Hardware & Technical Overclockers - Am I Being Too Picky?

[Richard Voorhees]

After a bit of tooing and froing with the custom-build guys at Overclockers I finally placed an order for my new rig. As part of the original spec I gave them I specified 16gb of RAM at +2000mhz. They came back with a quote for RAM at 2133mhz which I was fine with.

A couple of days ago I got an email saying that the RAM in the quotation was out of stock and inviting me to contact them. So, I phoned them and they asked if I would accept a substitute. I said I would if it was of the same spec and quality.

An email arrived last night to say my system was complete and had been despatched. Hallelujah! Until I check the invoice and find that the substitute RAM is 16gb at 1600mhz. At the same price.

I banged an email straight back to them last night and I'm fairly sure I'll be sending them the rig straight back too.

Soooo, am I being too picky here?

If it affects any replies, I'm paying around £1800 for the rig.

 

[Nagual]

Soooo, am I being too picky here?

.

No, not at all. If they quoted you for a product and fail to substitute one of at least similar value, then you are entitled to pick away .

What were the two different RAMs anyway.. perhaps the 1600 one is more expensive?

 

[Richard Voorhees]

What were the two different RAMs anyway.. perhaps the 1600 one is more expensive?

Quoted for Adata XPG Extreme 2133mhz

Delivering Patriot Viper 'Black Mamba' 1600mhz

Okay, the Patriot has a more exciting name, perhaps, but to me it's like ordering a 2.0 petrol turbo and taking delivery of a 1.6 diesel.

 

[Philip Coutts]

Are they giving you the 1600 for less? I would stick to your guns, you should get what you pay for in my opinion.

 

[Richard Voorhees]

Are they giving you the 1600 for less? I would stick to your guns, you should get what you pay for in my opinion.

No, they were going to charge the same. After a phone call they've said the 1600 should have been about £20 less.

So it looks like I'm going to send them the 1600 back and they're going to send me this:

TeamGroup Xtreem LV 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit

As I'm not in a tearing hurry to get this rig up and running I guess I can live with the situation. (as I'm not in the Alpha)

 

[Philip Coutts]

Hmmmm a bit cheeky but if it all ends up okay then no real harm done except the hassle factor.

 

[insanephoton]

I'd say that you have every right to feel a bit miffed over this. I know some companies reserve to right to substitute components with equivalents of a different brand, but the point is it should be equivalent either in performance or price, if not both.

 

[Cmdr Andy B]

on a rig that is built to be overclocked the spec of the memory can make a big difference so stick to your guns and go for the higher spec

 

[Richard Voorhees]

After spending the weekend unsuccessfully trying to enlist the help of a mate to extract the RAM, I watched a couple of Youtube vids and did the job myself.

Sooooo, the RAM is winging it's way back to Overclockers and hopefully they'll turn it around quickly and get the proper stuff out to me before the weekend. Then I'll be able to spend a happy couple of days rearranging the study....

 

[Cosmos]

In answer to the OP. No you aren't being picky. 1600mhz and >2k Mhz are different. If I'd paid for the higher spec RAM then thats what I would expect

 

[Richard Voorhees]

Returned the RAM by RMSD yesterday. Received an email confirming this. Ten minutes later received another email saying they were despatching my replacement memory, stock no. MY-116-KS.

Being a natural sceptic, I checked the stock code on their website.....8gb @ 1866mhz! Not good when having a stressful day at work, so I got straight on the phone.....

At first they tried to tell me the original quote was a mistake (say what??) and I should only have been shipped 8gb in the first place and the 16gb was a 'goodwill gesture' by them. Goodwill for what I ask? Finally got my point across that I had a quote, in black and white, that I had paid for 16gb @ 2k+mhz and that was what I expected them to deliver. After a short 'speak to my supervisor' delay I've been told that they are shipping out the memory as originally quoted.

This has been my first and probably last experience with Overclockers.

 

[Hamerstein]

Kudos for sticking to your guns Richard. I've had similar experiences with being offered inferior substitutes, too many companies appear to rely on either consumer ignorance or desperation to get away with not meeting quoted specs.

 

[Nagual]

A friend of mine bought a system from Overclockers, and set it back when the PSU was making crackly sounds. According to them there was nothing wrong with it, and nearly 2 years down the line, still makes the sound. A shame, as they were quite well recommended, I'd stay away from them for the few times I've saw these sort of issues. It's not that problems happen, that can be with any company you get stuff from, but their customer service seems to be a tad shoddy.

 

[Zieman]

Kudos for sticking to your guns Richard. I've had similar experiences with being offered inferior substitutes, too many companies appear to rely on either consumer ignorance or desperation to get away with not meeting quoted specs.

Oh yes, such is the way of hars 'modern' *insert expletive(s) here* business world.

But one does cherish the few and far between moments of good customer service. Like back in 1997 when I went to my (then) local hunting/trekking store to buy a thermos flask that they had on sale. The item was out of stock, but the sale was still on, so instead of inferior product they offered me a superior (or at least a few £ more expensive) item for that same sale price. An offer I couldn't refuse And that flask still serves me well. Oh, I've been a recurring customer since then, every time I visit my hometown and am in need of related stuff, that particular shop is my 1st choice.

 

[Richard Voorhees]

Thursday.......no RAM arrived.

Friday......no RAM arrived.

So, I email Overblockheads asking where my replacement RAM is and get a reply:

Hi there the reason why your memory was changed was due to an Out of stock issue,

So to prevent delay of your system we replace them memory for like for like memory,
now you have insisted on returning the memory for the original respect which we still do not have stock of this is why you haven't received the memory.

Now I can change it to the memory it used to be or something of similar priced

IS IT JUST ME OR ARE WE GOING IN CIRCLES HERE?!?!? I AM ABSOLUTELY FURIOUS AND DISGUSTED WITH OVERCLOCKERS.

So I've sent them another email complaining about the situation which basically says that if they don't sort the situation out today I'm going to ship the system back to them and I'll expect to be reimbursed in full including all my shipping costs.

 

[Nagual]

-1 for their customer service. Perhaps worth while using one or more of the online review sites to make your issues available to other potential customers. Poor show by what at least to be, a well thought of company.

 

[Richard Voorhees]

Finally....after a phone call, which started off badly after I described the guy's email as 'nonsense', we're getting somewhere (hopefully). Told them what I wanted out of this and they've come up with the goods.

They're replacing the memory with Kingston HyperX Beast 16gb @ 2400mhz.

Let's wait and see what the courier brings tomorrow.

 

[Nagual]

Finally....after a phone call, which started off badly after I described the guy's email as 'nonsense', we're getting somewhere (hopefully). Told them what I wanted out of this and they've come up with the goods.

They're replacing the memory with Kingston HyperX Beast 16gb @ 2400mhz.

Let's wait and see what the courier brings tomorrow.

Good luck!

 

[Richard Voorhees]

The memory is being dropped off by the courier at lunchtime today!

 

[Rog]

Wow, I wonder why companies do this. Surely they've lost a lot of possible business from people reading horror stories like this.