Webshop sold the product and refuses to service it

[nnm]

Note

Before I get on with the story, please keep in mind that the matter is still ongoing. I will keep this post updated with new details when I get them. In the meantime if anyone has an advice on how to proceed with this matter, please let me know. It'll be much appreciated.

TLDR

I bought a motherboard, CPU, RAM from *knip* Webwinkel . It stopped working and I send it to Webwinkel for service. The serial number on the mother board does not match with whatever is recorded in their system. And now they refuse to service it, because according to them, I have obtained this board from somebody else.

How it started...

Recently I decided to upgrade my home NAS server which is running on a very old hardware right now. Since power consumption is one of the main factors, I stopped my research on ASRock IMB-X1231 industrial motherboard and decided to pair it with Intel's 13th Gen processor and 64 gigs of ECC memory. CPU and memory are generally available everywhere, however the motherboard is difficult to buy, and the only retailer in the Netherlands that sells it is Webwinkel.

I placed my order and patiently waited for it to be delivered. It took Webwinkel almost one month to get the board from their supplier and to my door. Which is absolutely fine. It's not a common piece of equipment and I was not in a hurry. Besides the hardware I also requested the BIOS update, cause the 13th Gen CPUs are supported on a later versions and I did not know what version will be available from factory. As a part of BIOS update service Webwinkel also makes sure that all components are compatible and working together.

So when I got the package, I got the motherboard with CPU and RAM already preinstalled. Just had to pop on the cooler and boot media. The system started without a hitch, everything worked perfectly for about two weeks.

Then it died. It powers on, but no signal on the display, no beeps from the speaker. So I reached out to Webwinkel tech support and they asked me to send the whole package back to them for testing (motherboard, CPU, RAM).

How it's going...

Here I will mostly quote my interaction with Webwinkel via email.

Webwinkel

We have received your return in good order, thank you.
When checking one of your products, we noticed that the serial number of the motherboard you submitted differs from your request.
Specified: xxxxxxxx (also visible on box)
Submitted: yyyyyyyyy
The submitted serial number does not come from Webwinkel.
We can offer you the following options:
- You provide information that shows that the product does come from Webwinkel. We will then reassess your application.
- We will return the product to your specified return address.
- We destroy the product in an environmentally friendly manner.

me

This is the motherboard that I got from Webwinkel, I remember that the serial number on the box was striked through with the black marker, it looked weird but I did not pay attention to that when I got the product, because I also ordered the BIOS update from Webwinkel. The platform was working, so there was no reason to compare the serial number on the box with the number of the board.
The package that I sent back was exactly as I received it from your company, nothing more, nothing less.
Can you please check with whoever was doing the BIOS update or packing the order?

Webwinkel

We double checked and verified with our assembly department, but there is not a single number on the motherboard that matches the serial number on the box and it always matches. In addition, this product has no RMA history and the product has not previously been returned. We have no choice but to conclude at this time that the returned motherboard did not come from us, which means we cannot take care of warranty processing for you at this time.

me

This is not a mass market board that you can buy at every corner.
Right now it is a 350 euro piece of equipment that does not work! I don't know what sort of proof you expect from me to prove that this came from Webwinkel.
The board and all the other parts included in this service ticket had come from Webwinkel, whatever serial numbers you have on record are clearly messed up (I don't know if it is your fault, or supplier's fault, and frankly it is not my problem as a customer). Attaching the invoice for reference.

[ Voor 3% gewijzigd door Yorinn op 20-10-2024 21:26 . Reden: Naam winkel weggehaald conform beleid ]

[Reptielenbrein]

*knip* Dit kan ook op een andere toon.

[ Voor 76% gewijzigd door Yorinn op 20-10-2024 21:23 ]

[TeeDee]

So, it's still an ongoing process of warranty / rma / stuff not working anymore?
I expect a couple of other users will chip in with advice, (mostly about you starting this topic in English) but the main entrypoint for this topic will be the last reply of (Webshop) in this case.

offtopic:
how can you order a BIOS update?

