Stay away from OCZ storage products

H

houkouonchi

RIP
Joined
Sep 14, 2008
Messages
1,622
I apologize in advanced for the rant.

So it looks like OCZ is refusing my warranty due to some BS about authorized reseller? WTF? It listed nothing like this in the manual (nothing about an authorized reseller).

I can understand that they might need this for proving the date of purchase but how is this even relevant on a drive that has not even been on the market for two years? This is unbelievable.

When contacting them every single support reply was either canned or a single sentence. Oh wait I forgot their last response was two:

Comment: it does matter cause only products that were bought off of an authorized reseller has the warranty. any product bought from an non authorized reseller doesn't qualify for warranty

We have at least 1 drive failure everyday at the company I work for and I have never seen any company that makes storage have lame rules or requirements like that and typically goes by the manufactured date (not purchase date). Once solid state gets down to a price that is feasible to use with on the servers @ work you can better believe which company I will recommend against using any products of.

Ridiculous. I paid over $2000 for four 256 GB SSD drives that I wrote no more than double the amount of total storage capacity and did 99.99999%; reads and two of them die after only 6 months of use and OCZ denies my warranty. Unbelievable.

This is obviously a company that does not stand by its products nor care about its customers or it wouldn't try to use every chance it gets to screw their customers out of their warranty.

If this was just a $100 or $200 lesson I would just eat it and go on with my life but I am now out $1000 due to OCZ's BS policy.
 
You figured they would have learned after their memory fiasco years back.
 
Keep bitching.. they'll eventually send you some new drives.

I also hate companies that do this kind of crap. Always end up doing a lot of research into a companie's warranty policies.
 
I posted in the support area before the drives actually failed (my areca controller was just giving read/write errors on two of the drives). I got one response from a moderator who basically just regurgitated what support said and had the nerve to say most other manufacturer's have the same policy which is complete utter BS . Some? Maybe. Most? Definitely not. I just recently added the fact about OCZ not wanting to honor my warranty.

Here is the thread:

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/f...te-errors-to-two-similar-SSDs-in-raid-of-four
 
bbb, call/complain. or just drop it and learn a very expensive lesson :(

sorry about your drive loss.
 
So it looks like OCZ is refusing my warranty due to some BS about authorized reseller?
Click to expand...

I thought this was pretty much standard. :confused:

I've seen warranty work refused because the items were purchased on Ebay.
 
Old Hippie said:
I thought this was pretty much standard. :confused:

I've seen warranty work refused because the items were purchased on Ebay.
Click to expand...

Yup, it's pretty much standard across the board and not just in the computer industry. But houkouonchi is also right that it seems the de-facto policy amongst HDD companies is to warranty by date manufactured. I think the reasoning behind the policy with SSD may be because a SSD is based on flash memory so they're going with the standard memory warranty policies perhaps?
 
But houkouonchi is also right that it seems the de-facto policy amongst HDD companies is to warranty by date manufactured.
Click to expand...

True although I've read cases where the manfg extended the warranty because the drive was purchased long after the manfg date.

But if it's not purchased from an authorized reseller, the point is moot.

Edit....I just wanted to add that I had Dell refuse warranty work because the Dell branded, Intel G1 SSD drive, wasn't purchased from them as part of a computer....and Intel wouldn't touch it either.
 
Last edited:
I agree this is crappy, a company should back up their product, not where it was bought. But, where did you buy the drives out of curiosity? Were they re-branded in any way?

I just looked at their pages on 'where to buy':

http://www.ocztechnology.com/where-to-buy/resellers/north-america.html
http://www.ocztechnology.com/where-to-buy/resellers-store/north-america.html

Seems like they could just pull a resellers name from those pages at any moment and you'd have no way to show that it was an authorized seller at the time the drive was bought.

To me Western Digital has been a leader on the HD side, being able to check warranty length and status with a serial has been great and added value to their products. (I have bought used Raptors on eBay and craigslist because of this peace of mind.)

I agree with escalating this through OCZ and/or BBB.
 
Yea thats a crap policy.. I prefer the manu date policy (with the ability to prove that you bought it way later if needed). But yea when they are contacted by the BBB it normally makes them pay attention.. Until then your just a fly on the wall..
 
They have had a terrible time with knock-offs, and apparently this is a result of it. they are a stand up company as far as my experiences with them, sorry to hear about your bad experience. I will see if i can help you :)
 
I agree with escalating this through OCZ and/or BBB.
Click to expand...

I'm curious...why would you think you would be entitled to anything other than stated in the manfgs. policys?

Ignorance of the law is no excuse and neither is ignorance of any manfgs policys'.....or is there a difference?

Enlighten me please. :)
 
Old Hippie said:
Edit....I just wanted to add that I had Dell refuse warranty work because the Dell branded, Intel G1 SSD drive, wasn't purchased from them as part of a computer....and Intel wouldn't touch it either.
Click to expand...

I can understand that part... system pulls are never covered under warranty. That is one thing HDD manufacturers make sure of. Only their OEM / Retail drives fall under the "3-5 year date of manufacture" warranty.
 
