just want something other than this unit or would not do the RMA. They just won't work with me. After more than a dozen emails speaking with a different person each time (which isnt helpful) EVGA will do everything in their power to deny a problem with this PSU and suggest you are a moron. "All products have bad reviews." They simply will not listen to reason.

21 bad reviews on Newegg (only 60% positive overall), the majority after RMA. People continually sent back this same model.

I finally spoke to one person through email who sounded like they knew what they were talking about and that for a two year old power supply they "couldn't imagine they would replace it with the same model but wouldnt know until I submitted collateral for cross ship." If at that time the part number didn't update to something else, "let us know." I submitted collateral, it didn't update, I let them know with no response until today when I get a shipping confirmation. I did a live chat that was absolutely pointless. "Should I refuse shipment from UPS and expect to get my money back as I dont want to pay for return shipping for your cockup?" He doesn't know but does not recommend it. Should have trusted my gut.

So I will be ditching this and taking my money elsewhere. Terrible experience. After the ACX 2.0 thing Im no longer going to be loyal to EVGA. Being loyal to a company is a terrible concept, anyhow. I got caught up in the fact they are based in the US, which is just silly unless they are making anything here. Be loyal to your wallet. They clearly are to theirs, to their increasing detriment in recent years. I understand the concept of loss prevention, but at some point it is just absurd to the point you lose a loyal customer going back a decade, at least.


Newegg will only let you look at reviews from your order history, of a product no longer being sold so I attached some screencaps below. Tell me these are not indicative of a common problem that apparently I should just be expected to play the lottery with. I dont have time for this. This is more a work PC than a fun PC. I would have just purchased something new had I been given the right information.

 

[caddi daddi]

that's a bit strange, I have 4 850 G2's, 1 runs upside down 24/7 and has been for well over a year now, one lives upside down and is on and off for over a year and never an issue, one is mounted on it's side and has been running 24/7 for months, the other is mounted fan up and is on and off, I'll buy them if they'll keep making them.
I just opened my rma card from them to find they sent me a 1060, 6 gig ssc card and not a 970 ftw+ card, kills my gtx970 sli kit, but a 1060 is always better than a 970.
I have 2 issues with evga rma,
#1, I have to pay shipping.....
#2, kills my 970 sli kit and now I have to find a trade to get another 970....... that was the second rma, that card I got from evga, rma because the first 970 ftws would not sli.

 

[Tír na nÓg]

Call them! They sorted my last issues (1080 bought brand new from a local shop was already registered and I could not step up) in 2 calls, one email (invoice copy) and 45 minutes!

 

[EarthDog]

G2s are not GS and i believe have different type of fan.

Caddi, did you tell them you needed a 970 back?

Sucks... its rare to hear a bad experience through evga. I certainly wouldnt avoid them... especially considering the acx2 thing was blown way WAY out of proportion and took the impressionable with them.

 

[caddi daddi]

no I didn't, I wish that I had though, a single 970 in there just looks all kind of wrong..........
but it does give me a valid excuse to find another 1080 and sli them......... so, all in all not a total loss.

and I guess my eyes were seeing what they expected to see, I saw g2.........

 

[mrgoodkat]

The G2 was a superflower 850 with a 10 year warranty and the G or GS was a seasonic with a 7 year warranty, but only if you registered in a certain period to bump it up from 5 years, if my memory is correct. Maybe this is why. But I mean, Seasonic. The unit I was going to buy to replace this was a Seasonic. However at this point EVGA is totally superflower even if demand is high and superflower has to contract out to lesser builders, which is becoming an issue. Customer reviews of their new G3 units have enough issues for me to want to stay away before all of this. Tom's Hardware even had an issue with the review unit they were sent and have documented that some of their bronze units are not being made by superflower themselves.


Just got the RMA and it is a used or previous RMA unit with small scratches and stickers peeling off. Im really disappointed in EVGA. If their price beats someone else I might take the dive with them again but in situations like my 1070 purchase, where I paid $20 over the competitor to hopefully not have to RMA to Asia (if that is even a thing anymore, but I did wait 3 months on OCZ RAM once because of the Chinese New Year and vowed that was the last time), I won't be paying a premium to EVGA again. Which means I likely won't be doing business with them again because they are almost always at a premium.

