[Nocturin]

Good Day all!

So there's this nifty little LCS that I purchased to use when I built my new rig in the beginning of the year (right around beginning of feb '12) called the Antec Khuler 920. It's been a great cooler so far, lasted through Chimpin like a champ (2500k @ 4.1/stock volts didn't get past 65c on silent/custom fan mapping) until last Friday (June 9 2012) when I wasn't at home. Well, I got home a few hours after my wife let me know the computer wasn't working right, expecting it to be the PSU that went out (no boot/fans/nothing happens) so I was disassembling the system to add the stand-offs that I missed during initial construction and giving everything a good dusting and cable management in hopes that it was just a lose connection somewhere.

Well, long story short, I got the MB and GPU out and saw this:



Then looked at one of the tubes on the base of the 920, it was wet. I about lost it (my computer is my 4th child) and went out to smoke a few cigarettes before I did something stupid.



Fast-forward a few days later, I've gotten some great advice from the community (thanks guys!) and I'm getting this started.

This is my original complaint with Antec (I hope I wasn't too harsh):
Quote:

My Antec Khuler 920 has severely malfunctioned and in by doing so fried many off my computer components. I suspect that parts affected is most likely(but not limited to) CPU, Motherboard, RAM, GPU, power supply, Khuler 920, and possibly multiple hard drives (have not been able to test them yet).

I am very frustrated that this happened. My radiator has a large volume of air, and the motherboard will not boot. I tested the system with another(working) PSU to no avail. I then started to take the computer apart, and I was surprised to see residue on the back side of my motherboard, and the PCB of my GPU as well. I do not think that my PSU is damaged, but I won't know until it can be put under appropriate load to test stability, and I can't take it apart to see if this residue is on the PCB.

After I saw this residue I took a closer look at the cooler, because I originally did not suspect that it was the cause of my dead computer. When I gave it a closer look, I saw moisture on the tube going into the pump/heat sink combo. At this point I shook the radiator gently to find if it was still air tight. It was not.

I was very upset about this. I bought the product because I had not seen any instances of it leaking online during my research, and I was confident in your brand image and the quality and performance it would provide. I was very happy with the performance while it lasted, it kept my processor cool, which is why this was such a shock. My case is also an Antec product, and I would like to purchase and recommend your products in the future. I am worried because your warranty terms are very vague and now I'm out of my relatively expensive come-home-and-release-stress gaming machine.

I expected the machine to function correctly for the next 3-4 years, but now it is not due to this leak, and I cannot RMA my malfunctioning parts with the manufactures' due to this. Please help me resolve this as quickly and amicably as possible. If you need any information, please let me know, and thank you for your time. If there's anything I can do to speed up the process, let me know. I have pictures that I could send along given the appropriate contact. I am attached to this rig, I saved for years to treat myself to one of these awesome machines. Please call me as soon as you receive this message.

Now I'm waiting for a reply

. I've heard good things about Antecs customer support. I really don't want to send my parts into to antec(because then I don't even have the option to RMA with the manufactuers) so I'm hoping this process shall be as painless as possible.

Wish me luck! (and lemme know if you know any active Antec reps)

I'll post a imgur gallery of everything for you guys(and antec) once I get settled in later today. Man I hope this goes quickly, I hate this Athlon system I've got to use in the meantime (so slow!).

Previous Thread 1
Previous Thread 2

http://imgur.com/a

 

[crashdummy35]

Antec, Nocturin is a solid OCN member and a good guy I've gamed with. Here's your chance to show OCN how good your customer support is.

 

[Nocturin]

 

[succesfulvoid]

Thought one of the advantages of closed loops was them not blowing up. Oh well, best of luck with Antec customer service!

 

[Nocturin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by succesfulvoid

Thought one of the advantages of closed loops was them not blowing up. Oh well, best of luck with Antec customer service!

As did I. If my custom loop did this, well, I'd really be up crap creek.

No response yet, but don't open the voice lines till 1pm EST, so I'm going to assume that it's the same for email response. I'm hoping someone calls me instead of replying to the email. I'm old skool, I like to talk to people about my problems

.

