Samsung refusing to repair faulty phone

wonkotsane

I purchased a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge around a year ago on their upgrade programme. You pay monthly for the phone through a finance company and you are eligible to upgrade every year directly through Samsung.

Samsung have replaced the phone 2 or 3 times for different faults and I have had it replaced once through my phone insurance after I dropped it and broke the screen. However, they are refusing to honour the warranty for the latest problem, claiming that I have physically damaged the phone.

A few months back I took my phone out of my jacket pocket and felt that the glass covering the rear camera was broken. I checked it and it looked like a bullet hole. When I got back to the office I showed a colleague and he said he had seen something on his news feed a couple of days previously about it happening to these phones. I did some research and indeed found a large number of articles - including some referring to a class action suit in the US - where people were having the same problem. Almost every person, though, was saying that Samsung were refusing the admit responsibility for it and were forcing customers to pay to repair the phone.

I contacted Samsung and told them what had happened, what I'd found online and asked for it to be repaired under warranty. I was told over the phone there and then that it wouldn't be covered because I had physically damaged the phone. They hadn't even seen the phone and had made their mind up that I had damaged it.

I have had lots of communication by phone and email with Samsung regarding this problem and they have said that they definitely will not honour the warranty. They still haven't told me how much it will cost to repair despite me asking several times, they have also failed to tell me what evidence the engineer found that pointed to physical damage despite me asking and in answer to my question as to how a small square of toughened glass could be broken in such a way without causing any damage whatsoever to the rest of the phone they have said it's not their place to explain that but that it wouldn't be possible to cause the damage without damaging the rest of the phone which is the point I was making!

I have provided Samsung with evidence that this is a fault with the manufacture or design of the handset. I have pointed out that the internet is awash with reports of people having the same problem, that there is a class action suit in the US being launched for this problem and provided them with pictures I downloaded off the internet of people reporting the exact same issue and how they are identical.

I am not willing to pay for repair of the handset when it is defective. I have been without this phone for months but have made several hundreds of pounds in payments for it. Samsung have been evasive and contradictory. What do you think my chances are of successfully obtaining judgement through the small claims court? I just want it repair for free and my costs refunded or for them to pay off the finance and I'll get a phone from someone else.

marliepanda

The internet being 'awash' with complaints isn't proof

Anyone can start a class action lawsuit. That doesn't prove anything.

You need actual proof. Speak to someone independently qualified to give a report that this in an inherent fault with the phone.

angryparcel

wonkotsane wrote: »

Samsung have replaced the phone 2 or 3 times for different faults and I have had it replaced once through my phone insurance after I dropped it and broke the screen. However, they are refusing to honour the warranty for the latest problem, claiming that I have physically damaged the phone.

So you have had approx. 4 different phones. You are aware the warranty is from the original phone and does not reset on every replaced phone
So to Samsung it looks like you are damaging these phones

wonkotsane wrote: »

I am not willing to pay for repair of the handset when it is defective. I have been without this phone for months but have made several hundreds of pounds in payments for it. Samsung have been evasive and contradictory. What do you think my chances are of successfully obtaining judgement through the small claims court? I just want it repair for free and my costs refunded or for them to pay off the finance and I'll get a phone from someone else.

until we know when you got the original phone as you will only has 12 months warranty, so if it outside of the 12 months then you will have to pay for a repair regardless if you are paying finance on the phone as that has nothing to do with the warranty. have you contacted the finance company about this as in effect they own the phone until you pay it off as the retailer gets paid by the finance company.

The-Truth

You've stated they've replaced the phone 2 or 3 times, so then this will be at least a 4th. You only bought the phone a year ago, surely you can see now why they've lost trust in you?

Sure people can have accidents. but 4 times a year?

angryparcel

The-Truth wrote: »

You've stated they've replaced the phone 2 or 3 times, so then this will be at least a 4th. You only bought the phone a year ago, surely you can see now why they've lost trust in you?

Sure people can have accidents. but 4 times a year?

dont forget the time it was replaced by insurance company, so this would be the 5th phone. I would say the warranty will have expired

mije1983

wonkotsane wrote: »

I have provided Samsung with evidence that this is a fault with the manufacture or design of the handset.

What form did this evidence take? I assume an independent report from an expert and not anecdotal internet complaints?

Then your next step is to take them to SCC armed with said report.

angryparcel

mije1983 wrote: »

What form did this evidence take? I assume an independent report from an expert and not anecdotal internet complaints?

