Maybe the real fault was one of those which was quickly fixed ( low cost repair ) and then the PCB changed ( high profit "repair" ).
There are a lot of "reconditioned" PCBs on sale, one has to wonder how much these reconditioning / repair these PCBs needed and where they came from.
I agree completely, it is a nice little earner. I have inspected a few supposedly repaired/refurbished PCB's, whilst I would expect some evidence of repair, I have never spotted any.