Howdy all,

I've just about lost all faith in the majority of our suppliers.

As many of us know, a particular Control handset seems to have has an inherent problem where the display fades to a point where it becomes illegible.

When asked about this, they told me that it's fine to lodge an RMA for the affected unit (provided it's within warranty period, of course) and it will be replaced. Sounded simple.

However, there appears to be a few caveats.

The unit is only deemed to be faulty if it meets the following criteria:

-It is illegible at, and ONLY at full brightness.

-The light sensor that adjusts the brightness of the display has to be disabled.

-It is only deemed to be faulty if it is illegible on the "White" display setting, and no other.

This seems to go directly against our country's consumer laws regarding products and warranties. Why would it be acceptable to warrant a product that is sold with a set of features (Variable brightness, a wide selection of colours etc.), but then claim that the warranty only covers it under particular conditions outlined by the distributor?

I put all this aside for the time being and decided to proceed with the RMA because, well, I need to abide my MY agreement with MY customer.

I am then told that I have to actually pay the replacement cost up-front before they will release a replacement unit. Not that they will invoice me if the unit is deemed to not be faulty, but before they even start the process, I am supposed to pay the price for a replacement, to be later refunded at their discretion.

Is anybody else in the industry asking this when it comes to RMAs? Do suppliers in the US operate i the same method, or is it just over here in Australia?

Does this seem reasonable/unreasonable to any of you guys?