I just got off the phone with support to get an update on my RMA for my 3090 FTW. I installed the 3090 hybrid kit myself and as part of the RMA process I am going to have to remove the hybrid kit and re-install the original air cooler. I have 2 issues related to the RMA process for this:
 
1.) EVGA's own installation guide for the 3090 hybrid kit instructs users to remove the existing thermal compound from the 3090 memory modules and anywhere where the new thermal pads will be making contact. The customer service rep I spoke with informed me that if I remove the hybrid kit and reinstall the original air cooler without the original thermal compound that there would be a service charge due to the missing thermal compound. How can this be when their own instructions tell us to remove that compound to the point where reusing it is impossible? Also, the thermal compound that was on the memory modules was very thick and solid, not like regular thermal compound you use for a CPU so I don't even know where I would get that?
 
2.) One of the thermal pads for the hybrid kit was torn during installation when I removed the protective plastic but I was able to puzzle-piece it together to get the hybrid kit working but removing it is going to result in me not having a full thermal pad for the installation of the hybrid kit on the replacement 3090. I was told in another thread that EVGA would just send me replacement thermal pads if I asked them, but I was told by the representative that they cannot just send out thermal pads for the hyrbid kit and that if I wanted to get additional thermal pads that they would need to charge me. At this point it almost seems better to just RMA the hybrid kit too so I can get a replacement that includes non-torn thermal pads?

transdogmifier
I've never heard of a service charge in my decades with eVGA (at least for thermal compound or the tape that disintegrates when you try to remove it from the card)....I would call back and ask for someone else.
 

 
Thanks, have you heard of the service charge for returning the card without thermal compound since it was removed as part of the hybrid installation?

Have you sent them the card already or you still have it?

tc0566
They just pulled the exact same charge on me for thermal pads because I'm doing an RMA on a 3080 Ti that I installed a hybrid kit on.

As expected.

Cancel077
If you kept the old thermal pads then just put it back on, send it and call it a day.

When I spoke to EVGA about this, they told me worst case they will charge $10. Even if you install thermal pads, because it's not OEM they will charge you. No need to waste money on a putty or anything. And no I did not experience an RMA yet, but I did ask in case anything happens.

I personally kept the pads whether they got ripped or not. And I'll just put them back if I ever need to. Can't do anything for the putty, if they want to charge me then go ahead, it's just $10. At least they cover shipping for a cross ship RMA!

I was told $10 for new or $45 if I sent it in without them. I kept the old ones too, but yeah they ripped and I'm sure when they pull the card apart again they will rip again but for what it costs to cross ship I'm not taking a chance on them denying the warranty because it didn't have the pads.

Cancel077

tc0566

Cancel077
If you kept the old thermal pads then just put it back on, send it and call it a day.

When I spoke to EVGA about this, they told me worst case they will charge $10. Even if you install thermal pads, because it's not OEM they will charge you. No need to waste money on a putty or anything. And no I did not experience an RMA yet, but I did ask in case anything happens.

I personally kept the pads whether they got ripped or not. And I'll just put them back if I ever need to. Can't do anything for the putty, if they want to charge me then go ahead, it's just $10. At least they cover shipping for a cross ship RMA!

I was told $10 for new or $45 if I sent it in without them. I kept the old ones too, but yeah they ripped and I'm sure when they pull the card apart again they will rip again but for what it costs to cross ship I'm not taking a chance on them denying the warranty because it didn't have the pads.

Very inconsistent from the customer service. They told me $10 whether I have the originals there or not. Very weird!

Another option for you - if you cross ship RMA. Just get the replacement, take off the pads off of that and put it in the faulty one. Most people replace the stock pads anyway. At least I do for the vrm.

Not going to pull apart the new GPU, if they ever approve the RMA. Was told approvals are done at end of the day. So far still not approved.

Cancel077

tc0566

Cancel077

tc0566

Cancel077
If you kept the old thermal pads then just put it back on, send it and call it a day.

When I spoke to EVGA about this, they told me worst case they will charge $10. Even if you install thermal pads, because it's not OEM they will charge you. No need to waste money on a putty or anything. And no I did not experience an RMA yet, but I did ask in case anything happens.