[ Voor 11% gewijzigd door TeeDee op 20-10-2024 21:40 ]

[gambieter]

The board and all the other parts included in this service ticket had come from Webwinkel, whatever serial numbers you have on record are clearly messed up (I don't know if it is your fault, or supplier's fault, and frankly it is not my problem as a customer). Attaching the invoice for reference.

But it is your problem. It wouldn't be the first time people try to get rid of a broken component with the switcheroo trick. Also, they will be unable to deal with the RMA with Asrock if the serial is unknown/incorrect.

You could register the serial with Asrock and see what it comes up with.

[nnm]

@TeeDee
- It is an ongoing process indeed, I decided to kick off this thread to see if anyone else has / had similar experience, and hopefully get some valuable inputs that I can use during my convo with *knip* Naam winkel.
- Unfortunately my Dutch is not good enough for such a long post, and I'm not 100% sure how Google translate or similar might change the original if I try to translate. So, sorry for posting in English.
- On your off-topic question: *knip* Onnodige link naar winkel

@gambieter I understand what you are trying to say, and I realize that this might be a genuine problem for the seller, when people try and do the "switcheroo trick". However look at it from my side as well - ordered, worked for 2 weeks, hardware not working. Usually one of the reasons why you buy products from big retailers like *knip* Naam winkel and not some noname reseller is to get these sort of things sorted out quickly and as efficiently as possible. And especially you won't be expecting these sort of issues with serial numbers.

Also, how do you mean "register the serial with ASrock?"

[ Voor 6% gewijzigd door Yorinn op 20-10-2024 22:07 . Reden: Naam en link naar winkel weggehaald conform beleid ]

[bwerg]

gambieter schreef op zondag 20 oktober 2024 @ 21:45:
[...]

But it is your problem.

Legally, I don't expect that it is. Objectively, either something went wrong at the side of the web shop or at the side of nnm (deilberate or by accident). nmn has no proof of his claim that the mobo came from the web shop, but since this is an uncommon and expensive mobo, it's unlikely that he has mutliple which he could have swapped. The web shop has a vague argument in terms of an unknown number but that could just as well be due to an error on their side, or an error on the side of Asrock. Moreover, denying a conformance claim is quite a major break of consumer law, so if this would make it to court (hypothetically, or, if the web shop doesn't change their stance, maybe realistically), I would expect a judge to require a better proof. Of course, this is uncertain unless someone knows a prior case.

"If this claim would be accepted, then customers could make misuse of it". This is not an argument, as, unfortunately, that's the risk of running a business. There are 1000 ways in which customers can make misuse of consumer law, particularly in case of web shops (for example, just denying that you received a product, because a "proof" of delivery is not very strong either).

Since the conflict is now just about a difference in factual claims, the only thing to do is to stay firm in your statement, state that this is the mobo that you received from them and that you will not take responsibility for something that could have gone wrong anywhere in the supply chain. If they also don't change their stance, the only thing left to do is take this to court, or to a "geschillencommissie" if the web shop is registered with one. Although the outcome of a geschillencommissie is somewhat more random.

[ Voor 3% gewijzigd door bwerg op 20-10-2024 22:28 ]

[gambieter]

bwerg schreef op zondag 20 oktober 2024 @ 22:24:
Legally, I don't expect that it is.

I am talking effectively. The webshop has a valid reason not to accept the return (i am not making any statement on where it has gone wrong).

Since the conflict is now just about a difference in factual claims, the only thing to do is to stay firm in your statement, state that this is the mobo that you received from them and that you will not take responsibility for something that could have gone wrong anywhere in the supply chain. If they also don't change their stance, the only thing left to do is take this to court, or to a "geschillencommissie" if the web shop is registered with one. Although the outcome of a geschillencommissie is somewhat more random.

I think that route is unavoidable