Visiontek's "lifetime warranty"

[artifex]

I bought their Xtasy Geforce 4 TI 4600 card last spring. I just tried to submit a warranty claim, and they say all they can do is give me a discount on a newer card. Also, take a close look at the forums on their website - there doesn't seem to be a way to register to use them.

 

[PowerMacG5]

OMG, 8 posts since 1999? How do you resist?

 

[Sid59]

Originally posted by: KraziKid
OMG, 8 posts since 1999? How do you resist?

lmao .. hahah

as for the original question ...

i haven't the slightest clue. but that totally sucks if their "lifetime warranty" is a discount on a newer card.

 

[Corporate Thug]

how much of a discount?

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: KraziKid
OMG, 8 posts since 1999? How do you resist?

That's two posts a year!
Anyway, when I called Visiontek about my 4600's bad fan, they basically said that if they ever got the fans in they'd send me one, if not just buy a replacement. I ended up replacing the heatsink\fan and the card started giving me fits 4 months later, replaced it with a 9600 Pro, and no problems.

 

[artifex]

Originally posted by: KraziKid
OMG, 8 posts since 1999? How do you resist?

I could say that I believe in quality more than quantity, but I'm more active at Slashdot and ars technica... I get responses that are more on-topic in those forums, usually. I also use the quick response here a lot.

So, anyway, what do you think about their lifetime warranty? They basically want to give me $125 credit for my defective card, that I have to apply towards the list price of their current ATI cards. Oh, and it gets better: I can only use the full credit if I buy one of the most expensive two cards, otherwise I can only use $80 worth. Their cheapest replacement is the Xtasy 9200 SE or SE PCI, each at $89.99. I don't know how the ATI 9200 compares to the 4600 in terms of 3D specs, but these models obviously don't include the VIVO functionality of the defective card.

 

[MDE]

Tell them you want a 9600 Pro or higher with VIVO, which is about the same performance as the 4600. If the first person you talk to doesn't do anything, ask for a supervisor. Don't settle for anything less than what you are replacing.

 

[amdskip]

Dang, how are you getting support from them? Is it phone or email? I'm waiting for them to get replacement blue orbs in stock for my card, taking them a couple months which doesn't make much sense to me. You'd think they would want to replace the fans asap so they keep the video card rma's down. I was told I could wait or rma the card so maybe you should try contacting someone else there. It is very shady business if all they will do is force you to buy a better video card.

 

[clawhusker]

You have to register your card, then they let you register for the forums - just did this with my new 9100 pci card. Then send you an email with your password. website is forum.visiontek.com

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: KraziKid
OMG, 8 posts since 1999? How do you resist?

Hahaha.

Seriously, he's one post away from breaking the "2 a year" trend!!

 

[mikeford]

Bottom line is many places will TRY to just brush you off, you have to be firm and keep poking them with what you want.

 

[cm123]

Originally posted by: artifex
I bought their Xtasy Geforce 4 TI 4600 card last spring. I just tried to submit a warranty claim, and they say all they can do is give me a discount on a newer card. Also, take a close look at the forums on their website - there doesn't seem to be a way to register to use them.

one of the few companies that I know of that truly offer a real lifetime warranty is BFGtech (old visiontek), others normally refer to "lifetime" as the life of product cycle etc... you still are at a risk they will only be able to replace your product with a current product, as your product starts to become old etc... that's not always bad although...

Here's BFG's quote & link (under, why are we different?):

24/7 FREE TECHNICAL SUPPORT.
BFG Tech is the only NVIDIA-based graphic card supplier that has round-the-clock toll-free telephone and email technical support.


LIFETIME WARRANTY.
Other vendors may claim to have a ?lifetime warranty?, but closer inspection of their policy reveals that ?lifetime? is defined as products currently on the shelf and in production.


http://www.bfgtech.com/index.htm

 

[artifex]

Here's the response I got from support@visiontek.com when I asked how the trade-up offer fit with the warranty:

Visiontek the company has filed bankrupcty inwhich it has voided the warranty. So we hartford computers have given the customer the chance to tradeup their cards for a newer card and get rid of their defective card.

