"Hi, I'm Homer Simpson. Remember me? I mooned for rebuttal."

Still trying to get my brain to tidy up everything that had transpired I stared at the phone for 30 seconds or so -- I honestly couldn't believe that someone could be so insecure that when challenged the best he could muster up in terms of a riposte was to hang up the phone. "Hi, I'm Homer Simpson. Remember me? I mooned for rebuttal". It was getting pretty clear now that nothing had really gotten confused or mistaken in the RMA process, but that I was dealing with incompetence or dishonest business practices -- or both. My brother-in-law said something to the effect of, "Yep, welcome to customer service in the UK".

I had mentioned on Overclockers UK webboard that I was going to have to RMA the card and someone else with the same card said he was having the same problems with his card. He asked me to let him know how the RMA would go. So, after the phone conversation I detailed in the message thread what had transpired to date. The thread was about 4 pages long and was for discussion of that specific card. I figured it was best to first let anyone else who might be in my same position know what he might face. After that, I decided to fire off another web note and see if it might get through to someone who might actually be interested in providing some level of customer service. I outlined the situation to date and expressed my displeasure with the service and Andy's behaviour. I also mentioned that the situation was starting to appear as a deliberate attempt to shift responsibility of the fault to me in order for Overclockers UK to absolve themselves of any warranty responsibilites -- and that this was not acceptable. Also, I added that if I must go to consumer protection agencies I will, but that I would prefer to resolve the issue without such measures. The note was sent off about 7pm, so I didn't expect a reply until the next day. By 3pm the next day (Overclockers UK mention that web notes are usually answered within 4 working hours) I had received no reply. So, I decided to return to their messageboard to see if anything else had been posted after I left my account of the RMA. A couple of responses had been added. One by the fellow with the same card as myself and he was rather concerned by my tale of the RMA. Another response by someone who was shocked at what had transpired and was as confused as I was about me having received an order slip and new order number for the replacement but no replacement itself. The second poster also suggested I try to phone again to talk to someone else and that there must be a mix up somewhere. So, I responded and said that I have sent another web note but have received no response so far.

About 20-30 minutes after that I get a response. It's from a different person and is basically a canned response: "We understand that the card may be faulty but the corruptions more than likely have been caused by the dust and gunk that was in the fan. With the fan covered in dust it will cause overheating problem." (I'll post all the actual communications up later in a seperate web page). Hehe, there's that term "likely" again. Translation: "We didn't test the card but noticed some dust on it -- we think we can now absolve ourselves of any warranty claims". Still willing to try once more, I send of another web note thanking the guy for his response but also noting it's obvious he hasn't read the previous communications. I also detailed out the salient points of the situation for him once again. Shortly thereafter a response from another person arrives: "I talked to Andy and we're not having this card back". It was truly worse than I had imagined -- it sounded like Andy was actually in charge of "tech support". Man, that's like having Homer in charge of safety at a nuclear power plant...Doh!