Fraud with Seagate hard disks: Dealers swap, Seagate investigates

Used goods sold as new are not only a nuisance, but can also constitute fraud under criminal law. More than 200 readers have contacted us by email alone to report such Seagate hard disks, but messages from those affected are now appearing in various forums around the world, for example in Australia and Thailand. In addition, more and more media are writing about the case, and we have already received reports from Japan, for example.

In Germany, we are already a little further along: most retailers have probably realized that this could be a scam, even if they are not the scammers themselves. At the beginning of the week, we sent e-mails to the mail-order companies known to us requesting a statement. The feedback we received gives us hope that customers will not be left with the costs. All retailers who responded to our request stopped selling the affected hard disks.

Statements from the retailers:

• Alternate writes that they sourced the goods from established German suppliers with whom they have had a long-standing business relationship. They were not informed that the products were not new. According to them, their suppliers were also unaware of this and sold the goods to Alternate as new. Affected customers should contact seagate@alternate.de by e-mail; the company is offering both an exchange (if available) and a refund.
• Bechtle writes that the statutory warranty applies in justified cases.
• CTN-System takes a two-pronged approach to complaints. Customers can keep the hard disks and receive a 3- or 5-year warranty from the retailer, as stated on the website, or they can receive a refund in exchange for returning the hard disk.
• Galaxus refers to its customer service and a help page on the cases.
• Kosatec is examining the inquiries of affected customers and intends to find a solution for the customers as quickly as possible after an examination. Dealer customers should open an RMA ticket via the channel known to them.
• Maingau has contacted affected customers.
• Office Partner intends to fully compensate affected customers.
• Proshop customers can return the hard disks free of charge and will receive a replacement (if possible) or a full refund on request. Customers should get in touch by email or via the contact form on the website.
• Reichelt customers can return the affected goods and receive the purchase price back; an exchange is also possible if available.
• Wortmann will gladly check the drive in case of suspicion and react depending on the result.

We have heard from readers that other retailers have also offered a return, but we have no concrete information on this. We have not yet been able to make contact with retailers who sell their products via Amazon, Ebay or Kaufland stores.

Statement from Seagate

Seagate has now also released a new statement:

"We take this matter very seriously and are conducting a thorough investigation. As per the earlier statement, Seagate did not sell or distribute these drives to resellers. While we cannot share specific details of this ongoing investigation, we suspect these drives were new products that Seagate sold to customers who later sold them on the used market. In this instance, we believe that somewhere in the used market supply chain, the drives were remarketed and resold as new. We recommend that resellers purchase drives from Seagate authorized distribution partners, as purchasing from Seagate-authorized distributors is the best way resellers, and consequently, their end customers can be sure of the authenticity of Seagate products.

Seagate processes are in place to investigate these types of cases, with teams working proactively with our resellers to take corrective action when necessary. Our security team also regularly collaborates with local authorities to take necessary actions. Many investigations are initiated based on anonymous tips, and reports from partners and customers. Measures we have implemented are intended to protect Seagate partners and end customers in an increasingly global marketplace.

We encourage anyone who suspects that they received a used drive marketed as new to help the investigation by reporting it to us directly at fraud@seagate.com. Additionally, customers who question whether the products they purchased are as advertised by sellers, can access our warranty-checking tool. The warranty checker can be found here. Suspect drives and/or sellers can also be reported anonymously through our ethics hotline.

We are grateful for the trust our customers place in us and are committed to doing everything possible to uphold that trust."

Seagate's warranty inquiry service will be out of service from Saturday, Feb. 8, 1 a.m. - Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, 1 a.m. (central European time) due to long-scheduled and non-postponable maintenance.

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