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Samsung repair policy - unfair
I have been hesitating about writing this and asking for opinions or factual information.
A year ago I bought a brand new unlocked mobile phone (note 4) of Samsung on e-bay. It worked fine until I upgraded the operating system. Soon after it started to go funny and after all it died. It started to behave funny just a few days before the 6 months warranty. I contacted Samsung and they agreed to have it sent to one of their repair center. But because the phone fell once on the floor, there was a tiny (really tiny) dent in the corner of the screen, not affecting the performance for months to come. It is a big phone and it took me time to adjust to it, so it fell off my pocket a couple of months after I had it. But it worked fine until I upgraded the software.
The repair center replied they will not look into it until I agree to pay the fixing of the screen first, which was just a few ££ short of the price of the whole device. I declined. A few days later they sent my phone back, unfixed. I complained to Samsung that this is very unfair. People who dropped the phone and it did not show on the outside would have it fixed, but in my case, although the problem was not the mechanical damage, they don't do anything - within the warranty. There are two problems here:
1. They say they cannot exclude the damage was done by the fall and this is their policy (of Samsung).
2. But the repair center did not even look into it to fix the software and see whether it works, Samsung saying this was the policy of the repair center.
Really??? The repair center will dictate the warranty policy to the manufacturer?
Do you think this is OK? I don't.
The seller I bought it from on e-bay did not bother to reply and because it was more than 180 days from purchase I was getting no refund as per paypal or e-bay.
Is there anything else I can do after these months? I gave up but the hope dies the last. At least the phone had a lovely camera.
Thanks.
A year ago I bought a brand new unlocked mobile phone (note 4) of Samsung on e-bay. It worked fine until I upgraded the operating system. Soon after it started to go funny and after all it died. It started to behave funny just a few days before the 6 months warranty. I contacted Samsung and they agreed to have it sent to one of their repair center. But because the phone fell once on the floor, there was a tiny (really tiny) dent in the corner of the screen, not affecting the performance for months to come. It is a big phone and it took me time to adjust to it, so it fell off my pocket a couple of months after I had it. But it worked fine until I upgraded the software.
The repair center replied they will not look into it until I agree to pay the fixing of the screen first, which was just a few ££ short of the price of the whole device. I declined. A few days later they sent my phone back, unfixed. I complained to Samsung that this is very unfair. People who dropped the phone and it did not show on the outside would have it fixed, but in my case, although the problem was not the mechanical damage, they don't do anything - within the warranty. There are two problems here:
1. They say they cannot exclude the damage was done by the fall and this is their policy (of Samsung).
2. But the repair center did not even look into it to fix the software and see whether it works, Samsung saying this was the policy of the repair center.
Really??? The repair center will dictate the warranty policy to the manufacturer?
Do you think this is OK? I don't.
The seller I bought it from on e-bay did not bother to reply and because it was more than 180 days from purchase I was getting no refund as per paypal or e-bay.
Is there anything else I can do after these months? I gave up but the hope dies the last. At least the phone had a lovely camera.
Thanks.
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Comments
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I have been hesitating about writing this and asking for opinions or factual information.
A year ago I bought a brand new unlocked mobile phone (note 4) of Samsung on e-bay. It worked fine until I upgraded the operating system. Soon after it started to go funny and after all it died. It started to behave funny just a few days before the 6 months warranty. I contacted Samsung and they agreed to have it sent to one of their repair center. But because the phone fell once on the floor, there was a tiny (really tiny) dent in the corner of the screen, not affecting the performance for months to come. It is a big phone and it took me time to adjust to it, so it fell off my pocket a couple of months after I had it. But it worked fine until I upgraded the software.
The repair center replied they will not look into it until I agree to pay the fixing of the screen first, which was just a few ££ short of the price of the whole device. I declined. A few days later they sent my phone back, unfixed. I complained to Samsung that this is very unfair. People who dropped the phone and it did not show on the outside would have it fixed, but in my case, although the problem was not the mechanical damage, they don't do anything - within the warranty. There are two problems here:
1. They say they cannot exclude the damage was done by the fall and this is their policy (of Samsung).
2. But the repair center did not even look into it to fix the software and see whether it works, Samsung saying this was the policy of the repair center.
