Samsung refusing liability for faulty update

flatulentWartortle

To cut a now very long story short:

• I have an out-of-warranty Samsung smartwatch which until recently was in good working order.
• Samsung have pushed a software update out to the watch that has gone wrong, causing the device to now be completely unusable - it is stuck in a boot-loop.
• In my initial contact with Samsung support, they eventually confirmed that the repair could be completed at no cost to me if their engineer's inspection can confirm that the software update is what has caused the issue.
• The watch has now been inspected by their subcontracted engineer and they have confirmed the issue. They advised they cannot authorise the repair without payment themselves and that I'd need to get back in touch with Samsung.
• All subsequent dealings with Samsung have been completely fruitless, with them insisting that with the device out of warranty they are not liable for anything.
• They insist my options at this point are limited to:
  • Paying for the repair myself
  • Paying to have the device returned to me unrepaired
  • Leaving the device with them to be recycled

My initial position on this is really very simple. To use an analogy, if someone else crashes into your car you don't just accept an apology, you expect fair compensation. Samsung has initiated an update procedure on my device and this has then caused substantial damage to the device. The only reasonable outcome of this is that Samsung repair or replace the device, or reimburse me for the cost of doing so myself.

This "common sense" argument has fallen completely on deaf ears, so I have now begun researching my specific legal rights and have gone back to them highlighting this point from the Consumer Rights Act: if digital content has damaged the consumer’s other digital content, or the consumer’s device, and the consumer can prove that the damage was caused because of the trader’s lack of reasonable care and skill, then the trader has either to repair the damage or give the consumer some financial compensation for the damage. I have not yet received a reply to this point but fully expect them to ignore it and circle back around to the fact the device is out of warranty.

I am frankly shocked at the time and effort a multi-billion dollar company seems to be putting into fighting this, and am honestly close to just giving up and paying. Help or advice for how to proceed would be amazing, but I'd even just appreciate some reassurance that I am not in fact going crazy, and that my expectation of a free repair is fair and reasonable.

Isthisforreal99

How old is the watch and what did you pay for it? If you do have a case then any 'financial compensation' can take account of any usage.

Vitor

Your expectation of a free repair or compensation is legally arguable and reasonable. You are on solid ground if the engineer’s diagnosis is clear. 

The most likely result is not a brand-new watch but either a free repair, a refurbished replacement, or a partial refund reflecting current value. The risk is not that you are wrong, but that enforcing your rights takes effort. I suggest using an AI LLM to draft a suitable letter.

Alderbank

I don't think anyone else here would recommend letting AI anywhere near generating legal documents.

OP, you are not dealing with a multi-billion company in South Korea. The company you bought your watch from is based in the south of England and is called something like Samsung Retail UK. They have form for being difficult with customers claiming their rights.

Don't get sidetracked with words like warranty or compensation. Tell the seller you want to claim your consumer right to a repair without charge under section 23 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

See what they say.

Ergates

Vitor said:

Your expectation of a free repair or compensation is legally arguable and reasonable. You are on solid ground if the engineer’s diagnosis is clear. 

The most likely result is not a brand-new watch but either a free repair, a refurbished replacement, or a partial refund reflecting current value. The risk is not that you are wrong, but that enforcing your rights takes effort. I suggest using an AI LLM to draft a suitable letter.

I would advise NOT using an AI LLM to draft a letter.  If you're not sufficiently familiar with the articles of legislation yourself, you'll have no way of knowing if what the AI has written is correct.  There are many instances (we see examples posted on here from time to time) of people getting AI to write a letter and it just makes up laws and/or makes assertions that are completely false.

HopeAndDriftWood

Thirding that it's insanity to use AI to draft a letter.

It hallucinates laws and case studies, often. 

It even hallucinated a whole football game...

Write your own letter, there's plenty of templates generated by companies like CAB which have been reviewed by legal professionals, and you can ask for help here. 

flaneurs_lobster

Isthisforreal99 said:

How old is the watch and what did you pay for it? If you do have a case then any 'financial compensation' can take account of any usage.

This, if this watch is 4 or 5 years old (as mine is) the residual value is likely to be near zero. I'd be amazed if any kind of repair was financially realistic. By all means carry on if you think it's worthwhile pursuing them for the few quid value (or if it's a "point of principle") but if this watch is more than a couple of years old then it really isn't worth the hassle.

Best way to gain any value from this kind of old tech is to look out for decent trade-in deals for a newer, shinier watch.

flatulentWartortle

Thanks all for the reassurance, good to know I'm not barking totally up the wrong tree. To answer a few questions and update on where I am right now:

• I bought the watch in July 2023 from Amazon for ~£150
• Don't worry, won't be letting an AI even draft anything from my side, they're doing that plenty for everyone
• I have now mentioned the Consumer Rights Act in my most recent response, but I only sent that just before making this forum post.

My latest message to them is below:

Thank you for your further response.

I understand and completely agree that your warranty obligations are limited to the duration of the warranty period. I am not disputing that. I am not requesting any action to be taken under warranty. All I am asking for is that Samsung be held accountable for the damage it has caused.

Under UK law, customers have a right to a repair or replacement for any item found to be faulty at the point of sale, if identified within 6 months. The consumer Rights Act of 2015 clarifies that these rights extend to digital products, whether free or paid for. Regarding digital content it also specifically states: if digital content has damaged the consumer’s other digital content, or the consumer’s device, and the consumer can prove that the damage was caused because of the trader’s lack of reasonable care and skill, then the trader has either to repair the damage or give the consumer some financial compensation for the damage.

You can interpret how this applies in this situation in two ways, both of which hold Samsung legally liable for the cost of repair:

• The updated software can be seen as a faulty product, where the fault was present at the point of sale and identified within 6 months.

• The software is digital content which has damaged my device, as proven by your authorised representative SBE.

If you do not believe this situation falls under this legislation, please lay out in detail why you believe this to be the case.

Even without considering specific legislation, it is clear to see that Samsung is clearly liable here. If one of your employees were to forcibly take my phone from me and smash it on the ground, I would fully expect the employee or yourselves to repair or replace the device, or reimburse me for the cost of doing so myself. To put it another way, when someone else crashes into your car you don't just accept an apology, you expect fair compensation. This situation is effectively the same. Samsung has forcibly initiated an update procedure on my device and this has then caused substantial damage to the device. The only reasonable outcome of this is that Samsung repair or replace the device, or reimburse me for the cost of doing so myself.

flaneurs_lobster

I wish you luck.

If they offer you a £20 "please go away" gift card then bite their hand off.

flatulentWartortle

Worse than that, they offered 15% off any full price purchase. Who in their right mind thinks that's a good offer? Why would this service make me want to spend more money with them?

flaneurs_lobster

flatulentWartortle said:

Worse than that, they offered 15% off any full price purchase. Who in their right mind thinks that's a good offer? Why would this service make me want to spend more money with them?

Your choice of course, 15% off the list price of the latest Galaxy Watch 8 is worth about £35, but if you don't want to buy Samsung ever again then it's moot.

You want them to "fix" your watch. The authorised repair person has stated that the watch is repairable? I'm sceptical, this kind of kit just doesn't normally get repaired, but if they say they can so be it.