Warranty Questions: return shipping costs, missing sales receipt

[Anonymous user]

I read the warranty information, but still have a few questions:

Who pays for return shipping costs, if product is under warranty and defective? I ask because most shipping carriers charge by weight, and UPS devices are typically very heavy. It wouldn't surprise me if the cost to ship the item is more it would cost to replace it. Does APC have any authorized service providers/authorized repair centers that I go to locally, to avoid shipping the product?

What if I dont have my original sales receipt? I dont see any date of manufacturing stamp on the devices, so what else can be used to determine if the device is still under warranty?

Thanks.

[Anonymous user]

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[BillP · Accepted solution]

hi-

All the serial numbers on each APC device indicate the date of manufacture at first glance. Each serial number begins with two characters - two letters or a letter and a number and is a total of 12 characters long.

For example: JB0823435062. This is located on the back or bottom of the APC device, usually on a little white sticker.

Based on this serial number, the first two characters, JB, tell us where the unit was made and what it is (not much help to the end user), then the next two digits *08*, indicate the year of manufacture - so in this case - 2008, and then lastly the next two, *23*, indicate the week of manufacture - so in this example - 23rd week. So we know this unit was manufactured in the 23rd week of 2008. The rest of the digits are a production number.

Based on this, APC assumes, a manufacture date and allows for 3 months to allow for distribution, etc and for the device to reach the end user. Again, this is worst case scenario and if a customer has no proof of registering or a sales reciept, this is what APC bases its warranty claim on.

If you do have a proof of purchase and the serial number indicates the device is out of warranty, APC in most circumstances honors the warranty if that proof of purchase places the unit within the factory warranty period of x amount of years from date of purchase. We also cross check the database where your warranty card goes. Warranties generally are not transferable either.

As for shipping - if the APC unit is within *30* days of purchase, APC will issue a prepaid return label and cover the shipping back of the item under warranty and will also of course pay for the shipping of a new unit to you. If the unit is still under the factory warranty, but outside of that 30 day window, APC asks that you pay the shipping of the item back under warranty and APC covers the cost of a new one to you.

APC almost ALWAYS practices a cross ship - where APC will ship you a replacement first, then you can send back the item under warranty within 30 days of receiving your new replacement.

APC's authorized repair center is Coastal Business machines @ www.cbmi.com

Let us know if you have any other questions! Thanks.