Looking for someone more helpful than Cube247

[Fuchida]

I just ordered a new system from Cube247 for £1700. I ordered by phone and explained to the salesman that I wanted XP Pro instead of Vista because I was running older applications such as Visual Basic 6 and wanted the proven operating system on which they were already running. The PC has a minimum of 8Gb but I was quite happy to miss out on 4Gb until I eventually installed Vista.

The PC arrived this morning and, although I haven't switched it on yet, has a CD for XP Pro 64bit. On the website for that PC model, it doesn't mention 64bit as an option, just XP pro. I just phoned the company and pointed out I specifically mentioned I was using the PC for older applications and didn't want a 64bit operating system.

The lady I spoke to was spectactularly unhelpful. All she would say was that if I wanted 32bit I should I specifically said so. I tried to explain that the website just said XP pro and after explaining I was running older software on a proven system, it would seem common sense that I was wanted normal XP pro. I never even considered they would send me XP Pro x64. She was in no way interested in my problem that I had just ordered a PC from them in good faith that was now of little use. All she kept repeating as a mantra was that I should have said specifically XP Pro 32bit, even though that was what I obviously needed given the information I provided to their salesman. She also had no idea what Visual Basic 6 was, which gives you a good idea of her level of expertise.

They are not prepared to swap my operating system and want me to pay £90 for XP pro 32bit. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the situation, it is plain to me that Cube247 are in no way interested in helping their customers and are far more interested in finding a nit-picking way out of being helpful. This does not bode well if I find a technical problem once I switch the PC on.

Anyway, it appears I am stuck with the situation so now I need to decide whether to install normal XP pro or stick with x64. Does anyone know if VB6 will run on x64 and what type of problems I might encounter? Also, what about games or any other software written for 32bit?

Steve

 

[Waynos_Face]

Hi and welcome to the Forum

Heres some info on compatability.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vbrun/ms788708.aspx

With regards to them not swapping XP and wanting £90 for the 32 bit, if you haven't had the PC for 7 days then you are well within your rights covered under the distance selling regulations to return the PC.

However you won't get the postage money back, is upto you, do you want a PC that you have spent a large amount of money on from a Company who appears to be soley interested in your cash???

Although i have heard a few good things from the more experienced people on this forum about Cube247.

Phone them again and see what they say, ask to speak to a supervisor.

Oh and be clearer, say that you specifically asked NOT to have a 64bit O/S, as you are running older software, not that you didn't think it would be 64bit.

 

[Fuchida]

Hi and welcome to the Forum

Heres some info on compatability.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vbrun/ms788708.aspx

With regards to them not swapping XP and wanting £90 for the 32 bit, if you haven't had the PC for 7 days then you are well within your rights covered under the distance selling regulations to return the PC.

However you won't get the postage money back, is upto you, do you want a PC that you have spent a large amount of money on from a Company who appears to be soley interested in your cash???

I will seriously consider that. I rang again because the PC, which is a three-monitor system, has two DVI ports and two VGA ports. I was sent three VGA leads so I couldn't plug in one of the monitors. So I took one of my existing monitors off-line and used its DVI lead. I have switched it on but the PC only recognises one of the monitors and one of the graphic cards. So I spoke to them again and they say one of the cards must be faulty. They simply cannot have tested this at all before sending it out. They have just built a one-monitor system and sent it out with two extra monitors.

So now they are picking up the base unit tomorrow to take it back and try to get it working and let me have it back next week. This will be my first and last purchase from this company.

Phone them again and see what they say, ask to speak to a supervisor.

I asked the first person I spoke to if I could speak to someone more senior. She said she was senior as she was the company secretary amd wouldn't put me through to anyone else.

Steve

 

[Waynos_Face]

Hiya mate,

Well that doesn't sound great, personally i have no experience on 3 monitors, dual i can do but three, no, some of the guys on here have a three monitor setup, so could help.

That aside you would expect for £1700 that it worked out of the box and made tea as well, if they are picking it up then great, doesn't cost you anything, when they have it phone them back and tell them to keep it, as they have defaulted on the contract you agreed to when you brought it, i.e. it don't work.

You seen pretty PC savvy, so next time maybe build one yourself or visit OCUK, everyone of the regulars on here recommends them and from what i have read, the tech support actually has half a clue.