Then your next step is to take them to SCC armed with said report.

i would say the evidence was anecdotal internet complaints as this is what OP states

I have provided Samsung with evidence that this is a fault with the manufacture or design of the handset. I have pointed out that the internet is awash with reports of people having the same problem, that there is a class action suit in the US being launched for this problem and provided them with pictures I downloaded off the internet of people reporting the exact same issue and how they are identical.

mije1983

angryparcel wrote: »

i would say the evidence was anecdotal internet complaints as this is what OP states

Yeah it was more a tongue in cheek comment really as I don't believe they have anything resembling evidence.

I was kind of hoping that the OP understood that anyone can write anything on the internet. It doesn't make it factual. So their referral to 'evidence' was actually evidence. But I think not!

Of course, if the OP had actual evidence, then no doubt Samsung would have immediately fixed it for them just to keep it quiet out of fear of it coming out and leading to many more claims.

angryparcel

mije1983 wrote: »

Yeah it was more a tongue in cheek comment really as I don't believe they have anything resembling evidence.

I was kind of hoping that the OP understood that anyone can write anything on the internet. It doesn't make it factual. So their referral to 'evidence' was actually evidence. But I think not!

Of course, if the OP had actual evidence, then no doubt Samsung would have immediately fixed it for them just to keep it quiet out of fear of it coming out and leading to many more claims.

but with the OP having 4 faulty phones ( 3 from samsung 1 from insurance) in 12 months and now they want a 5th and seem to think each phone comes with a fresh warranty i dont they will get far

wealdroam

angryparcel wrote: »

So you have had approx. 4 different phones. You are aware the warranty is from the original phone and does not reset on every replaced phone
So to Samsung it looks like you are damaging these phones




until we know when you got the original phone as you will only has 12 months warranty, so if it outside of the 12 months then you will have to pay for a repair regardless if you are paying finance on the phone as that has nothing to do with the warranty. have you contacted the finance company about this as in effect they own the phone until you pay it off as the retailer gets paid by the finance company.

Samsung offer a two year warranty on their phones. See here.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge has only been available since March 2016, so the OP's phone will still be within the manufacturer's warranty period.

custardy

wonkotsane wrote: »

I purchased a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge around a year ago on their upgrade programme. You pay monthly for the phone through a finance company and you are eligible to upgrade every year directly through Samsung.

Samsung have replaced the phone 2 or 3 times for different faults and I have had it replaced once through my phone insurance after I dropped it and broke the screen. However, they are refusing to honour the warranty for the latest problem, claiming that I have physically damaged the phone.

A few months back I took my phone out of my jacket pocket and felt that the glass covering the rear camera was broken. I checked it and it looked like a bullet hole. When I got back to the office I showed a colleague and he said he had seen something on his news feed a couple of days previously about it happening to these phones. I did some research and indeed found a large number of articles - including some referring to a class action suit in the US - where people were having the same problem. Almost every person, though, was saying that Samsung were refusing the admit responsibility for it and were forcing customers to pay to repair the phone.

I contacted Samsung and told them what had happened, what I'd found online and asked for it to be repaired under warranty. I was told over the phone there and then that it wouldn't be covered because I had physically damaged the phone. They hadn't even seen the phone and had made their mind up that I had damaged it.

I have had lots of communication by phone and email with Samsung regarding this problem and they have said that they definitely will not honour the warranty. They still haven't told me how much it will cost to repair despite me asking several times, they have also failed to tell me what evidence the engineer found that pointed to physical damage despite me asking and in answer to my question as to how a small square of toughened glass could be broken in such a way without causing any damage whatsoever to the rest of the phone they have said it's not their place to explain that but that it wouldn't be possible to cause the damage without damaging the rest of the phone which is the point I was making!

I have provided Samsung with evidence that this is a fault with the manufacture or design of the handset. I have pointed out that the internet is awash with reports of people having the same problem, that there is a class action suit in the US being launched for this problem and provided them with pictures I downloaded off the internet of people reporting the exact same issue and how they are identical.

I am not willing to pay for repair of the handset when it is defective. I have been without this phone for months but have made several hundreds of pounds in payments for it. Samsung have been evasive and contradictory. What do you think my chances are of successfully obtaining judgement through the small claims court? I just want it repair for free and my costs refunded or for them to pay off the finance and I'll get a phone from someone else.

Forgetting all the talk of how many phones etc.
You damaged the phone. Unless Samsung have it in the specs about its ability to survive drops,then you have little recourse.
To be clear,you have dropped and damaged the phone twice now.
After the first as sturdy case would have been my solution.