When "Lifetime Warranty" Memory... Isn't

InakaBoyJoe asks: "What do you do when memory with a 'lifetime warranty' fails? You send it back to the dealer of course -- if they're still around. But when I called The Chip Merchant, they refused to honor the warranty, citing a change in ownership. But they also claim on their website to have been doing business since 1985, and are still using the same name, domain, and phone number as before. So it seems the new owners are trying to reap all the benefits of a connection with the old company, while incurring none of the liabilities. How convenient! Instead of an apology for the months of headaches caused by the bad RAM, I got the runaround and was told to contact some guy in San Diego. The policy is also mentioned here. This means that anyone who bought 'lifetime warranty' memory from The Chip Merchant before April 19, 2004 is SOL. Given the popularity of this vendor, I think this is a pretty big deal. And what these guys are doing sounds vaguely illegal. What recourse do we have when companies pull a fast one like this?"

Comments

Computer Senility?

[biryokumaru]

Are you telling me my computer is going to go senile and there's nothing I can do about it?

Speaking of senile, I wonder if god will give me a refund on grandma...

Apparently

[Neil Blender]

Lifetime refers to the life of the chip.

Fairly simple, effective solution

[USSJoin]

Disclaimer: IANAL. However, a lot of my family are, and I was talking to them about a related issue, and this was their solution.

File suit. No, not a big-money high-powered attorney type lawsuit; head on down to your local Small Claims court.
Why is this good? Well, small claims courts have a maximum damages amount of ~$5000-$10000, depending on where you live. However, you don't need to be a lawyer, you can argue your case yourself. And the filing fees are reasonable for the rest of us: where I live, the cost is $7.

All you need to do, to file, is say that you have exhausted all other measures in dealing with the company: so, sounds like you've called them. Write one letter, telling them that you intend to sue, and send it by certified mail. Give them 15 days, and on the 16th, file.

You can file locally to you, not them, even if they're in another state. The court notifies them of the trial date. And then, come trial day, you go, argue your case (again, no lawyer necessary), and-- they don't show up, usually. So the judge rules in your favor, and gives you a judgement-- which is *incredibly* fun to have against a company.

So this approach gives you everything you want, including the pleasure of revenge, and you get your money back. Happy Hunting!

Re:Fairly simple, effective solution

[willfe]

A valid judgment from a court is among the easiest things in the world to sell to a debt collection agency. Sell it for 80% or so of its face value, walk away with much of your money, and let the agency deal with collecting the judgment. Way easier to deal with than a bounced check.

Re:Fairly simple, effective solution

[billcopc]

$100 worth of memory is just the beginning. When suing, you can try to argue the lost income of dealing with this problem.. factor in troubleshooting time, any money paid for tech support, the time you spent on the phone arguing with the dipshits.. time is money.

Warranties are nice for the casual user, but they're an intangible asset for a company. When you buy something with a 3 year warranty, you can count on having it work for 3 years and not have to budget for it because it will be repaired/replaced free of charge. If that warranty becomes void, so does the paper value of your product.

Your 100$ device has cost you far more in lost time and potential income, you'd be a fool to not try and stick it to them, if only to send a message to these crooks.

Re:Fairly simple, effective solution

[ninewands]

The easiest way to handle a matter of this nature is to file suit where the defendant is located. This is because you only have to get your judgment and then, after a certain period has expired (varies according to local law), have the court issue a writ of execution on the judgment. Under the writ, a local constable will tell the judgment debtor to surrender sufficient assets to be sold at auction to satisfy the judgment or to pay up in cash. Never underestimate the ability of someone big, not too smart, and bearing a badge and gun, to collect a debt.

If you decide to go the stubborn way and sue in your own local court you could well find your case going all the way to the US Supreme Court before you have a collectible judgment. Trust me, IAAL, suing in the defendant's locale is the easy way to handle small claims.

Hay

[Leffe]

What recourse do we have when companies pull a fast one like this?

Fire, lots of it. Burn their offices down. And see if you can find my stapler while you are there, it is red!

Chip Merchant

[the eric conspiracy]

I used to buy my stuff from the Chip Merchant, but when they sold out the character of the operation changed remarkably. I was probably one of their earliest customers - I found them in MacWeek, and remember hearing a woman and child in the background when placing an order. They guy was probably working out of his house at the time.

It's sad to see a company that used to be trustworthy turn to the dark side like this. Needless to say I am no longer one of their customers.

BUT as far as changing owners, they have no right to just blow you off. You have a contract with them. Contact the BBB in the area they are located, as well as the State Attorney general. A lot of companies try to screw people knowing that they just will not be persistant enough to complain. When they start getting letters from the Attorney General it will get their attention. I have done this in cases where the company tried to stiff me on a rebate. It usually works.

Bad publicity

[general_re]

What recourse do we have when companies pull a fast one like this?

thechipmerchantsucks.com is currently available. ;)

Re:Corporations Live through Purchase

[Anonymous Coward]

Your waranty was issued by a corporate entity, and as such, is a contract with that entity. It doesn't matter how many times the ownership of the company changes, as long as the company exists, the company has a stable timeline.

Short answer, what they are doing is not legal, nail them for breach of contract.

Not so fast! If a company goes broke and they sell just the name as an asset, the next company is not accountable for the obligations of the former company. Those things are happening all the time. Same guys, same name, but different entity.

IT AIN'T RIGHT!

[BrianRaker]

Yaknow what, I live in "America's Finest City", a.k.a. San Diego, and live no more than 5 miles from the offices of The Chip Merchant. Try contacting Michael Turko at KUSI News (Non-affiliated television station with a penchant for doing consumer fraud news stories).

Funny thing is, KUSI's studios are less than a 5 minute's walk to The Chip Merchant's San Diego offices (they are pretty much in the same office park).