People are very, very unhappy with Wacom - here’s why

Wacom twitter
(Image credit: Future)

Wacom is one of the biggest names in drawing tablets, and we've been impressed by plenty of its products over the years. But the company appears to have found itself at the centre of a rather unfortunate Twitter storm lately, with users less than impressed (to put it mildly) by its customer service.

Things kicked off when one user revealed (below) that they've been blocked by Wacom on Twitter after calling them out for "falsely advertised warranties". And plenty of users have since piled on calling for a boycott of the brand. So what exactly is Wacom, the maker of some of our best drawing tablets, being accused of?

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In a thread, Twitter user @ompuco explains that Wacom refused to repair their Cintiq tablet, and that documentation on its website claiming a two year warranty is actually "inaccurate". Instead of a being given a free repair, @ompuco was quoted almost $400. This is because their device was a refurbished model which Wacom claims only comes with a one year warranty – information that @ompuco says was nowhere to be found online.

Wacom Cintiq 16

The company makes some of our favourite drawing tablets, like the Wacom Cintiq 16 (Image credit: Wacom)

After much back-and-forth, Wacom eventually offered to repair it free of charge. But the debacle didn't end there – it was returned to the user with a "massive scratch" on the screen. And when @ompuco complained some more on Twitter, it seems Wacom hit the Block button. 

The drama has led many on Twitter to declare their allegiance to other such as Huion (hey, why not check out the best Huion drawing tablets?), while plenty of others are sharing their own displeasure with Wacom's customer service. 

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Indeed, the story seems to have stuck a chord with designers on Twitter. While Wacom is yet to comment on the controversy, the brand is no doubt aware of the conversation – 'Wacom' is trending with over 11k tweets right now, with plenty of users sharing their own stories of failed attempts to get their kit repaired under warranty.

Of course, we only know what @ompuco and various other users have shared on Twitter – Wacom could indeed have a valid explanation for the confusion over its warranties. All we'll say is that we can't imagine, say, Apple, blocking users who criticise its customer service on Twitter.

Right, well, now all of that has been explained, you're probably ready to get back to some good old relaxing, drama-free digital drawing. With that in mind, check out today's best drawing tablet deals below.

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Daniel Piper
Senior News Editor

Daniel Piper is Creative Bloq’s Senior News Editor. As the brand’s Apple authority, he covers all things Mac, iPhone, iPad and the rest. He also reports on the worlds of design, branding and tech. Daniel joined Future in 2020 (an eventful year, to say the least) after working in copywriting and digital marketing with brands including ITV, NBC, Channel 4 and more. Outside of Future, Daniel is a global poetry slam champion and has performed at festivals including Latitude, Bestival and more. He is the author of Arbitrary and Unnecessary: The Selected Works of Daniel Piper (Selected by Daniel Piper).