 

[Adywebb]

As Waynos has said you have the right to send it back within 7 days, however when I read this...

On the website for that PC model, it doesn't mention 64bit as an option, just XP pro. I just phoned the company and pointed out I specifically mentioned I was using the PC for older applications and didn't want a 64bit operating system.

I would say that the PC they sent you was not fit for purpose as you specifically requested a non 64 bit OS, therefore you should reject it, especially as it appears to be suffering defects.

Make sure you tell them (and also put a letter in with the package) that you are declining a repair and are rejecting the goods.

I must say I'm surprised at their attitude, as I have dealt with them in the past and found them to be more than helpful as have others I know who have bought from them - I'm also surprised that the 'company secretary' is dealing with kind of thing, I would expect it to be a customer service or sales rep.

Perhaps ask be put through to Sales and try them there?

 

[Fuchida]

As Waynos has said you have the right to send it back within 7 days, however when I read this...



I would say that the PC they sent you was not fit for purpose as you specifically requested a non 64 bit OS, therefore you should reject it, especially as it appears to be suffering defects.

Make sure you tell them (and also put a letter in with the package) that you are declining a repair and are rejecting the goods.

I must say I'm surprised at their attitude, as I have dealt with them in the past and found them to be more than helpful as have others I know who have bought from them - I'm also surprised that the 'company secretary' is dealing with kind of thing, I would expect it to be a customer service or sales rep.

Perhaps ask be put through to Sales and try them there?

I have speaking to someone called Phil in technical support who seems a lot more helpful. They have promised to pick up the base unit tomorrow and get it back to me by next Tuesday. I pointed out that the description of the machine (Hercules ST16) states ATI High Definition Quad Monitor Graphics and the graphic card in device manager is a GeForce 9500 GT. Therefore he will also be replacing the VGA/DVI graphic cards with ATI dual DVI cards.

If I accept all this, Tuesday is 8 days after it arrived. Do I lose out on the option of using the distance selling regulations in that case. If I do want to return it, would I have to pay for the return cost in terms of postage)?

Steve

 

[Adywebb]

If you accept a repair then you lose the right to reject it - so you need to make a decision at this stage about whether you want it or not.

What are they doing about the XP 64 bit?

 

[Waynos_Face]

Hi,

It all goes down to the sneaky print,

As Ady says make a decision whether you will happy to get it back hopefully working or whether you want a full refund.

I've done a bit of looking around and can find nothing to clarify the 7 day rule on whether something needs repairing.

I think it will be down to them, but to be on the safe said i would say you won't be covered as the 7 day period will have expired.

Have a look at Novatech or OCUK and see if you can find a similar system or if they will build one to your spec, then decide whether or not you want a refund.

 

[Adywebb]

From what I understand if you accept a repair, then you are accepting the goods, so the 7 day rule goes out the window.......but thats just my interpretation.

 

[Madxgraphics]

From what I understand if you accept a repair, then you are accepting the goods, so the 7 day rule goes out the window.......but thats just my interpretation.

Your interpretation would be correct

 

[Abarbarian]

I pointed out that the description of the machine (Hercules ST16) states ATI High Definition Quad Monitor Graphics and the graphic card in device manager is a GeForce 9500 GT.

The machine is faulty. They did not supply you with the OS you requested. An if they are trying to sell a £1700 pc with a 9500 GT card and saying that it is a high end card then they are taking the mickey. Tell them that the pc is unfit for purpose and that you want a refund. Go and see you local trading standards and ask them to help.
For the sort of money you are paying you would expect at least 2 x ATI 4850 cards.

 

[Adywebb]

The link to the Hercules ST16 HERE clearly states it has ATi graphics and includes the ATi logo next to the price - also the £30 XP option for changing the OS states 'Microsoft Windows XP Pro' with nothing about it being 64 bit.


Send it back and ask for a full refund as not only is it faulty, but it wasn't what you ordered - then go elsewhere

 

[Fuchida]

I just spoke to them on the phone. They are refusing to give me a refund for the following reasons:


1) The 9500 GT cards are an upgrade from the normally supplied ATI cards.
2) They are prepared to fix the problem with the faulty card
3) (and best of all) The distance selling regulations don't apply because it is a customised machine because they put XP on it instead of Vista

I was unfortunately speaking to the same "company secretary" who seems to be making things up as she goes along. Do I now need to speak to trading standards?

