Info Need help on Western Digital/San Disk RMA/Support!!!

Oct 2, 2024
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I bought 2, 8tb sn850x drives from an online retailer. A few months later they both failed. It was too long past the return window so I submitted an RMA for both of them with San Disk.

I followed their instructions to the letter. Kept good records. Took screenshots, pictures, etc. I did everything right to make sure they were sent in correctly. Sent via UPS with tracking. Took screenshots of the tracking info showing they were received in California at the warehouse.

I waited a month and kept checking their site for status and it was never updated. So I escalated it on their site to find out what was going on. No reply. I then called them and spoke with a support person and they told me that they did get my emails and that the RMA was being processed, that they were just waiting for the warehouse to verify that they had been received. I again, sent them SS of the tracking showing they had been received.

I waited another 2 weeks and nothing. So I called and asked to speak to a supervisor. I spoke to a guy named Raymond. He told me that he would personally see to it that my drives were found and that the RMA would continue.

I waited another week. I finally get an email.

This is the reply I got:

We really apologize for the incovenience caused to you.

As discussed, We have investigated the case with concerned team and would like to inform you that as per the records RMA 0065793409 was created for SN: 25011B800092 (PN: WDBB9G0080BNC-WRSN) and RMA 0065792022 was created for SN: 24432F800292 (PN: WDBB9G0080BNC-WRSN) but as per the details we received we have no records of receiving both the drives.

We received the drives with SN: 24121W803908 (PN: WDBWMY0010BBL-WRWM) and SN: 23501N801165 (PN: WDBB9G0040BNC-WRSN) under RMA 0065793409 under both the RMA and if you wish we can proceed with the replacement of same products which we receive or let us know if you mistakenly shipped the wrong product under both the RMAs.


We will be waiting for your response.
As you can probably figure, I was pissed. They were trying to tell me that since they could not find the ones I sent (PN and SN) they would just send me a 1tb and a 2tb drive under RMAs that weren't even mine.
I replied and told them HELL NO! I want MY DRIVES under the PN and SN that I sent in. I sent 2, 8tb drives and I want 2, 8tb drives back. Even if they have to just give me refurbished drives. I don't care, I just want 2, 8tb drives back like I sent.
I waited another week. This is the reply I just got:

Thank you for your reply.

I hope this message finds you well.

Following a detailed internal review of the RMA case, we would like to inform you that we are currently unable to proceed with issuing a replacement. As per our process and verification protocols, a replacement can only be authorized once the originally expected drives, as listed under the RMA records, are physically received and validated at our facility.

At this point, the drives received under the submitted RMA numbers do not match the expected product details. Therefore, in order to move forward, we kindly request that the correct drives be returned to complete the evaluation and fulfill the replacement request accordingly.

We sincerely understand the inconvenience this situation may cause and appreciate your patience and cooperation in adhering to our procedures. If there is any additional information or documentation you would like us to review, please feel free to share it with us.


Should you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out.

So at this point they are basically telling me they can't find the drives I sent in, so I am screwed.

I have been building computers for over 30 years and have used Western Digital drives loyally all along. Fortunately I never had to deal with an RMA of one until recently. Well, I will never buy another Western Digital/San Disk drive again. Their RMA process is flawed and they don't seem to care about keeping customers.

This whole thing was basically my word against theirs and I showed them all of my documentation and records, but they didn't care. Someone along the way made a mistake and lost my drives. I understand that mistakes happen but you would think they would give me the benefit of the doubt and send me back what I sent in. Even if they couldn't find them and their records didn't match mine, one would think they would want to make the customer happy. Offer some kind of replacement that was acceptable. But they did not. They chose to basically call me a liar and screw me out of $1200 in SSDs.

You can believe me or not buy I would appreciate it if you don't reply and tell me what I supposedly did wrong. I do not feel I did anything wrong. Except buy their product in the first place.

So, be careful if you RMA a drive with WD/San Disk. You may not get it back.
 
can you check the 0065793409 number again? eventually some numbers exchanged?
Did you check the RMA status of the 0065792022 yourself on the sandisk website?

do you have the emails from sandisk

how did you ship the drives to sandisk and to which address?



From which retailer did you buy it?

Did you just read the SN from the drives or did you read it with software?

please upload the pictures to imgur.com or similar and post the link in here

could be a theft as well, a delivery personal or internal stuff could have intentionally replaced the drives
 
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can you check the 0065793409 number again? eventually some numbers exchanged?
Did you check the RMA status of the 0065792022 yourself on the sandisk website?

do you have the emails from sandisk

how did you ship the drives to sandisk and to which address?



From which retailer did you buy it?