Seems like they could just pull a resellers name from those pages at any moment and you'd have no way to show that it was an authorized seller at the time the drive was bought.
Click to expand...

Seems to me that there would be a written agreement. :rolleyes:
 
Only their OEM / Retail drives fall under the "3-5 year date of manufacture" warranty.
Click to expand...
This was a brand-new-in-the-box Intel SSD that was sold from an authorized Dell dealer for an upgrade to a Dell box.

It wasn't installed by a Dell authorized technician and wasn't included in a Dell built computer.

I was refused service because of this even after I escalated it to a manager.
 
Computurd said:
They have had a terrible time with knock-offs, and apparently this is a result of it. they are a stand up company as far as my experiences with them, sorry to hear about your bad experience.
Click to expand...

If that is their reason, then it looks bad for OCZ that they cannot tell whether a returned SSD is genuine OCZ or a counterfeit.

Between that, and the poor customer service with honoring their warranties, I will certainly learn from houk's experience and never buy an OCZ product.
 
I will certainly learn from houk's experience and never buy an OCZ product.
Click to expand...
Houk's experience comes from not reading the warranty and could apply to any company.

An intelligent person would learn from this thread to read the warranty before you make a purchase. :eek:
 
Old Hippie said:
Houk's experience comes from not reading the warranty and could apply to any company.

An intelligent person would learn from this thread to read the warranty before you make a purchase. :eek:
Click to expand...

Your name is old hippie. A hippie would side with the individual and not behave like a corporatist. OCZ's warranty requiring an authorized dealer's purchase is not only BS but puts it below the competition's warranty policies. They are resting on, and destroying their reputation requiring hurdles to honor a warranty. You get around knock offs with foil stickers and batch#/serial#/model#/date manufactured. Not hard to perform and honor. What makes second hand sale sinister? It means that a product would be built to last more than one use and installation.
 
No, only to companies that have warranty policies that have fine print designed to screw their customers. Like OCZ.
Click to expand...
I have to put my granny glasses on to read any warranty info.

OCZ is no different and it's pretty obvious you have no experience with any warrantys.

Maybe you'll notice when you actually start paying for things, or maybe you'll be one of the guys bitching because you didn't read it? :D
 
DaedalusHelios said:
Your name is old hippie. A hippie would side with the individual and not behave like a corporatist. OCZ's warranty requiring an authorized dealer's purchase is not only BS but puts it below the competition's warranty policies. They are resting on, and destroying their reputation requiring hurdles to honor a warranty. You get around knock offs with foil stickers and batch#/serial#/model#/date manufactured. Not hard to perform and honor. What makes second hand sale sinister? It means that a product would be built to last more than one use and installation.
Click to expand...

OCZ's warranty is stated in print.

I guess I'm just one of those Old Hippies that know how to read? :D

If you want/need to change OCZ's policy, go for it!
 
you should not be in here bashing OCZ because you didn't read or understand what was going on. you probably bought it for some reseller because you were getting it cheap. well, sorry man, but you get what you pay for.
OCZ has a tremendous reputation and alot of respect out there in the enthusiast market for taking care of its customers. there products are also top-notch. they provide ten times the support of any other manufacturer, and have set industry standards with availability of firmware updates and coherent tech support forums.
get over it already. you got burned by your reseller. NOT BY OCZ.
 
Old Hippie said:
Houk's experience comes from not reading the warranty and could apply to any company.

An intelligent person would learn from this thread to read the warranty before you make a purchase. :eek:
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm sure you read every warranty too before buying anything. :rolleyes:

The point is the warranty was bullshit to begin with. Even if he didn't read it all, it just makes the company look that much worse that they would offer such a shitty warranty in the first place.

If you guys want to really let them know how you feel, do it by staying away from their crap products.
 
Last edited:
Computurd said:
you should not be in here bashing OCZ because you didn't read or understand what was going on. you probably bought it for some reseller because you were getting it cheap. well, sorry man, but you get what you pay for.
OCZ has a tremendous reputation and alot of respect out there in the enthusiast market for taking care of its customers. there products are also top-notch. they provide ten times the support of any other manufacturer, and have set industry standards with availability of firmware updates and coherent tech support forums.
get over it already. you got burned by your reseller. NOT BY OCZ.
Click to expand...

+1. A lot of Home theater (TV's/Receivers/Speakers) manufacturer's have the same policy. No warranty unless purchased from an authorized distributor.
 
Old Hippie said:
OCZ is no different and it's pretty obvious you have no experience with any warrantys.

Maybe you'll notice when you actually start paying for things, or maybe you'll be one of the guys bitching because you didn't read it?
Click to expand...

Wow, that is hostile. Do you have some association with OCZ?

Actually, I do have experience with warranties. I have returned a few Western Digital HDDs (no SSDs, none of my Intel SSDs have failed), and they did not require any proof of where I purchased the drive. WD just needed the serial number, and the warranty return went smoothly.