I talked to an individual yesterday who voiced concern at the issue that I brought up, I was just sad they are completely dependent on their online ticket system.

 

[dmasteR]

Honestly, the chances of a closed loop leaking are higher than a real loop. There's too many instances of closed loops leaking...

On a side note, this is one reason I prefer high end air coolers over CLC. For me, it's high end air cooler, then loop if i wanna push further.

 

[Nocturin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmasteR

Honestly, the chances of a closed loop leaking are higher than a real loop. There's too many instances of closed loops leaking...
On a side note, this is one reason I prefer high end air coolers over CLC. For me, it's high end air cooler, then loop if i wanna push further.

Well, ya. Better bet that If im setting up my own loop that stuff isn't going anywhere

. I originally wanted to go with one of the cheaper RASA kits, but the wife pulled back the budget at the last moment, so I went with my second choice

I'm worried about monetary compensation (if antec decides to compensate me) because I got my mobo w/ one of the Micro Center deals, and I don't know if I'd be able to get the same quality mobo

 

[Nocturin]

Update 1:

So I received the standard e-mail response:
Quote:

Please be advised that a comment has been added to your trouble ticket:

Trouble Ticket ID: ******
Description: Product Leaked/Burst
Comment By: J***

Comment: Hello J***,

Thank you for contacting Antec. With regard to your issue, we will need to issue you a special RMA number to indicate to our receiving facility that there are products within the package that are for testing purposes. This will help to ensure your package is given to the right department for testing. Please make sure you write this RMA number on three sides of the box in large legible letters. If you do not, this could slow down the turn-around time for testing.

Name:

RMA#:

By sending in your products, you agree to the following terms:

1. Antec will test the product and determine liability using our established standard testing procedures.
2. If Antec finds we are liable, we can assist in one of two ways:
a. We can help RMA the product to the manufacture for a replacement if your product is still within warranty.
b. We will reimburse you for the current market value of the hardware.
3. If Antec finds we are NOT liable, the customer will agree to the following:
a. The customer will not dispute the determination of liability made at the end of testing.
b. The customer must provide a shipping label within 30 days of this determination if he/she wishes to have the hardware returned.
c. In the event that the customer is not heard from within the 30-day window, the received hardware will automatically be recycled.
4. Antec will not reimburse shipping for products sent in for testing. The customer understands that they will be responsible for the shipping of their products to us. We do not take responsibility for lost, damaged, or stolen property during shipping.
For more information on our RMA policy, please check the link below:
http://www.antec.com/index.php?page=support_rma
Shipping and Packaging:

Please return the items to:
Antec Inc.
47900 Fremont Blvd.
Fremont, CA 94538

Please make sure to properly package your items. Products that appear to be damaged prior to shipping might still be in working condition. By improperly packaging your items, you may increase damage done or even cause damage to your items. If we receive items that are loosely floating around and not properly packaged, we will take this into consideration as part of testing.
Packages with damage or that do not have a valid, unique RMA# clearly marked on the exterior will be returned to sender at the sender's expense. After inspection, the product will be confirmed as received and processing will begin.
It will take approximately two weeks or longer for testing depending on the complexity of the situation. However, we will strive to complete testing as soon as possible.

J***
Antec Support

Well, I have some problems with this response but it was a standard copy-pasta job. No Big deal.

Then starts the issues. I contacted them by phone, for a couple of reasons.

• Missing RMA Number
• I'm Responsible for the shipping costs, to the company, for my entire system so they can test it. This is absurd, and I cannot afford the monies for shipping, let along +insurance when shipping a 1200$ system across the country (SC to CA)

So after contacting them, I was told that the rep in the email(from above) would call me back. He did not. I called again in about 2 hours and got transferred to his voice mail, and immediately received another email containing the RMA number with no verbal contact, as I have requested multiple times.

At this point, I immediately call back and get the rep and explain the situation, and ask for clarification about the RMA process (this is my first RMA). We proceeded to ague back and forth about shipping costs, and why I should have to pay for them. I wish I recorded the conversation so I could give an accurate transcript, because it was infuriating. It came down to me asking why I should pay more shipping costs than I paid for the product; which is why I purchased the product in the first place, so I wouldn't have to do this.