I'm not sure what my legal standing is on this, if the original company went bankrupt.

 

[cm123]

Originally posted by: artifex
Here's the response I got from support@visiontek.com when I asked how the trade-up offer fit with the warranty:

Visiontek the company has filed bankrupcty inwhich it has voided the warranty. So we hartford computers have given the customer the chance to tradeup their cards for a newer card and get rid of their defective card.

I'm not sure what my legal standing is on this, if the original company went bankrupt.

That sounds like a tuff one, BFG is the orginal employees of visiontek. Maybe email them to see what if anything they know about others in the same boat as you. Maybe there is some action already being taken or such.

I hate seeing people in this spot, happens more than we think in this changing industry... I do you people at Hartford, they are good people (they sometimes do the building for IBM desktops), but not the orginal visiontek people.

I do know visiontek took bfg to court about other things and this issue also, sorry I did not continue to follow the case close to know the out come for you although.

If that doesn't work, I may be able to get you some contact info at nvidia that may also have info on any help or legal, about this matter... I would NOT be able to post something like that on this board although, if it comes to that for you.

 

[Pete]

That's strange, as I've heard of a couple of people RMA'ing GF3's successfully. What're their retail prices for a 9600 Pro or a 9500 Pro? I'd ask for one of those as a comparable RMA.

 

[modedepe]

Yep I've heard of people rmaing their old gf3's after visiontek went toes up and started selling ati cards. I can't imagine why they're giving you such a rough time.

 

[artifex]

Originally posted by: Pete
That's strange, as I've heard of a couple of people RMA'ing GF3's successfully. What're their retail prices for a 9600 Pro or a 9500 Pro? I'd ask for one of those as a comparable RMA.

Here's the letter they sent in reply to my first email:



Were sorry but the only option we can provide is tradeup your defective card for a newer and better card. enclosed is the information on this program .

-----Original Message-----
From: Jason [mailto:xxxxxxx]
Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2003 2:07 AM
To: support@visiontek.com
Subject: gf4 4600 card causing system crashes, etc.



Dear Support:

Hi. My Visiontek card is a Geforce 4 4600, serial number xxxxxxx. For
several weeks I have dealt with an ongoing issue with random crashes and
the screen sometimes flickering or the image becoming scrambled for a few
seconds.

I have replaced every component in my system from motherboard to drives to
power supplies, memory, cables, etc., and the only thing remaining in the
system has been the Visiontek card. Furthermore, I have tried installing
the card to another system, only to have it start exhibiting some of the
same random crashes and scrambling that I've seen on the first system. So
I've pretty much figured out it really is the card, and not anything else.

How do I go about getting an RMA and getting this replaced under warranty?
I tried calling your 866 number, but it was busy. If you like, you can
call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx to take care of this.

Thanks,

Jason xxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dallas, TX xxxxxxx



Here's the copy of the word doc they sent:





HARTFORD COMPUTER GROUP-VISIONTEK UPGRADE ORDER FORM

1. Shipping Information
Name: ___________________________________________
Address: _________________________________________
City, State, Zip: ____________________________________
Telephone: _______________________________________
E-mail address: ____________________________________

2. Returned Defective Card (Please choose one)
Card Type Credit Check Your Card Type
GeForce4 Ti4600 $125.00 0
GeForce4 Ti4400 $100.00 0
GeForce4 Ti4200/SE $80.00 0
GeForce4 Ti4200 64mb $50.00 0
GeForce3 Ti500 $50.00 0
Other________________ $35.00 0

