ECS Support... ghastly

[CosmoJoe]

A bit of background....
I purchased an ECS motherboard (model AMD690GM-M2) for use in an HTPC computer. I initially had some problems with the board being very picky with RAM I knew to be good. I finally got the system built and running. Suddenly about 3 weeks ago the system became unstable and would reboot randomly, sometimes going for as long as a few days between reboots. It would also reboot upon running Vista's memory diagnostic with memory I verified to be good. Upon inspection of the board I suspected the problem to be a bad/bulging capacitor.

My first contact with ECS was via email, with no response after 3 days. I decided to call them and was able to speak with someone who agreed that the motherboard was probably defective, and instructed me to contact the RMA department. This is where the fun really started. Unlike technical support, there is NO option to remain on hold to speak with someone; you are always dumped to voicemail. Two weeks have gone by with repeated messages and noone has called me back.
I finally decided to contact tech support so I could actually speak with a human and was told to call back if I hadn't heard from the RMA department by tomorrow.

Needless to say, this is probably the last purchase I will make from ECS. I am really shocked that a company can stay in business when they are this lousy giving support. Sorry if this is posted in the wrong forum, but I wanted to give a heads up to anyone shopping around or pondering a purchase. I almost always buy from Asus or Gigabyte, but I made an exception because this particular board had the exact features I was looking for and the price was very reasonable. Lesson learned I guess!

 

[Andrew1990]

Lucky for you I am going through an RMA with them right now.

What happened to me.

1. Motherboard died
2.Called tech support and RMA number only to be transferred a lot.
3.Emailed them with limited responses.
4.Open up a BBB complaint.
5.Immediately got an RMA number and an Email telling me where to ship it.
5.Sent board in, received it a week later.
6.Board came in with a broken pin, Emailed tech support
7.UPS guy is picking the board up tomorrow and ECS is sending out a new board.

Tips,

1.RMA department does not call back nor email you back if you use their phone.
2.Their support email usually will get back to you within 36-48 hours.
3.Be sure to open up a BBB complaint to get fast responses.
4.Be Stern but polite with the Reps, especially Rafeal, since he is the one that sends your board back to you.

 

[justinm]

This is why I have sold the last two ECS boards I've got in a combo purchase. Be polite but to the point and you should eventually get a replacement.

 

[Zap]

ECS is one of those companies who's products can be considered "OEM." This used to be really common BITD, but many companies are coming 'round with their support. "OEM" means that they don't provide support services except to their "direct" customer, as in the company that buys wholesale/bulk from them for resale.

CosmoJoe, where did you purchase that board from? Some places will take back the board for repair (not refund) within a certain amount of time. For instance, Newegg will RMA ECS boards for up to 1 year. Also, how did you pay for the item? Some credit card companies offer automatic guarantees on products you purchased using their card.

 

[jdkick]

The few times i've dealt with ECS products have not been positive. I found their support to be lacking and their website was poorly organized (can be hard to find the proper driver/BIOS downloads at times). Based on my experience, I personally do not recommend ECS products. Granted, some people have had a positive experience, but not me.

 

[CosmoJoe]

Originally posted by: Zap
ECS is one of those companies who's products can be considered "OEM." This used to be really common BITD, but many companies are coming 'round with their support. "OEM" means that they don't provide support services except to their "direct" customer, as in the company that buys wholesale/bulk from them for resale.

CosmoJoe, where did you purchase that board from? Some places will take back the board for repair (not refund) within a certain amount of time. For instance, Newegg will RMA ECS boards for up to 1 year. Also, how did you pay for the item? Some credit card companies offer automatic guarantees on products you purchased using their card.

Thanks for the responses! I purchased the board from Newegg; it's been a little over a year (purchased in April 2007).

From my conversations with their technical support, and also replies in this post, ECS will honor warranty on the board; the problem is actually getting their RMA department to call you back Sad to say, when I see companies display a pattern of apathy like this, it makes me suspect they hope people will just eat the $60 or whatever and go buy a new board.