Shannon H

Terrible warranty service

On 30th July 2024 I purchased an upgrade kit (consisting of an AMD Ryzen 5 566X, 16gb 3200Mhz RAM, and an MSI B450M A Pro Max II motherboard) from Computer Mania Garden Route Mall. I took it home, installed it, and it worked perfectly fine until 3rd October 2025. I was playing a game that night when the pc froze and restarted and went into an infinite boot loop. What I thought was a windows 11 error after doing all the windows 11 updates, turned out to be a hardware issue. I tried all the basics to get it working again, but nothing helped. On the 7th of October 2025 I contact Michael on the online chat on the Computer Mania website, explained the situation and he said I need to email Steven Baguley who is the warranty officer for Computer Mania. I send Steven an email on the 7th of October 2025 and explain to him the situation. He replies to me and says the upgrade kit it still under warranty with the supplier until next year, being 2026. His exact words to me are: “That kit is still under warranty with the supplier until next year, please take it to the nearest Computer Mania store to be booked in and let them know you have been in contact with me” I take the upgrade kit into Computer Mania Garden Route Mall, and I explain the staff the situation and that I have spoken to Steven. They take my items and book it in for assessment. I get a WhatsApp message stating it’s been booked in on the 8th of October 2025. Here is where it gets messy. Its all gone for about a week or 2. In this time I get a WhatsApp message on the 16th of October 2025 stating it’s been sent to the supplier. WhatsApp message on the 22nd of October saying my items were transferred back to the branch. They tell me the RAM was faulty and they swapped it out. I take the items home, rebuild the pc and turn it on, and it does the exact same infinite boot loop repeatedly The next day I take it back to Computer Mania, explain what’s going on. They book it in again, and once again I receive a WhatsApp message stating that its being transferred to head office, 31st October 2025. On the 6th of November 2025 I receive a message stating it’s been transferred to supplier. 21st November 2025 I get a WhatsApp message stating its being transferred back to Computer Mania. I go into the store on the 22n November 2025 and collect all the items, they again tell me the RAM was replaced AGAIN because it was faulty, I go home, rebuild the pc, and again it does the exact same thing. I take the whole tower with me this time and take it back to Computer Mania on Monday 24th November 2025. This time the guys in the store test it and see that it is not that RAM but either motherboard or CPU issue. The strip everything from the tower, and box is up with the original boxes it all came in and send it away Again. I get a WhatsApp message on the 26th of November that my items are being transferred to supplier. This was the last WhatsApp message I received from them. I didn’t hear anything for a while, so I called the called Computer Mania and asked them for an update. I am told the supplier won’t do anything because the serial number on the box is not that same as the motherboard. This after it has been with them 4 times. I either call once a week or go into the shop to get an update. Nothing has changed. I call again in mid-December, and I am told that the supplier is closing for the holidays, I will have to wait. I have no choice but to wait. January, I call every few days, and still told the issue is with the serial number now. Eventually they sort out the serial number issue and say they will replace the motherboard. Please bear in mind that I have no contact with the supplier themselves, I am getting information from the store itself. They say they will replace the motherboard. I think great, finally getting this sorted out. On the 23rd of January 2026 I finally get my upgrade kit back. I take it home. I notice the replacement board does not look new at all, and there are thermal paste marks all over it. I clean it up, rebuild the pc and IT STILL DOES THE SAME THING. And to make matters worse, they sent me back the wrong RAM. Instead of the 3200Mhz RAM I sent to them, they sent me back 2133Mhz RAM. The following day, 24th January 2026, I took it all back to Computer Mania, and they have AGAIN sent it back to the supplier and told them they sent me the wrong RAM back. I am currently sitting without any information, or PC, because the guys in the shop are only told the items are at the supplier. It’s not like the shop is close either. Its 20km away from my house, so a 40km round trip every time this happens. It seems that not one person in the warranty office tested anything. They just thought RAM and replaced it and then sent it back twice. The guys in the store are amazing, and this is not a reflection on them. But the warranty side is APPALLING. I have no idea how a warranty claim on a small upgrade kit can take more than 4 months. I am still sitting without my items and have no idea when I will get them back. Maybe Computer Manipulation is more apt name.