Now we've reached the stage before I continue to escalate. I'm going to send pictures of the damage (well, imgur gallery so you guys will be able to see them too) to his email and he's going to speak to his supervisor about covering shipping costs.

I was even willing to just pay for shipping on the Antec unit so they could verify the coolers functionality and then we could determine what to do with the rest of the process, but they "cannot test it without the whole system". This is not considering the attitude and condescension I received from the CSR about "company policies". At one point in the conversation, he said something along the lines "our other customers do this" and I flat out lost it. I normally don't talk down or over CSR reps because I've been one, but if one of our CSR agents, here, said something like this, they would be walked out the door.

I am not looking forward to the rest of this exchange, I thought it would be a much easier process.

 

[dmasteR]

Wow's that absolutely terrible to be honest. Definitely no where near Corsair RMA. not even close. Corsair is much more reasonable when it comes to RMA on leaking CLC products.

 

[crashdummy35]

Make sure you link this thread in the e-mail. So that they can see that you are trying to do this is in an orderly and thorough manner. Documenting as you go: for you, them and, the possible future customers of OCN.

Just keep a cool head and have all your ducks in a row.

 

[Nocturin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crashdummy35

Make sure you link this thread in the e-mail. So that they can see that you are trying to do this is in an orderly and thorough manner. Documenting as you go: for you, them and, the possible future customers of OCN.
Just keep a cool head and have all your ducks in a row.

I will do that.

Should I just go "FYI, I'm keeping track of the whole thing here(insert link)"?

Update #2: (My Response):
Quote:

J***,

As we discussed, here is the gallery with the pictures of the left-over residue from the leak. I will include a full serial numbers for my parts when I'm able to get home to look at them, but the items below are the ones I believe to be affected by this malfunction:

• GigaByte Z68M-D2H-B3 Motherboard (Residue on the back of the PCB)
• Intel 2500K Processor
• Corsair Vengeance 1600mhz 16gb RAM Kit
• MSI Twin Frozor II 560Ti 1gb Graphic Processing Unit (Residue on the back of the PCB)
• Antec Khuler 920 (There is an abnormal volume of air in the radiator)

Parts that may have been affected but I am unable to test them thoroughly:

• Samsung 830 128gb SSD
• HD103SJ 1TB HDD
• 3x Misc HDDs (Will get MC/SN)
• Seasonic X-660 Power Supply (this worked when plugged into another system, but I have not been able to load test it with the components above to ensure that it's working properly, nor can I take it apart to see if there is residue on the PCB like the other components out of fear for voiding the warranty)

As we discussed over the phone, I cannot afford to ship or insure to ship the entire system (or individual parts) across the country, nor will I ship any storage mediums that contain any personal information. I purchased into your brand in good faith that any issues that would arise due to a leaky/faulty sealed cooling unit would be taken care of, and rapports of stellar customer service further cemented my decision.

So far, I have not had a positive experience; not only has my cooling unit failed, but when it failed it likely invalidated the warranties that I carry with the manufacturers of my components due to liquid damage. Then I find out that I am responsible for shipping, I was not a happy camper.

I would like to be able to walk away from this situation singing praises of your company and it's customer support. We should be able to work something out in a reasonable time-frame. J*** has been personable, but stern when talking about your companies policies. I understand why, but there is no reason why an exception can't be made in this situation. The product I purchased from your company caused this issue.

If this was a simple motherboard failure, I would RMA it with the manufacturer and wouldn't even bother your company, but I believe otherwise due to the amount of residue on the back of my MB, GPU and the abnormal volume air in the radiator. The cooler's LED also flashes red when plugged into a working PSU, but I do not know if that will assist you with a diagnosis.

IMGUR Gallery Link:

http://imgur.com/a

Thank you for your time,

J***

 

[succesfulvoid]

Why don't they just bite the bullet and pay for the shipping? They should know its a horrible idea to enrage OCN. Try not to get on the CSR's bad side, as he'll probably just make things harder for you.

Expect the worst when it comes to customer service.