Did you just read the SN from the drives or did you read it with software?

please upload the pictures to imgur.com or similar and post the link in here

could be a theft as well, a delivery personal or internal stuff could have intentionally replaced the drives
I checked both RMA #'s on the website numerous times throughout the process and it showed that the RMA was approved but it never showed that they had been received into the ware house. I asked when I called why the website hasd never updated even though I had proof that they were delivered and they told me that they had to be processed in the warehouse first and it might take a while. It's been close to two months and the site still shows that hey were never received. I have screenshots showing where they were delivered to "Calexico, Ca" a few days after I sent them. I sent them VIA UPS. I sent them to the exact address the RMA emails told me to and I sent them using WD/SD tracking.

I do have every single email I ever got from San Disk. All the RMA approval emails and all the replies.

I bought the drives from B & H Photo. I reached out to B&H Photo and told them the entire story and they told me there was nothing they could do. I would have to go through SD.

I got the SN off the drives themselves, I did not use the software.

Here is the link to the images that I have.

View: https://imgur.com/a/ZCtiN6i
 
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do you still have the packaging of the drives? the receipt from B&H photo of the SSDs, is the serial number on it?

this is the address?
Western Digital c/o Teleplan Service Logistics INC
1784 Pan American Street
Suite 101 Dock #11 "WD RMA"
Calexico,CA,United States92231

did you write both RMA numbers on the package and/or in the box?
 
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do you still have the packaging of the drives? the receipt from B&H photo of the SSDs, is the serial number on it?

this is the address?
Western Digital c/o Teleplan Service Logistics INC
1784 Pan American Street
Suite 101 Dock #11 "WD RMA"
Calexico,CA,United States92231

did you write both RMA numbers on the package and/or in the box?
I do not have the packaging of the drives.

I do have the receipt from B&H but unfortunately the SN are not on it.

Yes, that is the exact address I sent them too.

And YES, I wrote the SN on the packaging and I also afixed the BAR code that WD/SAN dIsk had me download when I downloaded and printed the shipping labels from the WD website.
 
Consider that the original purchase may have involved drives that were stolen, refurbished, or otherwise not as the documentation claimed.

B&H may have been just a link in the supply chain and (like you) would have no way to know what was really in the boxes prior to purchase and the drives being put into use.

@grady115 :

If you purchased drives via a credit card you may be able to make some sort of monetary recovery.

The time limits are around 120 days but those limits may be extendable by circumstances.

FYI as a starting "read":

https://www.thetimes.com/money-ment...tion?msockid=0bd8e5788d5c63a0121ff3718c006229

My suggestion is to check the terms of your credit card agreement and quietly look into how to make a claim despite the passage of the interim months.

Homeowner's insurance may also cover such losses but at the likely expense of some deductible or future rate increases.

Just my thoughts on the matter.
 
Consider that the original purchase may have involved drives that were stolen, refurbished, or otherwise not as the documentation claimed.

B&H may have been just a link in the supply chain and (like you) would have no way to know what was really in the boxes prior to purchase and the drives being put into use.

@grady115 :

If you purchased drives via a credit card you may be able to make some sort of monetary recovery.

The time limits are around 120 days but those limits may be extendable by circumstances.

FYI as a starting "read":

https://www.thetimes.com/money-ment...tion?msockid=0bd8e5788d5c63a0121ff3718c006229

My suggestion is to check the terms of your credit card agreement and quietly look into how to make a claim despite the passage of the interim months.

Homeowner's insurance may also cover such losses but at the likely expense of some deductible or future rate increases.

Just my thoughts on the matter.
I appreciate your thoughts and suggestions. I will look into it.
 
I'm pretty sure it's not bad faith from WD. If the SN numbers don't match they can't do much (they have to protect themselves against scams too). The hypothesis of stolen drives is plausible, especially that you got two good quality drives that both failed a few months later (something is fishy). If you try Ralston18's advice and contact your credit card company you could mention that you might have got scammed. It may help to get compensation.
 
what exactly was faulty with these drives?

do you have a shop link where you purchased the drives?
They would not boot into windows. I kept getting the error from windows that said they need to be repaired. Everytime I clicked repair, it failed. I tried Acronis and reformatting them but no luck. Eventually, they would not even show up in Drive manager.

I'm not sure I understand the question.... Shop Link?
 
Do you have pictures of the actual SSDs before you returned them?

Two failures of the same model SSD seems an unlikely occurrence.

What are the specs for the system(s) installed in?
Yes, I do have pictures and I sent them to WD.

It may have been a bad batch or something happened to them in shipping. They could have been exposed to an xray machine, for instance.

Look at my signature for the answer to your last question.

I had one of them in PC#1 and one of them in PC#2
 
Yes, I do have pictures and I sent them to WD.

It may have been a bad batch or something happened to them in shipping. They could have been exposed to an xray machine, for instance.

Look at my signature for the answer to your last question.

I had one of them in PC#1 and one of them in PC#2
Nice rigs. Seems a very unusual coincidence, especially since the two systems are very different.

Can you share the pictures?