GeorgeO
Well-Known Member
On a recent trip to the US I managed to get a 3 TB Ext drive from Seagate replaced. It was bought originally from the US and died within the warranty period(Feb 2013). As is normal, I went on line, checked on the Seagate site and was assigned an RMA with instructions to ship it to their channel partners, Accel Frontline, Chennai. I sent it there, and to my dismay for a couple of months neither did they respond(even by email), or to my written reminder. The RMA status showed it as"open" or awaiting delivery for the entire period of about three months.
Finally I arranged for someone from Chennai to go over,with a copy of my correspondence, only to be told that the warranty had expired and that I would get it back if I remitted Rs 100, and that too, only by MO(no cash, no DD) to cover shipping charges.
I was debating what to do, including whether to write it off-the USB 3.0 case itself was worth more, and consulted someone in the US about options. He promptly advised me to take up the matter with Seagate Customer Support in the US.To my good luck I checked and found that on their website they have a chat window for customers like me to communicate with them, and once I connected, was told that I should contact one of their 1-800 customer care numbers who could extend the warranty, and got a new RMA issued by them, provided it was shipped back to them in California. Accordingly I followed up with Accel( including some threatening words) and after considerable effort got the drive shipped back, took it to the US with me last month and voila now have a brand spanking new replacement drive! I may not have done it and may have accepted the appalling treatment from Accel if the drive was less that 1TB, but 3TB represented a higher investment, and it was worth making the extra effort for the reward. The cost? Rs 100 + $12 for shipping by USPS Priority from SFO to their centre near LA.
Finally I arranged for someone from Chennai to go over,with a copy of my correspondence, only to be told that the warranty had expired and that I would get it back if I remitted Rs 100, and that too, only by MO(no cash, no DD) to cover shipping charges.
I was debating what to do, including whether to write it off-the USB 3.0 case itself was worth more, and consulted someone in the US about options. He promptly advised me to take up the matter with Seagate Customer Support in the US.To my good luck I checked and found that on their website they have a chat window for customers like me to communicate with them, and once I connected, was told that I should contact one of their 1-800 customer care numbers who could extend the warranty, and got a new RMA issued by them, provided it was shipped back to them in California. Accordingly I followed up with Accel( including some threatening words) and after considerable effort got the drive shipped back, took it to the US with me last month and voila now have a brand spanking new replacement drive! I may not have done it and may have accepted the appalling treatment from Accel if the drive was less that 1TB, but 3TB represented a higher investment, and it was worth making the extra effort for the reward. The cost? Rs 100 + $12 for shipping by USPS Priority from SFO to their centre near LA.