Stevr

 

[Fuchida]

An update:


I have spoken to trading standards who have assured me I can ask for a refund under either Distance Selling Regulations or the Sale of Goods act. Despite me explaining this to Cube247 they are still refusing to refund me so I either have to get involved in a lengthy legal battle or accept the situation.

Cube have said they will be replacing the dual 1024Mb 9500 GTs with dual DVI ATI cards as I mentioned my disappointment with the DVI/VGA ports on the 9500 GTs. However, they are ATI Sapphire 3470s with only 256mb and seem to be worth about £30 compared to £65 for the 9500 GTs. They point out that the machine spec on their website states ATI High Definition Quad Monitor Graphics but not the model of the cards so I should not complain about this. They say they have ordered these cards specially and will not put any other cards in the machine.

Their technical guy assures me these cards will be fine to run the three 1920x1200 monitors without any problems. I will be using the machine mainly for development rather than gaming anyway.

I think I am going to have to live with the situation. It sounds like it would take a long time to get my money back, even though I eventually would, and I am going to have to pay even more to send the goods back. I would be without a PC in the meantime because I can't afford to buy another while I fight for the money. If the graphics cards are not suitable, I think I will just have to buy some new ones myself.

I feel like I have been completely screwed by Cube247 so I plainly will not be dealing with them in future and I would advise anyone else to treat them with caution.

Steve

 

[Waynos_Face]

Hi,

If they are unwilling to resolve the situation peacefully then get onto your bank, if they claim the distance selling regulations don't apply (which do, no matter if something is customised or not) then simple, contact your bank.

If you agree to a product, which you did, and it was supposed to have to have ATI cards, which it didn't then they have negated the contract. The a refusal to refund, which is the Law, is called distance selling fraud.

Contact your bank and tell them what has happened, if you payed by credit/debit card or straight out of the bank, then your bank will open an enquiry and contact cube247 and say that they have to give you the money back or they will open an enquiry in to fraud.

Cube247 then have 30 days to return the full amount or the bank will recover the funds automatically as you will be insured on this.

Call cube247 once more and tell them what you propose to do, your bank will back you as long as you get in touch with them first.

My Sister is a graduate bank manager at HSBC and deals with this stuff all the time.

 

[floppybootstomp]

I've been reading this - a bit sad.

Cube whatever are taking the Mick and that 'Secretary' is trying it on.

Please give it one last shot as Waynos_Face has suggested and don't take it laying down.

The 9500GT's are a much better card than the rather crap ATI replacements they're offering, although they're still nothing special and neither are 'high end'.

The fact they had to order the ATI replacement cards in especially - tell them you couldn't care less, not your problem, they should have supplied what they advertised.

They are just trying it on, making excuses and trying to wriggle out of some very shoddy trading.

That's another company on my blacklist, them and Patriot RAM all in one week, my oh my.

 

[Adywebb]

I have emailed Cube247 and asked them to take a look at this thread and comment if they wish.

I hope they take this opportunity to put their side of the story, as I have had good dealings with them in the past starting from the days when they were called 'computerelectronics' and as a result I have recommended them many times in the belief that they will be treated similarly.

 

[Waynos_Face]

Well lets hope they do.

I imagine this site carries some considerable clout in the UK when it comes to recommending reliable Companies from which to purchase.

And at the moment it seems that Cube247 are being unfair, but as you said there are 2 sides to every tale.

 

[Adywebb]

Aye, we have around 50,000 registered members here along with hundreds that browse our threads as guests everyday - couple that with those we get everyday seeking recommendations for where to purchase, then I would say we probably carry a fair bit of influence where customers end up spending their money.

 

[Adywebb]

Nothing heard back from Cube via email or otherwise - I see this thread has had about 13 hits today so maybe they have nothing to add and agree with whats been said.

I don't understand why some companies Customer Services act this way - don't they realise that they loose more sales and hence money in the longer term than if they dealt with things in a reasonable manner in the first place??

Oh well - I shall just refer any guests/members seeking recommendations for where to purchase or whether they should buy from Cube to this thread and let them make their own minds up....



(Thread moved to Retailer section)