Valve appears to be placing a temporary hold on Valve Index RMAs (return merchandise authorisation) in the UK, due to Brexit. This means customers with faulty VR headsets must wait until 'the issue' is resolved before proceeding with a return, although Valve says it is working with its distributor to mitigate further disruption.
Multiple Valve Index owners based in the UK are reporting the new measures over on Reddit when attempting to organise returns for faulty headsets and controllers.
The response offered to Reddit user Jamessuperfun from a Valve customer support employee says the following:
"We've initiated the RMA process for your headset and affected right controller, but the United Kingdom's recent exit from the European Union is affecting our RMA process. Unfortunately we're unable to finished [sic] the RMA set up until the issue is resolved.
"We are actively working with our distributor to resolve the issue. We'll update your ticket here with all of the RMA details as soon as the issues related to Brexit have been resolved."
There's no exact date for when these issues may be resolved, though, and it's unclear whether Valve expects a solution ahead of a more universal one for all British business currently affected from the country's exiting of the Customs Union, that which could take some time to resolve.
That's because Valve is far from the only country having to change its business in response to Brexit. We recently spoke with PC hardware retailers and manufacturers regarding the impact of Brexit and most described delays and new customs rules were having some degree of impact on shipments.
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UK retailer Scan has temporarily put a hold on its shipments to the EU, which is partially due to a fear of customs fees falling on the customer and difficulty in returns, should they be needed. Valve could be facing similar challenges, albeit likely with returns from the UK to a central returns location or distribution centre in the EU.
That's just kit leaving the country, as expected disruption to the import of good into the UK is also set to hit home in the next few months with a whole new list of controls coming into effect in April and July this year. More Brexit red tape.
We've reached out to Valve for confirmation of its current UK returns policy and for further clarification.
In the meantime, be careful with your Valve Index VR headset—now's not the time to be throwing a controller through your TV and breaking both.
