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Asus this week apologized for terrible user experiences with its product warranty and return service, but it may not be enough to restore its reputation.
The company issued the apology days after hardware review outlet Gamers Nexus published a video titled “Asus Scammed Us,” which alleges that the vendor tricks consumers into paying for product repairs that should be covered under the PC maker’s warranty policies.
In Gamers Nexus’s case, the reviewers returned an Asus ROG Ally handheld to repair its thumbstick. Asus then sent them a message saying the repair would be out of warranty since the broken part resulted from “customer-induced damage.”
In addition, Asus said it wanted to repair a small dent in the handheld for $191, even though it wasn’t part of the repair request. If Gamers Nexus refused to pay, Asus’ message implied that it might send the ROG Ally back, but in a disassembled state.
Last week, another consumer on Reddit also highlighted a negative experience with Asus. After asking the company to fix a dent in their new RTX 4090 graphics card, Asus allegedly sent the buyer a quote for $3,728 in Canadian dollars, more than the $2,799 purchase price.
In response to the complaints, Asus issued a statement acknowledging “gaps in our RMA [return merchandise authorization] communication process in the US and Canada.
“We deeply apologize to our customers and the community for any confusion and frustration they might have experienced from this. We have taken your feedback to heart and are committed to making improvements,” it said.
ASUS is taking steps to resolve the issue
Asus is taking several actions to improve its customer repair experience, effective May 16, including reviewing “any abnormal pricing to ensure consistency.”
“We want to assure our customers that any repairs covered under the manufacturer’s limited warranty have always been and will continue to be free of charge,” the company added. “It is never the intent of Asus to charge any customers a fee that does not directly address the device malfunctions they are experiencing.”
However, the statement is still angering some users, in part because Asus faced similar backlash a year ago for initially refusing to cover product warranties with the company’s motherboards. The other issue is that Asus’s Wednesday statement seems to attribute the problems to communication errors when consumers allege that the PC maker has deliberately looked for ways to void product warranties.
“So they’ll still extort customers, just do it with a softer language?” wrote one user on Reddit.
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