On July 22, 2009, I purchased a Western Digital 2TB My Book Studio Edition II External Hard Drive from an online retailer, Electronica Direst.com, through Buy.com. Within a matter of a few weeks the drive failed. On August 19th an RMA was issued by Western Digital. I chose to pay for an advance replacement and gave Western Digital my credit card information and was told that a replacement would be shipped out and when they received my defective drive, they would issue a credit back to my credit card. Western Digital’s site indicated that it could take up to 2 weeks to get my replacement. I waited a while and called a number of times. Each time I called I was told that they do not have a replacement drive but they expected them soon. In the meantime, I arranged to have the defective drive shipped back, which occurred on September 4th. Also, during one of my conversations with a support person, he mentioned that the replacement drive I would eventually receive from WD would be a factory recertified drive. So, I paid full price for a 3 week old drive that failed, I have no back-up drive and WD cannot tell me when they will have a replacement drive. So a customer should endure all of this and pay the cost of a new drive? At some point I decided to contact Electronica Direct.com to see if they would replace the drive. At first their site indicated that the unit was now out of the exchange period and they could no longer help me. However today I received an email from them indicating that they would take the drive back. So I called WD support and asked to have my drive returned. The support person looked at my case and said it would ship out within a day or two. Later in the day I wrote to support to request a confirmation number in connection with the return and I was told that they do not return items once they receive them through the RMA process. I mentioned that the retailer was willing to exchange the defective drive, but the support person said my drive is now their property, even though they have not and cannot provide me with a replacement drive. I asked the support person to direct me to a law that gives a company a right to keep someone’s property, particularly if they cannot provide a replacement drive. My request has not been answered. I have copied and pasted the exchanges that I have had with WD support below. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know, it would be greatly appreciated.


8/18/09
I attempt to apply for an RMA and the system shows that I am registered as a reseller and I am not and have never been.
8/19/09


Customer (RAY MASTROIANNI) 08/18/2009 09:01 PM
Hello:

I am trying to return a defective drive. When I try to obtain an RMA, I am being told that I am registered as a reseller and I am not. Please let me know what to do to get an RMA and return this defective drive. I purchased it less than a month ago.

Thank you,

Raymond Mastroianni

Response (Pablo R.) 08/20/2009 09:36 AM
Dear RAY,

Thank you for contacting Western Digital Customer Service and Support. My name is Pablo R.

I apologize for the inconvenience, I check your account and change the setup to customer, you can go ahead and in 24 hours you can try to created the RMA.

Now, if the drive is less than a month old, you also can try to replace the device with the retailer.

I hope that we have met your expectations today and that you are satisfied with our service. If you have any further questions, please reply to this email and we will be happy to assist you further.

Sincerely,
Pablo R.
Western Digital Service and Support

Response (Administrator) 09/04/2009 02:47 AM
Dear RAY MASTROIANNI,

This is a confirmation that we have received your defective drive for RMA
#81429187. The RMA is now closed. If you have any questions about your
RMA please reply to this email. If the information is correct, please do
not reply back to this email.


RMA Number: 81429187

Customer (RAY MASTROIANNI) 09/04/2009 06:19 AM
>
> When will I be receiving my replacement drive?
>
>

Email Confirmation 09/04/2009 06:19 AM
Dear RAY,

Thank you for your email. If you are inquiring about the status of your RMA, you can check it online from the link below.

RMA Status: http://websupport.wdc.com/websupport/clearexp_scripts/rma_login.asp?lang=en
Current turnaround is 5 to 7 business days for a Standard RMA and 3 to 5 business days for an Advance RMA.

If you have been tracking your shipment and your shipping courier shows that the drive has been received by Western Digital and RMA status shows that the drive has not been received, it means that we have received the drive in our warehouse, but we have not entered it into our system. As soon as the drive is entered into our system, RMA status will be updated and show that the drive has been received. In addition, we will send you an email notification when your drive has been received into our system and when the replacement has been shipped. We apologize for this inconvenience.

If you are concerned about data on your defective drive, please see the link below.

Title: What happens to the data on the drive I sent in for an RMA and how can I retrieve it?
URL: http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=997&p_created=1053637589

If your question is not answered above or you have already checked your RMA status and need a more detailed response, just reply to this email and we will respond to you promptly.

Sincerely,
Western Digital Service and Support

Customer (RAY MASTROIANNI) 09/04/2009 06:30 AM
> When will I receive my replacement drive? I PURCHASED THIS DRIVE
> BRAND NEW THROUGH BUY.COM ON JULY 22ND AND IT STOPPED WORKING WITHIN
> 3 WEEKS! I IMMEDIATELY CONTACTED WD AND APPLIED FOR AN RMA TO GET A
> NEW DRIVE AND STILL DO NOT HAVE ONE. THIS IS IRRESPONSIBLE AND NOT
> ACCEPTABLE.
>

Response (Joan R.) 09/10/2009 12:40 PM
Dear Customer,

We apologize for the delay in responding to you. Due to heavy volume, we are currently beyond our normal turnaround of 1 business day.

