Inadequate After Sale Support

About a month ago I initially had a review typed up for PC Link Computers, in that review I was going to say that their customer support is less than ideal and orders take forever to eventually be processed, however the orders do eventually arrive, as long as you're willing to wait a few weeks. Nonetheless, I retracted that review and decided to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Fast forward a few weeks after receiving my order and now I am plagued with a defective product that I am unable to return, due to only deeming this product defective after 7 days.

To put things in perspective. I ordered a graphics card on the 7th of May, 2020. After about 2 weeks with very limited communication on their part, I eventually received my order. Unlike other shops who sell PC components, my graphics card was shipped in a plastic packet with no additional protection other than the graphics card box itself. After opening up the plastic packet, I noticed that the graphics card box was a bit damaged, but the device itself seemed to be okay.

At that time, I was also buying computer components from other shops and therefore I had to wait about a week before I could put everything together. Once everything arrived, I built my PC and then switched it on. At first, everything seemed fine until I started using the graphics card for video editing. Whenever the fans of the graphics card spin-up, they make a loud rattling noise, as if the fans were being caught on a cable. After visually inspecting the product, everything seemed okay besides the fact that the graphics card fans were still making this horrible sound.

As of yesterday, I have sent an e-mail to PC Link Computers and Gigabyte (the manufacturer of the graphics card). According to PC Link Computers, they will not accept any returns after 7 days. According to Gigabyte's website, I am required to contact the location where the original order was made. After going back and fourth with the manufacturer, they can only repair my brand new graphics card as they do not offer exchanges or refunds. This makes me extremely frustrated as I refuse to repair a product that I've only had for less than a month. I am not willing to send it somewhere, just to be fixed, where I'll be stuck without a graphics card longer than I have actually had it.

Unlike the numerous other online stores South African's have at their disposal, PC Link seems to be the only shop I have come across that leaves the customer to defend for themselves after 7 days.

If I ordered a product from Takealot, I can return any defective product within 30 days (hassle free). In fact, the other day I returned a defective power supply that was well over a year old to Wootware (another online store) and they replaced the PSU with a brand new power supply at no additional cost, as that item was still under warranty.

Why is it that PC Link Computers will not offer the same customer support that many other online stores do? Why do I have to receive a defective product and still be required to deal with the manufacturer? Sending this graphics card back to Gigabyte could potentially cost me thousands of rands, something that I believe I should not be responsible for due to PC Link's terrible business practices.

So a word to the wise, avoid PC Link Computers. Do not order anything from them that may come defective or damaged. You will be left to spend more money to fix something that shouldn't have arrived defective in the first place. 7 days is not enough time to deem anything defective, especially in this case where the product needs to be thoroughly tested before realizing that there is a problem.

I am quite disappointed in PC Link Computers as their prices are pretty good, but after receiving such inadequate after sale support, I may not order anything from them ever again.