Consumer Watch: Return to Sender--If You Can

The Rules of the Game

But returning a PC is seldom easy. Sure, many vendors are taking an increasingly down-home approach to marketing consumer PCs ("Technology's great," asserts Gateway's new slogan, "but people rule!"). That friendly folksiness often disappears, however, when customers talk about sending a misbehaving computer back for replacement or a refund. If your new Gateway Profile or Select, for instance, starts acting up more than 30 days after it leaves Gateway's cow-colored warehouse, you'd better start praying to the tech support gods--you're stuck with it for better or for worse.

Gateway isn't unique, either. Return policies were strikingly similar among the direct PC vendors that I spoke with.

If your PC goes south within the allotted return time (30 days from the date it ships is standard), you'll usually need to obtain an RMA (return merchandise authorization) from the seller before you send the system back. That process isn't always straightforward. You may wait an eternity to get through to someone who can authorize the return. Or you may get shuffled back to technicians who will keep trying to fix the machine even after you're fed up. What if your 30-day window closes while company technicians are trying--and failing--to fix your machine? Some companies may say you're out of luck. So keep a written record of every phone call, including the date, the name of the person you spoke with, and the outcome of the call. That information will help you establish your right to return the machine if the repair efforts fail.

It's also important to know a company's return policy before you buy. If you decide to return a PC, you'll almost certainly be expected to pay all shipping and handling costs, including insurance charges. And don't even think about recycling those original boxes or popping so much as a cell of bubble-wrap during that first month. You'll need to repackage the system as it was shipped or risk having your return shipment refused and sent back to you at your expense. In addition, if you've opened any software boxes, the software is yours unless it's defective--whether or not you have a computer on which to run it. And finally, you may be charged a restocking fee--in some cases, up to 25 percent of the original purchase price--just for the privilege of returning a system that may never have worked.