I personally kept the pads whether they got ripped or not. And I'll just put them back if I ever need to. Can't do anything for the putty, if they want to charge me then go ahead, it's just $10. At least they cover shipping for a cross ship RMA!

I was told $10 for new or $45 if I sent it in without them. I kept the old ones too, but yeah they ripped and I'm sure when they pull the card apart again they will rip again but for what it costs to cross ship I'm not taking a chance on them denying the warranty because it didn't have the pads.

Very inconsistent from the customer service. They told me $10 whether I have the originals there or not. Very weird!

Another option for you - if you cross ship RMA. Just get the replacement, take off the pads off of that and put it in the faulty one. Most people replace the stock pads anyway. At least I do for the vrm.

Not going to pull apart the new GPU, if they ever approve the RMA. Was told approvals are done at end of the day. So far still not approved.

I completely understand! Good luck! I'm sure everything will be fine, evga is a pretty awesome company. I doubt your rma will not be approved because thermal pads were missing or non OEM pads were installed instead.

RMA was started over the phone yesterday when I was told all this and that I would have to buy new thermal pads. Still shows pending approval. So yes wondering if they are going to deny it. Right now they are not sounding so awesome.

tc0566
This is my second time having an issue with EVGA and their customer service. I ordered an X20 mouse from them. They showed a tracking number was created and that's as far as tracking went. UPS never picked it up. Tracking clearly showed this. They made me wait over a month before they would do anything. It took 6 weeks to actually get the mouse. I am really starting to lose all faith in this company.

That sounds like it took that much time for an investigation by the shipping company to declare it lost.

tc0566

Hoggle

tc0566
This is my second time having an issue with EVGA and their customer service. I ordered an X20 mouse from them. They showed a tracking number was created and that's as far as tracking went. UPS never picked it up. Tracking clearly showed this. They made me wait over a month before they would do anything. It took 6 weeks to actually get the mouse. I am really starting to lose all faith in this company.

That sounds like it took that much time for an investigation by the shipping company to declare it lost.

Shipping company never received it or a request to look for it. I talked to them multiple times and my brother works at UPS. This was all EVGA.  It never made it any further than EVGA creating a shipping label online. It was never actually handed to UPS. EVGA claims they put the items in shipping containers and then UPS removes them from the shipping containers. Problem with that is that all items received by UPS are scanned at the time of pickup. That scan never happened. 

Sorry about your troubles dude!

So what's happening now?

The funny part is that when they get the RMA , they’re going to open the card up and ruin the new pads. But try not to think about that part lol. All will be well, good luck

Cancel077
If you kept the old thermal pads then just put it back on, send it and call it a day.

When I spoke to EVGA about this, they told me worst case they will charge $10. Even if you install thermal pads, because it's not OEM they will charge you. No need to waste money on a putty or anything. And no I did not experience an RMA yet, but I did ask in case anything happens.

I personally kept the pads whether they got ripped or not. And I'll just put them back if I ever need to. Can't do anything for the putty, if they want to charge me then go ahead, it's just $10. At least they cover shipping for a cross ship RMA!

Just so you know, they do not cover the shipping fee for you to return the card. Just paid 3k collateral and got an email that said this... Once you receive your replacement product, please return your original product within 14 days from the date EVGA shipped the replacement to your address for you to receive your collateral return. For the avoidance of doubt, the 14 days begins on the day the replacement is shipped by EVGA, not the day you receive the replacement.
 

Shipping your product in:

• Please ship your original product in the box received. EVGA recommends purchasing insurance on your package with the courier of your choice in case it is damaged or lost in transit.
• Do not send your product in using a padded envelope or padded bag. It will be automatically rejected.
• Write your RMA Number on the outside of the shipping box where it clearly can be read.
• Send your product to:
  
  RMA#: 5021220405638907
  EVGA RMA Department
  408 Saturn Street
  Brea, CA 92821
  USA
  

EVGA does not offer DROP-OFF or WILL CALL services for any RMA.

Cancel077

tc0566

Cancel077
If you kept the old thermal pads then just put it back on, send it and call it a day.

When I spoke to EVGA about this, they told me worst case they will charge $10. Even if you install thermal pads, because it's not OEM they will charge you. No need to waste money on a putty or anything. And no I did not experience an RMA yet, but I did ask in case anything happens.