3. Requested Upgraded Card (Please choose one)
Product Price Check New Card Credit (From above) Amount Due Max Credit
Xtasy 9800 XT $499.99 0 $________ $________ $125.00
Xtasy 9800 Pro 128mb $399.99 0 $________ $________ $125.00
Xtasy 9600 256mb $199.99 0 $________ $________ $80.00
Xtasy 9600 128mb $169.99 0 $________ $________ $50.00
Xtasy 9200 SE $89.99 0 $________ $________ $30.00
Xtasy 9200 SE-PCI $89.99 0 $________ $________ $30.00
Amount due equals the price minus credit
4. Payment Information
Credit Card - Visa/MasterCard: ____________________________________
Credit Card Number: ___________________________________________
CVV Number (Last 3 digits from the back of card): ____________________
Expiration Date: ________________________
Name on Card: _________________________

Mail this form and the defective graphics card to:
VisionTek Upgrade Program
1610 Colonial Parkway
Inverness, IL 60067
Make sure to include in your shipment:
0 Completed Form
0 Defective Card

Please note that the defective card must be received with a valid credit card prior to the shipment of the replacement card. You will receive a confirmation e-mail message from VisionTek upon receipt of this form. You are responsible for package tracking. VisionTek does not assume liability for loss in shipping. The appropriate sales tax will be added to your order in Illinois, Maryland, and Arizona. Prices and credits subject to change.



For those of you who say they know of people RMAing GF3s, were those recent or several months ago? Because I swear their website has changed in the last couple weeks - while I went looking for a vga card I could borrow in the meantime in order to RMA this thing

 

[artifex]

p.s. I don't think any of these cards is actually comparable, since I bought my card for the VIVO as much as the 3D performance, and none of the ATI based cards they sell has VI, just VO.

I only get busy signals when I try calling, so...

 

[Pete]

Not encouraging.... Sorry, all I can do is sympathize (and hope my Vtek 9100 stays functional).

 

[Maddscientist]

Man if I was in your shoes I would be sniffing around for a class action lawsuit.....seems very shady to me.

 

[mikeford]

What are the actual terms of the warranty you got with your video card?

 

[artifex]

Originally posted by: mikeford
What are the actual terms of the warranty you got with your video card?

Good question. I'll have to go find the slip of paper that was inside the box, but the box itself says "Lifetime warranty with on-line and toll-free telephone tech support."

 

[Schadenfroh]

report their butts to the BBB or at least threaten

 

[artifex]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
report their butts to the BBB or at least threaten

Well, I've just emailed them back showing that I see them giving out replacement cards to other people, and have asked them to have a manager go on record explaining this policy and why it doesn't apply to everyone:

I understand that the original company went bankrupt, but has there been any notice publicly given that you are no longer honoring the warranty of the company whose name and intellectual property you purchased? It's certainly not mentioned on your website, which redirects Gateway and Micron users, but otherwise says "Visiontek Products come with lifetime factory warranty. "

Additionally, I'm reading in various online forums that quite recently you have given replacement cards to other people with defective Ti 4600 cards, like

here, a 9500 Pro:
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/sho...4&perpage=20&highlight=visiontek&pagenumber=1

and here, someone was given a choice between two cards, and they 'only' had a Ti4200:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=85180&threshold=2&commentsort=3&tid=152&mode=nested&cid=7428921

Is there a manager there willing to be quoted on this policy, and can explain why it apparently doesn't apply to everyone?

Thanks,

Jason

Let's see what they say.

P.S. I hope the editors are reading this... the next time they do a roundup of video cards it'd be nice to see them mention how some companies rate in terms of warranty service. In fact, I think surveys for each major vendor would be interesting.

 

[Vette73]

OMG you people either can't read or just can't see it. His card has NO warranty. The Visiontek that made his card went out of business a while back, old news. The Visiontek he is dealing with is a new company that just uses the same name. They do NOT have to support his old warrenty as that was with another company.

What they are doing is offereing you a card probable at their cost level for your old one. They are trying to be nice, even thought they do not have to even offer this.

I have a Elsa video card that has gone bad, but Elsa went out of business a while back so even though there is a NEW Elsa out there, my card still has no warranty.