Storage Solutions Fake/Mislabeled WD Blacks sold at Lamington

[Xanthor]

Today, I came across a non tech savvy friends dead PC. I was surprised to find a WD Black running on a non enthusiasts computer and congratulated him on buying a great drive.

Things turned fishy when I went online to check the warranty remaining on the drive. I was surprised to find that there was no mention of the model number of the drive "WD1000AKDS" on the web and that the serial number mentioned on the drive showed up as invalid.

On closer inspection, the label on the drive looked fishy too with uneven cuts and uneven printing. The drive works fine and doesn't seem to be a dud or a lemon but surely someone at Lamington is swindling customers with drives which at the very least, are mislabeled.

I dont have access to a working computer to check the actual drive info via HD Tune and the guy desnt have the invoice for the drive so I cant figure out where it was bought from. Has anyone come across such drives?

 

[vivek.krishnan]

@bhavik_9488 Are you the same chap who posted on FB/Digit forums?

Seems he has not posted in quite some times here.

EDIT:

This is an obvious fake. I think he should remove all his data to another HDD, as this could be a refurb/rebadged HDD.

The pins nos seem to be handwritten. There seem to be some spelling mistakes.

 

[6pack]

What does it say in bios? Does it get recognized as wd1000akds or what's printed on the label?

 

[Xanthor]

No working desktop to check. Some Google-Fu using the model number from the pcb shows its probably a blue.


EDIT: Have written to WD via their support page and Social media. Waiting to hear what they have to say. In the meanwhile, has anyone else experienced this kind of trickery at lamington?

I have no personal experiences of this, probably because my purchases are from the more well known stores like Prime.

 

[Xanthor]

I wrote to WD pointing them towards this thread along with a photo of the drive

I've come across a fake or mislabeled WD Black drive sold at Lamington Road India. You can find more details at http://www.techenclave.com/community/threads/fake-mislabeled-wd-blacks-sold-at-lamington.166936/ The model number on the drive is "WD1000AKDS" and the Serial Number on the drive shows up as invalid Here is a link to a photo of the drive: http://www.techenclave.com/community/attachments/imag0066-jpg.42674/

The reply I've gotten from them is as below.

Dear XYZ

Thank you for contacting Western Digital Service and Support. My name is Jyotirmoy.

Apologize for inconvenience caused due to this issue.

We regret to inform you that the drive serial number WCABYHU566897 shows invalid as per our records.

As per concern department the drive seems to be manipulated.

Kindly contact the place of purchase for any warranty related issues.

Should you have any further questions, please reply to this email and we will be more than happy to assist you further.

Warm Regards,
Jyotirmoy
WD Support

Any idea on what should be done next?

 

[abracadabra]

There is no point getting forward without a proper bill and the store from where he purchased it, Just incase if he remember the store too, and you go back to them, they would simply reject it!

 

[6pack]

Ask your friend to take it as a life lesson and move on. The drive is clearly fake. No company will take it back. WD do not have any reason to consider it under warranty since its not their drive.
People need to be more cautious while buying from shops and ask for proper bill.

 

[Criminal]

These days i inform the dealers beforehand that i'd buy only if the device's serial number gets accepted on its warranty/registration site. Most of the dealers agree happily.

 

[Xanthor]

Got the time to pop the drive in a case and check what lay beneath the fake label.

The drive was indeed a WD WD10EZEX-00ZF5A0; A WD Blue 1TB drive sold to a system integrator. Someone at laminton is slapping on fake WD black stickers on refurbs or OEM drives and reselling them to unsuspecting laymen who they suspect will never have the knowledge to discern a fake form a real drive.

What struck me as odd was why the dealer chose to stick the label from a WD Black, a drive likely to be purchased by an enthusiast who is more likely to discover the scam. The fact that It was a Black piqued my interest and made me check the warranty whereas a Blue or Green would've flown under the radar and probably never have been discovered.

We're still looking for the bill, not to claim warranty or anything of the sort, the drive seems to work fine and the cost has been written off as the price paid for a life lesson but to put it up here to name and shame the unscrupulous dealer.