Here's a question for you. Houk spent $2000 on OCZ equipment in January. Regardless of the fine print in the warranty, isn't supporting this customer the right thing for OCZ to do? Assuming the parts are not counterfeit (which OCZ should be able to verify), OCZ has manufactured a defective product. Isn't standing behind their product the right thing to do? Wouldn't any reputable company support their customer and stand behind their product?
 
Computurd said:
you got burned by your reseller. NOT BY OCZ.
Click to expand...

BS! OCZ manufactured a defective product that barely lasted 6 months, and now they are refusing to stand behind it. They are screwing a customer who put their faith in OCZ and spent $2000 on their products.

I certainly will not be giving my business to a company like that.
 
john4200 said:
BS! OCZ manufactured a defective product that barely lasted 6 months, and now they are refusing to stand behind it. They are screwing a customer who put their faith in OCZ and spent $2000 on their products.

I certainly will not be giving my business to a company like that.
Click to expand...

im not trying to sound like an asshat, but if i buy a product from a shop/online and it craps out, i am going to be contacting the shop first about a replacement/refund, not the manufacturer. I did that with my samsung 226bw monitor when it died within the warranty period. The shop i purchased it from told me that I need to contact the manufacturer directly so i did and it was sorted no problem (that was just the way samsung handled my warranty)

you need to contact wherever/whoever you bought it off, not write a premature slagulation rant on [H]
 
So: Of course the shop told you to contact the manufacturer. Most of the retailers I have dealt with only accept returns themselves within a short time of purchase, usually about 1 month. Manufacturer's warranties are handled by the manufacturer, unless the manufacturer has an agreement with retailer(s) to handle it for them (which is obviously not the case here).
 
john4200 said:
So: Of course the shop told you to contact the manufacturer. Most of the retailers I have dealt with only accept returns themselves within a short time of purchase, usually about 1 month. Manufacturer's warranties are handled by the manufacturer, unless the manufacturer has an agreement with retailer(s) to handle it for them.
Click to expand...

the first thing to do would be to contact where it was purchased from first though. I know about manufacturers warranties, but to me it seems pointless having a waah on some forums when he hasnt contacted the place he bought it from!
 
SoAndSo said:
the first thing to do would be to contact where it was purchased from first though. I know about manufacturers warranties, but to me it seems pointless having a waah on some forums when he hasnt contacted the place he bought it from!
Click to expand...

First of all, houk has my gratitude for posting his experiences about how poor OCZ's customer service is. I appreciate the warning. I'm not sure why you feel the need to post derogatory comments ("having a waah") about his post.

Second, if the retailer he purchased from is not "authorized" by OCZ, then what exactly do you think the retailer will do if houk contacts them? Take back a product 6 months after purchase, and eat the $1000 cost? Not likely.

Clearly the party at fault is OCZ. They manufactured a defective product (assuming the parts are not counterfeit and not abused, and I think this is a good assumption) and refused to support a customer. For me, this is a clear warning sign to stay away from OCZ products.

BTW, did I miss the post where houk wrote that he has not contacted the retailer he purchased from?
 
If the retailer he purchased it from stated that it has a warranty that has not expired & the manufacturer is not responsible per there warranty terms then any retailer worth dealing with would do what they needed to to make it right since they sold a product under false presences
 
YES THIS!!!! ^^^^^^

duh.
dude, there have been millions, and i mean literally millions, of ocz ssd's sold. if they were a bad company befitting of this little crying fest, this forum, and many others, would be peppered with crying and whining such as this.
Point is, that isnt the case.
dude got screwed by a unauthorized reseller. If you were to take this to a court of law, the liability lies squarely with the retailer, for selling an unauthorized product.
and how do we know the op isnt some guy with a busted water line in his case, and his ssd got wet? huh? how?
so you are crucifying them, yet you have no idea what really happened, none at all, yet you are making false statements about their 'bad products'
LOL
 
Computurd said:
YES THIS!!!! ^^^^^^

duh.
dude, there have been millions, and i mean literally millions, of ocz ssd's sold. if they were a bad company befitting of this little crying fest, this forum, and many others, would be peppered with crying and whining such as this.
Point is, that isnt the case.
dude got screwed by a unauthorized reseller. If you were to take this to a court of law, the liability lies squarely with the retailer, for selling an unauthorized product.
and how do we know the op isnt some guy with a busted water line in his case, and his ssd got wet? huh? how?
so you are crucifying them, yet you have no idea what really happened, none at all, yet you are making false statements about their 'bad products'
LOL
Click to expand...


People are allowed to sell items if they aren't an authorized retailer. That isn't illegal. We are dealing with a crappy warranty policy here. Nothing more. OCZ makes good products with shaky warranty policies. Many companies do the same, like PNY for example.
 
Computurd said:
and how do we know the op isnt some guy with a busted water line in his case, and his ssd got wet? huh? how?
Click to expand...

Because if that were the situation, he would have not posted what he did. I am confident that houk is an honest person.

But OCZ need not take his word for it if they would only accept the return. They could examine the parts and determine if they were abused. The problem is, OCZ is not even allowing him to send the parts back to them to be examined and replaced.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top