Asus just apologized for its outrageous repair costs and RMA process

Asus is one of the biggest names in the PC enthusiast world, making some of the best gaming motherboards for decades, as well as several of the current best gaming laptops. However, the company has recently come under fire for its RMA process - in other words, sending products back to the company for repair, whether they're still covered under warranty or not.

Earlier in May, one gamer reported being charged $3,758.23 CAD in an Asus RTX 4090 repair quote to fix the small plastic safety indent on the card's power connector, when the RTX 4090 card itself only cost $2,799 CAD originally. Asus also recently tried to charge YouTube tech channel GamersNexus $191.47 to repair a tiny ding on the chassis of an Asus ROG Ally that was still under warranty, without addressing the faulty thumbstick, which is the reason why it was sent in the first place.

The letter from Asus to GamersNexus about the repair also stated that Asus wouldn't honor the repair unless the money was received. "Please be advised that if payment is not received for repairs to the unit," says the letter revealed in the video above, "the unit will be sent back un-repaired and may be disassembled." The letter also makes reference to "liquid damage" to the device, which GamersNexus says "came out of nowhere."

In response, Asus' new statement says: "We deeply apologize to our customers and the community for any confusion and frustration they might have experienced," adding: "we have taken your feedback to heart and are committed to making improvements."

The company reiterates that "any repairs covered under the manufacturer's limited warranty have always been and will continue to be free of charge." The apology also adds that "We now recognize that the current process and the language used does not adequately convey this information." Asus says it's now "working diligently" to make changes to its RMA process, which include the following:

• We are revising our repair pricing structure for out-of-warranty products; this includes a thorough review process for any abnormal pricing to ensure consistency, transparency and fairness.
• Currently, we perform a full analysis of devices sent for RMA, and send customers a comprehensive list of available repairs, free and paid, in our messaging to customers. We understand this may have caused confusion when a customer has only ordered a specific repair. We will no longer automatically offer repair quotations for cosmetic imperfections unless they affect the device's functionality or are specifically asked for by the customer.
• We will update the verbiage of our automatic emailing system for improved clarity, so our customers always know what repairs will be offered for free, and the terms and conditions relevant to the device in question.

While it's good to see that Asus has taken this feedback onboard, rather than doubling down, I find it shocking that this process was ever allowed to be standard customer service policy. Charging customers outrageous prices to repair tiny cosmetic blemishes, and refusing to honor a repair until the company has received the money, is completely unacceptable.

I hope this debacle serves as a warning sign for other tech companies who might be thinking of going down the same route. However, it's worrying that so much of the apology focuses on language rather than process. The problem wasn't so much that the language was confusing, but that the process wasn't fit for purpose.

Asus has also recently been under fire over the positioning of the microSD slot on the ROG Ally, causing overheating issues, and leading to the ROG Ally frying microSD cards. This issue will reportedly be resolved in the new ROG Ally X, which is due to be fully unveiled in June 2024.