We realize that some of you may have already found the answers to your questions. In an effort to respond to your needs more efficiently, please do one of the following:

If you have already found the answers to your questions and DO NOT REQUIRE a response from us, please DO NOT REPLY to this email.

If you have not found the answer(s) to your question(s) and DO REQUIRE a response from us, please REPLY to this email. In your reply, you can just state that you still need an answer to your questions. If you do not respond to this email, we will assume that you do not require a response from us.

Thank you for your patience and understanding

Sincerely,
Western Digital Service and Support

Customer (RAY MASTROIANNI) 09/10/2009 03:33 PM
Hello:

I called and spoke with a support person today regarding the brand new defective drive I sent back in the original box. The online retailer that sold me the drive sent me an email today and said I could return the drive and I could get a brand new drive. So please send me back the brand new, defective drive so that I can return it to the online retailer. Please be advised that I have already paid for a brand new Western Digital drive on July 22nd and received it on July 23rd. Shortly thereafter the drive failed. So instead of contacting the retailer, I made the mistake of sending the drive back to Western Digital and have been without a drive for almost one month. Western Digital has brand new drives that they sell on their website but rather than sending me a brand new replacement for their defective merchandise, they had me wait for a reconditioned drive to become available. The support person I spoke with on the phone today did not give me a confirmation number linked to my request of having the brand new, defective drive returned to me. He also said he could not guaranty that the drive would be sent back on an expedited basis. Please send me confirmation that my original drive and original Western Digital box and packing material will be returned to me immediately so that I can send it back to the retailer. I have suffered enough by choosing Western Digital and deserve to have the drive shipped out immediately and on an expedited basis.

Raymond Mastroianni

Response (Joan R.) 09/10/2009 03:47 PM
Dear RAY,

Thank you for contacting Western Digital Customer Service and Support. My name is Joan R.

I do apologize but once you send the drive it can't be requested back. The warranty policy states that re-certified drives will be sent on warranty replacements. For further assistance on this matter I will suggest you to contact us over the phone.

I hope that we have met your expectations today and that you are satisfied with our service. If you have any further questions, please reply to this email and we will be happy to assist you further.

Sincerely,
Joan R.
Western Digital Service and Support
http://support.wdc.com

Customer (RAY MASTROIANNI) 09/10/2009 03:57 PM
Dear Joan:

That was not what I was told. WD issued an RMA for a BRAND NEW drive on August 19th, less than 1 month from the date it arrived in my home. So I have been without a backup drive for nearly a month. How can you sell a product that fails within weeks of use and not have either a replacement product in stock to service what you sell? I was told that my drive, that I paid for would be returned to me. Either send me my property back, direct me to a law that shows me that I forfeited my right to my property or send me a BRAND NEW drive.

Raymond Matroianni

Response (Joan R.) 09/10/2009 04:39 PM
Dear RAY,

Thank you for your reply.

I checked the notes on this RMA and the agent that spoke to you over the phone was going to escalate your request to the warehouse to see if they can send you the drive. The response he got from the warehouse was the same I sent you before. They can't return the drive back to customer because it has been received and processed.

I hope that we have met your expectations today and that you are satisfied with our service. If you have any further questions, please reply to this email and we will be happy to assist you further.

Sincerely,
Joan R.
Western Digital Service and Support
http://support.wdc.com

Customer (RAY MASTROIANNI) 09/10/2009 04:59 PM
Hello:

But that should not be my problem. If someone sends a drive in by mistake are you saying that they can never get their property back? So you will not send my property back, you don't have a replacement drive and you will not send me a new drive? Either send me back my property immediately, send me a new drive or show me where I can find the law that gives you the right to keep my property. Telling me that someone from a warehouse says he can't send my property back is not acceptable. At the end of your replies you continue to say that "I hope that we have met your expectations today and that you are satisfied with our service". After all of the hardship your company has put me through, how could you include that statement. I just want my property back and you have no right to keep it.

Be Guided Accordingly,

Raymond Mastroianni

Response (Joan R.) 09/10/2009 05:04 PM
Dear RAY,

Thank you for your reply.

I do apologize but once the RMA is requested and you send the drive it becomes Western Digital's property. When you created the RMA you agree to the terms that this procedure has. Unfortunately once the drive is at the warehouse and has been received they can't send it back

Sincerely,
Joan R.
Western Digital Service and Support
http://support.wdc.com

Customer (RAY MASTROIANNI) 09/10/2009 05:10 PM
Hello:

But you cant live up to the terms, so I want my property back. I was never told that if I send my drive in, I would not be told when I would get a replacement. I used sound judgment and assumed that a replacement drive would arrive in a reasonable time frame. Please show me where it indicates that by agreeing to the terms of the RMA I have given up my property rights or conveyed them to Western Digital.

Customer (RAY MASTROIANNI) 09/10/2009 06:16 PM
Would you please either send me my property back? Or end my a new drive? Also, where does it say that I no longer own my drive.