This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/datahoarder by /u/boryslavdeputat on 2026-06-03 16:00:42+00:00.

---

TL;DR: Sent back a failing WD Gold 20TB under warranty. WD went silent for weeks, then falsely accused me of fraud with zero evidence. Now I have no drive and no replacement.

The long version:

Bought a WD Gold 20TB from official WD Amazon store. Used in RAID NAS. After some months, SMART started reporting media errors. I documented everything, reached out to WD support. They confirmed 5-year warranty.

I asked for advance replacement (standard for enterprise drives). Denied. Fine. I bought another drive, migrated 20TB of data, and shipped the defective one back.

Then the fun began:

• Week 1: "We're working on it." Radio silence.

• Week 3: "20TB out of stock, we'll send 22TB." Nothing shipped.

• Week 6: "Everything is being resolved." Nothing resolved.

• Week 8: FORM LETTER — "Your drive is not a genuine WD product. Fraud detected."

EXCUSE ME?

This is the EXACT drive I bought from YOUR official store. Serial number checks out on your website. SMART data confirms failure. I didn't touch a screw. I didn't swap a board. I literally put it in a RAID array, ran it, it failed, and I sent it back.

Any competent technician would know in 30 seconds that it's genuine. Instead, WD sends a form letter accusing me of fraud.

Now I'm stuck with:

• No drive

• No replacement

• No refund

• A business running degraded RAID

• A false accusation of fraud

I've found threads from others saying WD is doing this to avoid expensive replacements. Is this true? Has anyone else dealt with this?

Next steps:

• Filing BBB complaint

• Contacting CA and TX Attorney General offices

• Consulting with my attorney (I have legal insurance for business disputes)

• Documenting everything publicly

Any advice or similar experiences welcome. This shouldn't happen to anyone.

Case: 2603088, 2486448

Refs: 260428-000796, 251210-000980, 251210-000975

#WesternDigital #RMA #Warranty #DataHoarder #NAS #Enterprise