PC retailer Newegg has found itself embroiled in a broad controversy over refusing to make refunds or accept returns.
It hit the headline when tech outlet Gamers Nexus returned a motherboard having realised that it was no longer required. Newegg then claimed that Gamers Nexus had damaged the motherboard, and then declined to offer a refund. After several months of wrangling with Newegg, it seems the company had attempted to get the motherboard repaired themselves, while also denying the refund.
After exhausting all customer service options, Gamers Nexus went public on his sizeable YouTube channel. As you might expect, this led to an immediate refund from Newegg, and a return of the motherboard in question.
Unfortunately, this gave Gamer’s Nexus the evidence to examine and it found that the damage to the motherboard was not consistent with the type of damage that would occur in transit, featuring bent pins. The motherboard also had an RMA sticker on it, which would appear to indicate that Newegg had attempted to repair it after discovering their mistake. Despite failing to get the motherboard repaired, Newegg appeared to want to keep the money regardless. The whole affair seemed to suggest that Newegg has been knowingly shipping broken products as part of their “open box” reselling program, then declining refunds and return of the damaged products to prevent customers from obtaining evidence.
This would be impossible to do in the EU due to its strict consumer protection laws. Newegg, it may appear, could have found some kind of loophole in US return and refunds laws, and thus, attempted to exploit it.
Once the story was published, many users across reddit and Gamers Nexus’ community claim to have experienced similar issues with Newegg, claiming damage to products as a way of refusing refunds.
Newegg has since said that “a very small number of returns may not have been thoroughly inspected before being routed for returns, liquidations, or e-waste recycling and were accidentally resold as “open box” merchandise. We sincerely apologise to our customers who were negatively impacted”.
The company has promised to have changed internal procedures to improve how we manage product returns.
“We are also reaching out to this small number of customers who may have been affected by these errors. We deeply appreciate the feedback and advice we receive from our customers, including alerts about our errors, and we always pursue better ways to serve them. Every customer is important, and each customer’s satisfaction is our utmost priority. We remain committed to providing the best customer experience and will continue to evaluate and improve our business to deliver on that commitment.”