Really just kind of sad. This is what they are known for and the first time I need to test their CS it is just misery, every step. Again, I just wanted to know if I could get something different, or I would cut my losses and put this on ebay for parts and buy a new PSU. It sounded like I could based on the last person I spoke with, and before I could get a response raising a flag about the part number not changing, as instructed to do (I never got a response), they shipped this turd. And now I have to pay shipping back to get my $124 back. What a joke.

I dont think I was being unreasonable at any point. I've gone over it in my head a bunch of times.


Edit: Just called them and the least they will do is send me a prepaid label back to them for clapped-out RMA unit they just sent me. Asked for proof I was told I might be sent something different and to contact them if it didn't update to a new part - "Well, he shouldn't have said that." Fine. I just want to be done with this and had proper info been given I never would have had to deal with it. They also have no system to know when they receive the return or when I will receive my $124 collateral back (more than I originally paid for the thing). Im really thinking of just doing a chargeback once I go through the trouble of making sure they get it back since they are "currently working on a system to track such things." I haven't dealt with an impressive or knowledgeable person this whole time. Their website is a mess. I dont even know if I would give them my money if they had the best price on something. But they wont, so Im safe in having to make that decision.

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[Mr.Scott]

FWIW, I find that your CS experience is directly related to how you convey your message to them.
IE: if you talk to them like a [edited], expect to get said [edited] up your ***.
This is the same for any manufacturer, not just EVGA.
I suspect your experience was along these lines, just from reading your posts.

 

[Alaric]

FWIW, I find that your CS experience is directly related to how you convey your message to them.
IE: if you talk to them like a ****, expect to get said **** up your ***.
This is the same for any manufacturer, not just EVGA.
I suspect your experience was along these lines, just from reading your posts.

Yeah, I'm always as golly gee nice as I can be when dealing with warranty issues. Not because I'm a pushover, (I'm actually kind of a [edited] myself) but for three very good reasons-
A) I want something from them.
2)I haven't gotten it yet.
C) All of the above.

Job 1 is to get my problem solved, and people tend to be more willing to go that extra mile for someone they believe appreciates their efforts.

 

[Bill Dimwit]

In my option, mostly dealing with crappy support from ISP's at work. Support in most company's don't do much until you get nasty.

But you always start out nice and kind. No point in starting out mean and nasty. The support tech is not the one making your life hard, why makes his life hard right off the bat? Support is there is help, not be yelled at.

 

[petteyg359]

I never had good luck with EVGA or there support, Yeah they're nice and all. But they always gave me some sort of BS and refused to lift a finger.

Then you have a crap/fake caps they put on everything from the 7xxx to the 5xx line. the 7xxx and 8xxx card from EVGA were the worst, 8800ultra aside
I mean they used such crappy caps that you can find cap kits online for there cards. Their AMD motherboard were the same.
Not once would they honer an RMA for a card/motherboard that had failed caps because that was physical damage, Yha, use fake/junk caps, they will fail and EVGA will not honorer an RMA because its physical damage. Something tells me they knew what they were doing.

lets not forget how EVGA likes to claim your card somehow had physical damage after they revive it for RMA.
Oh and ever get a bad card from there B stock? your crap out of luck, I bought two 285 2gb back in the day from the B stock e-store they have, both were DOA and they would not do anything about it. 30-day warranty, warrantied piece of crap is what I got.

My advice don't buy from EVGA.

Contrary anecdote. I physically broke a cap right off an EVGA card once (6600GT, IIRC). I called and asked them and asked how much it would cost to repair, and they instead shipped me a brand new one under warranty and paid shipping to take the old one back.

 

[Bill Dimwit]

Contrary anecdote. I physically broke a cap right off an EVGA card once (6600GT, IIRC). I called and asked them and asked how much it would cost to repair, and they instead shipped me a brand new one under warranty and paid shipping to take the old one back.

Well aren't you lucky. I sent back cards that simply had a busted cap or two and they never once fixed it. and they always made me pay rerun shipping if I wanted the card back.