Well, fuck you, Cooler Master.

As soon as I turned my VPN off I was able to successfully send my RMA request.

  • Limonene@lemmy.world
    188·
    4 days ago

    That’s no excuse. An RMA form is something that all their customers are entitled to use. If anyone finds their IP address blocked, even a VPN IP address, then their warranty claim has effectively been blocked for an invalid reason.

    The company has failed their warranty obligations.

    • refalo@programming.dev
      162·
      4 days ago

      I think if hosting an RMA form requires paying for 500x more bandwidth than it’s supposed to just because it’s being hammered by bots on VPNs, and this was your company, you’d block them too.

      • Limonene@lemmy.world
        65·
        4 days ago

        No, I would rate-limit them. OP is getting a non-rate-limited block. If OP has an ISP problem where they can’t access the site, this VPN may be their only option.

        I think catloaf’s idea is good, but no tech company accepts RMA requests by paper mail.

        • refalo@programming.dev
          2·
          3 days ago

          I think it depends on where the bottleneck is, and what they’re actually trying to prevent, as to whether or not rate-limiting would actually help anything.

          If they are blocking source IP addresses explicitly, it could be for a more specific concern we’re not aware of, like trying to limit the amount of email “spam” that would be sent out from automated requests. A rate-limit wouldn’t fix that issue, only slow it down.

          We’re all also assuming any of this is even intentional on their or anyone’s part.

      • acockworkorange@mander.xyz
        35·
        4 days ago

        I don’t think this holds in court. “I breached my contract with the plaintiff because other actors inconvenience me.”

        • refalo@programming.dev
          31·
          3 days ago

          I think you assume that there is even a contract, and that if it did exist, it wouldn’t allow this.

          Going to court for this would also cost way more than the product is worth.

      • Limonene@lemmy.world
        41·
        4 days ago

        I don’t use VPNs, but plenty of sites using datadome.co will arbitrarily block me at my residential ISP. datadome.co will first ask you to complete a captcha, and upon your success, you are immediately blocked with no recourse. Here’s a typical screenshot: (not mine)

        The “contact support” link opens a contact form that goes to a black hole. I’ve filled out dozens, and never gotten a response.