My Chronicles...

16/07: I Shall Not Honor My Warranty - A computer shop review

Last week, my computer's graphic card (MSI 6600GT TD128E) hiccuped and its fan died. I had bought it from Regent Computers based in Saddar, Rawalpindi at the start of December, 2005. Since it was still under warranty, I took it to the shop and told them the issue the card was having. They accepted the warranty claim and first tried to have the fan repaired from a nearby shop. When I asked them for an alternate graphics card till the time mine was repaired, they told me to come the next day to see if the issue with my card was resolved.


The next day, I went back to the shop and found that my card had been repaired and the fan was now working fine albeit with a slight whirring noie. I insisted that the card be returned to the noiseless condition it was previously in and was told that for that, they will have to send it to Lahore. I Ok'ed it and asked for a replacement card.

The person I dealt with told me to come the next day for the replacement card while he lightheartedly told me that the fan is usually not covered under the warranty. Some of his fellows at the shop agreed vehemently with him while I stood my stand that the fan is a part of the graphics card and hence covered under the warranty.

Anyhow, I came back the next day and was given an MSI R9550 graphics card (ATI Radeon) which I took home. On trying to install the card in my computers motherboard, I discovered that the shopkeeper had mistakenly given me an AGP card while I needed a PCI-E card. I got on the phone and on bringing the matter to the shopkeeper's attention, he first said that he didn't had a PCI-E card and after I insisted, asked me to come again the next day to get a PCI-E card instead.

The next day when I went to the shop, the person named Faheem gave me a brand new MSI 6200GT card with the driver CD from an unopened box albeit with the caution to be very careful with it since it was brand new.

I have since been running my PC with the 6200GT card and am awaiting the return of my own 6600GT card in the coming week.

I just thought I would mention this to any prospective PC/hardware buyers in Islamabad/Rawalpindi so that they know that this particular shop did honor it's warranty agreement, however reluctant they were, unlike the dozens of other shops which refuse to honor their warranties. Furthermore they gave me an alternate card to use till the time my own card is back (even though I had to be quite insistent to get the replacement).

I would however offer a word of advice to said buyers. Try to deal with the person named Faheem at the shop. His brother and other people at the shop are typical "no warranty - your fault" people who quote higher hardware prices. For instance, while at the shop, I asked the price of a mobile hard disk enclosure. Faheem quoted me a price of Rs.650 while his brother quoted me a price of Rs.750. Just be a bit wary in the eventuality of such an event happening.

I hope you have a good experience in your dealings with this shop like I did!

Update: Finally got my card back today (08/08/06). The heatsink has some kind of black coloured layer on it but the fan is now fine and silent. It has been running ok till now. I will start playing Hitman Blood Money at max settings today.. :D

Update: After talking to other people about this shop, I take back my recommendation. Even though they reluctantly took the card back under warranty, they took too long to return it. Other people who have dealt with them have a very negative opinion of them due to their warranty policies and long return times. Apparently, I am not the lone sufferer at their hands. Consequently, I have changed this from a recommendation to a review of the shop. Try buying as less as you can from this shop.