I personally kept the pads whether they got ripped or not. And I'll just put them back if I ever need to. Can't do anything for the putty, if they want to charge me then go ahead, it's just $10. At least they cover shipping for a cross ship RMA!

Just so you know, they do not cover the shipping fee for you to return the card. Just paid 3k collateral and got an email that said this... Once you receive your replacement product, please return your original product within 14 days from the date EVGA shipped the replacement to your address for you to receive your collateral return. For the avoidance of doubt, the 14 days begins on the day the replacement is shipped by EVGA, not the day you receive the replacement.
 

Shipping your product in:

• Please ship your original product in the box received. EVGA recommends purchasing insurance on your package with the courier of your choice in case it is damaged or lost in transit.
• Do not send your product in using a padded envelope or padded bag. It will be automatically rejected.
• Write your RMA Number on the outside of the shipping box where it clearly can be read.
• Send your product to:
  
  RMA#: 5021220405638907
  EVGA RMA Department
  408 Saturn Street
  Brea, CA 92821
  USA
  

EVGA does not offer DROP-OFF or WILL CALL services for any RMA.

It's old notification. I find evga's notification is not current or consistent but they do cover it. If you call them, they'll let you know that a prepaid ups label will be included.

I recently did a cross shop RMA to the hybrid cooler and they provided me with a UPS label. I got the exact same notification as you. I had to confirm.

https://www.evga.com/warranty/rmaprocess/

Read the cross ship RMA section in the link above. You'll see they include a label.

Also don't worry about the 14 day thing. I also had to confirm. As long as you ship it back within the 14 days you are fine. I kept calling and confirming and the customer service told me not to worry about it. If it's really delayed they encourage to keep them updated, but otherwise don't worry about it!

Oh I did read that. That's why I wasn't too happy with and the amount they charged for collateral plus saying 14 days from the time they ship until the old card has to be received or you forfeit that $3k collateral charge.

Cancel077

tc0566
Oh I did read that. That's why I wasn't too happy with and the amount they charged for collateral plus saying 14 days from the time they ship until the old card has to be received or you forfeit that $3k collateral charge.

Yeah it sounds intimidating but it's not. If you call you'll see, they don't really follow that 14 day rule. As long as you ship it within the 14 days you'll be fine. The Rep on the phone even told me they usually follow a 30 day period. And if it's late for any reason, as long as you keep them up to date you are in good hands. My return technically was past the 14 days, I think they received it in the 15th or 16th day.

I understand 3k is a lot though. They processed my refund the day they received my RMA back.

https://forums.evga.com/m/tm.aspx?m=3531752

Here's my timeline and experience above that I posted. Keep in mind, mine was a hybrid kit not the actual card.

It's scary for sure considering the 6 weeks it took them to get a mouse to me that for over a month they insisted was shipped but UPS never actually received. I literally had to call them with UPS on the phone to get them to reship the mouse.

Hoggle

tc0566
This is my second time having an issue with EVGA and their customer service. I ordered an X20 mouse from them. They showed a tracking number was created and that's as far as tracking went. UPS never picked it up. Tracking clearly showed this. They made me wait over a month before they would do anything. It took 6 weeks to actually get the mouse. I am really starting to lose all faith in this company.

That sounds like it took that much time for an investigation by the shipping company to declare it lost.

I've had delays where it took a day or two for UPS to update their shipping info even though it looked like a label was only created by EVGA so I'm going with the shipping company lost the package and an investigation took that long.  No way it took 6 weeks for EVGA themselves to do something.  Unheard of around here and I've been around here and several other veteran members a long time.

Also it's true, they will give you the benefit of the doubt but the 14 days to ship it back has been around for a while now but EVGA is known to work with the consumer.  I think I might have passed the 14 days many years ago after a explanation over the phone and had no issue. 

tc0566
Yes it actually took 6 weeks and a phone call to EVGA while on the phone with UPS to get them to reship a mouse because the first one never actually shipped. EVGa reps insisted it was shipped and no it never made it past creating a label. Five calls to EVGA and 3 to UPS. And literally 6 weeks from the time the order was made until I actually got the mouse.

That is really bizarre.