Hey guys,
super weird situation's come up, and I figured a sanity check from others who've dealt with similar stuff might be in order.
PB Tech is the NZ supplier for EVGA equipment, I got an EVGA GTX 1080 FE off Computer Lounge at launch (just over 2 years ago now), and then a few months later got the EVGA GTX 1070/1080 Hybrid Cooler Kit off PB Tech (not quite 2 years ago).
The impeller in the AIO cooler has failed, I've taken the card in to PB Tech and basically said "Fix it, it's broken, and you guys need to sort it", and they've come back saying they can only send the cooler off to the manufacturer for RMA (fine) and that they need to remove the card from the cooler (fine), and that I will need to pay them for this service (not fine) and they won't send it away until I confirm I will pay (not fine).
Am I being unreasonable with my theory that they're the NZ Manufacturer, so the GPU falls within their realm, and even if it didn't, it wouldn't be unreasonable to say that the costs incurred from the removal of the cooler are costs that would be on charged to them as part of the equipment failure, as these costs are being directly incurred due to the faulty equipment?
Also, if they continue to play silly buggers, would I be unreasonable to then reject the product(s) and demand a full refund for the invoice cost of the part(s), as well as incurred additional costs?
If so, would it also be reasonable to say that the card in it's current state sans hybrid cooler is unusuable as the OEM cooler will likely not be refitted by them and that there are no consumer instructions to refit the OEM cooler (unlike the Hybrid cooler which comes with explicit information on how to uninstall the OEM cooler and install the Hybrid cooler), and should be subject to return to the manufacturer for a full refund of the original cost also?
I've already sent them off an email basically saying "You've quoted me 1-3 weeks to repair this, both of these parts (GPU and Cooler) under NZ Law classify you as the Manufacturer, resolve it", to which they've responded with "We aren't the manufacturer, they won't take the GPU back only the cooler, please pay us or remove it yourself".
Fingers crossed none of this gets that far, and they just do the right thing, swallow the cost/try and recoup the costs from their overseas supplier (EVGA), and get on with fixing my graphics card, because the rickety old R9 280x I'm using is super dodgy, and they have refused to supply me an alternative card to use in lieu while my card is being repaired.