Really??? The repair center will dictate the warranty policy to the manufacturer?
Do you think this is OK? I don't.
The seller I bought it from on e-bay did not bother to reply and because it was more than 180 days from purchase I was getting no refund as per paypal or e-bay.
Is there anything else I can do after these months? I gave up but the hope dies the last. At least the phone had a lovely camera.
Thanks.
Standard for all mobile warranties.0 -
2. But the repair center did not even look into it to fix the software and see whether it works, Samsung saying this was the policy of the repair center.
Really??? The repair center will dictate the warranty policy to the manufacturer?
There's some misunderstanding here, because the phone shows signs of accidental damage, the warranty will be void. As a result, no repair centre will investigate issues, because the manufacturer will not be paying them. I'm sure neither you nor I will work for nothing.
You need to be looking at the accidental damage cover on your household insurance.0 -
If it's just a software issue your best bet is to reflash with the original firmware using the Samsung Odin software; it's fairly simply if you follow the instructions found on many web pages.
If this does not fix it then there is a probably a hardware issue. So they won't want to be taking the phone apart if it's damaged as this could cause further damage that they don't want to be liable for.0 -
Next phone put on a good case/cover to save it from mishaps.0
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One independant repair shop may help .
Two if new the vendor is responsible under CR.
( though you may get the same result as damaged)
Three Samsungs warranty is an addition to your Consumer Rights . Its subject to ( as is any warranty ) any terms and conditions they want .
Four Removing screen to repair if chipped often leads to a screen breaking .0 -
I have never had an issue with the mobile phone so I had no idea this is a standard. Still, if they ruined the screen during removal, I would not go crazy, as long as they tried to investigate further for me. The chance is that the screen would not break and they would fix the real fault. If they informed me in advance that this may happen and whether I want to proceed I would say yes. If the screen went to bin I would not mind to forget I have had this phone. But the simple refusal to find out and try to fix ... I just don't get it. Within the warranty period.
I will check the accidental damage on the house insurance policy. Thanks. Strange that Samsung did not suggest this option to me earlier. They really don't seem to care about the customer as long as they have their back covered.0 -
I have never had an issue with the mobile phone so I had no idea this is a standard. Still, if they ruined the screen during removal, I would not go crazy, as long as they tried to investigate further for me. The chance is that the screen would not break and they would fix the real fault. If they informed me in advance that this may happen and whether I want to proceed I would say yes. If the screen went to bin I would not mind to forget I have had this phone. But the simple refusal to find out and try to fix ... I just don't get it. Within the warranty period.
I will check the accidental damage on the house insurance policy. Thanks. Strange that Samsung did not suggest this option to me earlier. They really don't seem to care about the customer as long as they have their back covered.
Because if they tried and broke the screen, customers would kick up a stink demanding they put a new one on free of charge. (Despite what they may say before)
It's not upto the Samsung or any other company to make suggestions such as household insurance.0 -
Like anything Warranty related if the company can find an out they will - did you tell Samsung about dropping the phone or did they realise this from data on the phone as internal sensors tend to record extremes of readings. In all fairness to Samsung I have used their repair centres and it was pain free and worked perfectly - But I was warned that if the fault was found to be my fault the warranty would not cover it but I would be given the choice to pay or not.0
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Like anything Warranty related if the company can find an out they will - did you tell Samsung about dropping the phone or did they realise this from data on the phone as internal sensors tend to record extremes of readings. In all fairness to Samsung I have used their repair centres and it was pain free and worked perfectly - But I was warned that if the fault was found to be my fault the warranty would not cover it but I would be given the choice to pay or not.
Nobody bothered to go further than to check with me whether I am willing to pay for the new screen (price of the phone). When I said no, they just returned it back. No further testing or investigation. They did not even open it, so no internal sensors or anything.0 -
Nobody bothered to go further than to check with me whether I am willing to pay for the new screen (price of the phone). When I said no, they just returned it back. No further testing or investigation. They did not even open it, so no internal sensors or anything.
If the screen is damaged and you refuse to pay for its replacement they won’t go any further. That applies to all manufacturers, not just Samsung.====0
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