 

[Nocturin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by succesfulvoid

Why don't they just bite the bullet and pay for the shipping? They should know its a horrible idea to enrage OCN. Try not to get on the CSR's bad side, as he'll probably just make things harder for you.
Expect the worst when it comes to customer service.

Trying not to anger a CSR is a very difficult thing to do ( I've worked my way up from a T1 CSR

). It mostly amounts to me going, "I know that you can't control the policy, get me to someone who can".

Most CSR's are there just to collect a paycheck, most don't care, it's finding the ones that care, that's really difficult. So far it doesn't sound like Antec has invested much money into their "USA Zone" of customer service. I was respectful, and did not raise my voice until I was talked over multiple times, but tried my best to keep my voice on in an even tone.

As to why they don't pay the shipping costs, because it's a cost saving measure, shipping a multitude of units will be very expensive, especially in the area of small electronic components. All policies are different, but if a customer requests it, go ahead and give one .

.

Edit:

Update #3:

I'm still furious and terribly impatient, so I went browsing new-egg reviews with the intent of leaving an honest account of my expierence so far. Well, I found an email address from an antec tech, so now I'm attacking my problem from another angle.

I forwarded the last email I sent to antec, and added this:

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Quote:

Hello,

I was looking through NewEgg.com reviews on the Antec 920 before I left my own review, I found your email address. I wanted to make you aware of the poor customer service that I received in reaction to my product leaking and ruining my hardware (listed below and in the trouble ticket). The initial details will be on the trouble ticket, and the email below was after my conversation with your CSR "J***".

I do not feel comfortable shipping my system across the country. I do not understand why I would need to send the whole computer, either. This should be a clear-cut case. Antec should pay for the cost of shipping, I send my product in (the Khuler 920), verify that it did or did not malfunction, and issuing replacements for the affected hardware if the product was at fault. After doing some research, I have learned that your competitors in the market do not treat their customer's like this. I am documenting my experience, here( link that points to this thread), and I hope it will end on a positive note.

Please help,

J****

Well, I don't think I can do anything else today. Man I hope i can have my computer up and running soon. I had a co-worker ask me why I had so much computing power (I was explaining the situation). I did this:

and said, "why not?". He gave me a good chuckle

.

 

[succesfulvoid]

I have a feeling your going to be using that Athlon rig for a while...

 

[Nocturin]

Yup. Learning linux

 

[Nocturin]

I got a response from the person that I forwarded the message too:

Update 4:
Quote:

Hi J****,

Thanks for contacting Antec Inc. In regards to your issue, it's our company's policy that you have to ship us your components that was damaged by our product so we can test it in our Lab if it was indeed damaged or not. We are protecting our end and the same time protecting yours by following this guide lines. Please read our damage policy and please abide them so we can help you with your issues.

This is going to be so fun!

 

[dante020]

Well it doesn't sound like they want to be very accommodating. Hopefully you can work your way up to the top and find someone who does care but they seem pretty set in their ways. Then again they are just following their policies and aren't necessarily doing anything wrong.

That said, I was debating between Antec and Corsair for self-contained water cooling and this makes my decision easy. Good luck!

 

[csm725]

Subbed to see how Antec handles this.
This is the first time I've seen an Antec CLC loop leak.

 

[Nocturin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dante020

Well it doesn't sound like they want to be very accommodating. Hopefully you can work your way up to the top and find someone who does care but they seem pretty set in their ways. Then again they are just following their policies and aren't necessarily doing anything wrong.
That said, I was debating between Antec and Corsair for self-contained water cooling and this makes my decision easy. Good luck!

Quote:

Originally Posted by csm725

Subbed to see how Antec handles this.
This is the first time I've seen an Antec CLC loop leak.

Thanks guys

.

This is the first time I've seen one leak too, which is why I bought it. I've spent more money with Antec than I care to disclose, did not ever imagine it would be so difficult to get a serious issue like this resolved.

 

[jagz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by csm725

Subbed to see how Antec handles this.
This is the first time I've seen an Antec CLC loop leak.

Same, Recently added 2 620's to my GPU's. Keeping an eye on this. Nocturin you are doing a good job with communication to them and explaining everything. Love the avatar.