New chargers: An odd one but not sure where else to put it

stu20001

Hi

As I say, I'm not sure where else to ask this question but...

I recently bought a couple of replacement chargers for my Samsung phone via an Amazon Seller.

It was listed as a "Micro USB Mains Charger for Samsung Galaxy S3 (i9300)" and the photograph on the site was of a genuine Samsung charger with the logo on it.

When the chargers arrived they looked the same but did not appear to have any Samsung logos on them. I wasn't too impressed but they were only £3 each so couldn't be bothered to complain.

However, after a couple of weeks, I've decided they don't work properly and don't seem to charge the phone properly. I complained to the company and left a comment on Amazon to the effect that I thought they were selling knock-offs rather than genuine chargers.

They responded to say they are and that the logo is simply covered with black tape.

When I looked I realised it was. There was a thin piece of black tape covering the logo on the front of the charger but this made me more suspicious. When I bought one of these before (I'm always leaving them in hotels and things) it had a transparent scratch cover on the front - obviously there for protection but you could see the logo through it. In this instance, the tape was clearly there to hide the logo. My suspicions were raised when I looked on the pin side of the plug and noticed a tiny logo there was also covered by black tape (on a side that needs no protection as it would never get scratched in transit).

My question is: does anyone know what's going on here? Why are they covering the logo like this? Are these real chargers or some kind of knock-off?

grumbler

Well, pretty obviously it is a fake counterfeit 'Samsung' charger and the logo is covered to avoid aссusitions of selling fake goods.

However, they have never said that it was a genuine Samsung charger.

stu20001

Well they have now. I emailed them the same question. This was their response.

"these all come in bulk packaging and we receive it in this way from our suppliers, the tapes are there to protect from scratches as normally they get scratches when they are packed in high quantities and sent to us.
these are genuine chargers as are bought from authentic suppliers,"

...and the picture on the Amazon is an official Samsung one.

Is simply taping over the logo a valid defence against selling knock off goods then? Not that that seems to be what they think they're doing....

Frozen_up_north

You might want to watch "Fake Britain" on the BBC iPlayer. Series 4, episode 3 from last week covered exploding fake iPhone chargers.

Trading Standards confiscated a huge number of fake chargers, of all makes - not just iPhone, from high street stores and they were all considered dangerous.

grumbler

stu20001 wrote: »

...and the picture on the Amazon is an official Samsung one.

You can't say this by the picture only.
However, if they confirmed that it was genuine and you can prove that it was not, then you can demand a refund and complain to Trading Standards.

And I have never seen black protective film. It was always transparent for obvious reasons.

Nada666

I know this is MSE but, really.

You buy a phone worth more than £500, spend £27 or £33 or more per month on a call plan but then decide to plug a £1 (after postal costs) charger in it to connect it the mains.

Just spend the £15 or £20 on a genuine charger from a bricks and mortar shop so you have full comeback and don't be so careless.

19lottie82

You get what you pay for I'm afraid.

Rusty!

Open the charger up, shouldn't be too hard to tell if the internals are knock-offs.

cookie365

I always buy chargers from Amazon itself, not one of their marketplace vendors, which are too full of counterfeights.

Earthworm

stu20001 wrote: »

Well they have now. I emailed them the same question. This was their response.

"these all come in bulk packaging and we receive it in this way from our suppliers, the tapes are there to protect from scratches as normally they get scratches when they are packed in high quantities and sent to us.
these are genuine chargers as are bought from authentic suppliers,"

...and the picture on the Amazon is an official Samsung one.

Is simply taping over the logo a valid defence against selling knock off goods then? Not that that seems to be what they think they're doing....

To me it looks like they've worded this carefully. They don't actually state the chargers come from Samsung. They just use words like authentic and genuine to give that impression. Calling a supplier genuine is a little vague. Based on your OP it seems like you are questioning the source of the charger and theyve still failed to give you the answer.