A very long time ago (Monday), a Newegg customer wrote to the Consumerist tipline, complaining that her laptop exchange was denied because she had installed Linux on the machine. After we published her story, Newegg rushed to issue her a refund and told us that changing or upgrading the OS of a computer doesn’t mean that you can’t exchange it if it’s defective. Which would be a nice happy ending and all, except for how customer service reps are still telling customers the exact opposite of that.

Reddit poster Dogboy99 wrote to Newegg, linking our article and asking whether this is a change in policy, or just a one-time exception due to the angry Internet mob. Newegg responded:

Dear [Dogboy99],

Thank you for contacting Newegg.

We are sorry for the inconvenience. That is just an one time exception. Thank you for your understanding in advance.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please visit our FAQs page. If you still require any assistance, please feel free to reply directly to this email.

Thank you,

[redacted]
Newegg Customer Service

Huh. Just to make sure, Consumerist staff wrote in to customer service under a pseudonym (just in case.)

Dear [Consumerist incognito],

Thank you for contacting Newegg.

Please be kindly advised that if the item system has been changed or modified, we are unable to honor you a return and you will need to contact the manufacturer for further assistance.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please visit our FAQs page. If you still require any assistance, please feel free to reply directly to this email.

Thank you,

[different (redacted)]
Newegg Customer Service

We reached out to Newegg to clear up this discrepancy, and haven’t heard back yet.

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