PJCNET

A friend of mine brought an Ati Radeon X1550 AGP graphics card from Maplins in Birmingham City Centre (UK) a week ago at the time of writing.

I spent hours trying to get the card to work on PC in question, here is a summary of the specification:

CPU Type:   2x AMD Athlon MP, 2000 MHz (15 x 133) 2400+

Motherboard Name:    Gigabyte GA-7DPXDW+  (3 PCI, 2 PCI64, 1 AGP Pro 4X, 4 DDR DIMM, Audio, LAN)

Motherboard Chipset:    AMD-760MPX

System Memory:    1024 MB  (PC2100 Registered DDR SDRAM)

Even though the PC only has an AGP 4X slot, it falls within the specifation advertised on the graphics card box, this was carefully checked at the time of sale.

After installing the standard Ati Catalyst Drivers, the card would only display in VGA compatibility mode, making it impossible to use for anything except very basic windows applications – running extremely slow – so slow you can see the screen actually refreshing.

Incidentally, I used to work in PC Technical Support, so I'm very knowledgeable when it comes to PCs, some-one without technical knowledge wouldn't have a chance. I tried numerous fixes and various different drivers, including alternative Omega Drivers and various different versions. I tried removing the old drivers using a driver cleaner every time. I tried disabling everything in the PC I could except the Graphics Card, including physically removing extra hardware. I tried various different BIOS settings. I spent many hours searching the Internet and trying fixes after that, all to no avail. I didn't go to bed until 5am that night before giving up satisfied that I'd tried everything. It seems the card or the drivers aren't compatible with the system contrary to the specification on the box.

Maplins have a 14 day returns policy, were you can return items in thier original condition for a replacement or refund, no matter what reason. Well my friend returned the card the day after purchase and Maplins explained that they wouldn't refund as it was a "memory product". On looking at the receipt, it clearly states "memory" as an exception to the 14 day policy, not "memory products". My friend argued his point, but got no-where, the manager still refused a refund. He then stated that the graphics card wasn't fit for the purpose under the Sale Of Good Act and he was entitled to a refund anyway, but Maplins still refused. My friend then agreed to have the card sent off for testing, where they said he could get a refund in 2 weeks.

I wish I'd been there as I know Maplins are breaking the law as The Sale Of Goods Acts states that refunds should be make without inconvenience to the customer. Now my friend is without a graphics card or the money through no fault of his own. He wants to buy another graphics card, but can't afford it without a refund. When Maplins finally get round to testing the product, they will probably find no problems as it will most likely work on some PCs. He may still not receive a refund. I've read reports of other people in similar situations with Maplins receiving a credit note after 3 weeks waiting.

I went into Maplins with my friend to complain, but got no-where as unfortunately he'd now signed to have the card sent away – he shouldn't had done this, instead he should have contacted fair trading. 

Well, you would expect better from a company as well known as Maplins. They should sort their act out as this customer service is abysmal, not to mention they are breaking the law.

I will update as to whether my friend finally receives a refund. 

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