Horrendous Samsung Galaxy S10+ VOC Warranty Claim

I had a horrendous experience with Samsung. Upon searching on Google, their rating on product review is 1.6 stars out of 5 for their warranties. Recently purchased Galaxy S10+ for over $1000. Phone restarts multiple times a day and apps would constantly crash.

I showed the problem to the Macquarie Samsung Studio in person and they agreed with me that there is a problem. Send phone back to Samsung service centre to be repaired and they said they found no fault. Gone back and forth a few times. They sent the phone back to me and problem still exists.

Sent it back again Richard from the VOC team still say no problem with it. I asked them to check with the Samsing studio staff that sighted the problem and they say they can't get in touch with them.

At this point I'm angry and frustrated. I think theyre trying to make this as frustrating as possible so you just give up. Any one experience the same thing? Any tips on how I can get a refund or exchange? Can I go to fair trading to complain? How do you punish a dishonest business?

edit: they are also unwilling to send me the logs of their test results

Edit2: i asked richard for his managers name and details and he told me he doesnt have a manager and that hes the highest point of escalation.

Update: picked up the phone today and turned it on in front of a different studio staff. Crashed after 2 minutes into the setup process from a fresh factory reset. The studio staff again agreed with us that there is something very wrong with the phone. He called someone called Dan at VOC who said I have to send it in once again, and "hopefully" this time they can find the fault with their diagnostics. You'd think at this point after multiple staff sighted the problem its pretty clear something is wrong with the phone even without their so called "comprehensive stress tests". After escalating to Dan I also found out that Dan is a higher escalation point. So effectively Richard at the VOC straight up lied about him being the highest escalation point. I've requested Dan's details and will not stop until i get a satisfactory outcome. I'm fed up about dishonest businesses that treat their customers like crap.

Update2: The 3rd time phone was sent in and after months and months of back and forth, Richard said the preliminary assessment is to provide a refund once all the information comes in to them (still no guarantees). I asked him why the studio staff was able to get in touch with Dan within minutes to provide information as well as give me his direct number while he didnt bother gathering the relevant information before knocking the claim back. Richard said he wasnt able to get in touch with them via email as that was the "official channel", which is utter bs. The studio staff was able to call Dan who was able to make the decision to refund within minutes. Richard then proceeded to say he is happy about the outcome. Im going to continue to escalate to their managers or executives or CEO. Its not right that they treat customers like that and I hope no one else has to go through this.

Fyi see samsungs customer service ratings https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/samsung

Other complaints about samsung VOC on ozbargain: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ozbargain.com.au/node/20453…

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Comments

  • +2

    Take it back to the retailer.

    • -1

      Unfortunately I bought it directly from samsung.

      • That is unfortunate. I had an issue with Samsung on a much cheaper phone that couldn't be unlocked after paying for the unlock code, and they refused to do anything. Kept going around in circles. Pay by credit card?

        • Mobile network locked? Eg. Locked to vodafone

          • @MS Paint: Yes was purchased from Optus. Payed Optus for unlock code, wouldn't unlock. Queue bouncing between Samsung and Optus. Luckily for me tio made Optus sort it.

            As far as I can tell, the network lock is implemented in the firmware of the phone at the factory, so it should really be Samsung's problem.

  • Go back to the studio staff and get them to contact Samsung directly while you're there

  • +2

    I would contact the ACCC.

  • +3

    record the issue and send it to them

  • +2

    The wheels of justice are slow, but they do work in your favour, it just takes a little patience…

    In the mean time, grab names and dates, and make a log of times/date of issue over the course of a few days. Even do a recording of the issue. It's annoying how these businesses just ignore these things, because most people will get so stressed/anxious that they will give up.

    If the item is relatively new you might get relief from a chargeback via your credit card. Alternatively you will have to gather a bit of info and lodge a claim with the small claims tribunal. https://www.accc.gov.au/contact-us/other-helpful-agencies/sm…

    I have a bit of time so like to keep following up by phone until one of us tires.

  • What does "VOC" mean in OP's context?

    • +1

      “Voice of Customer” - sort of a fancy name for Samsung customer service.

  • Is there a process that you can reproduce the issue?

  • Lodge a consumer affairs mediation in your state

  • -1

    Have you tried factory resetting the phone and updating ?

    What about turning it off and then on ?

  • Screen record the issue. This way you have video proof that they can't dispute.

  • +2

    Had the exact same experience with s7 edge
    Took 2 years to get a replacement and I insisted on new not refurbished

    They refused to acknowledge fault because they could not detect the fault

    Bottom line their phones are great as long as you don’t need their warranty

  • -2

    Always heard good things about Samsung‘s store warranty processes; directed plenty of people there and it was always faster and more convenient than the alternative (telco / retailer warranty process). I presumed they were on the same par as Apple stores but, then again, this is a software issue so more an Android than Samsung error; perhaps that’s why it’s not as smooth as an in-house OS?

  • What's VOC?

    • -1

      Voice of Customer. Its their customer service/warranties claim department. They make it sound like theyre on your side but in my opinion they try to make the process as painful as possible so you quit and they profit. Lucky its xmas and I have a lot of time to get to the bottom of this. At this point fixing the problem or providing a refund isnt going to stop me escalating this further.

      • Calm down and have a mango lassi.

        Think this through and give it time. You can ark all you like however, it’s not going to be further escalated to general managers and the CEO. If that happened, their direct reports will be fired for wasting their time.

        Samsung’s customer support process will sort you out.

        • -1

          Their customer support process is horrible at resolving warranty claims. That's the point of the post.

        • +1

          Nope, not if they can’t detect the fault. The report will say no fault and they will reset to factory defaults. They are terrible to deal with.

          I got a replacement only after they they got approval from their regional manager

          • @CandyMan: Yep same experience here. The conversation went like this:

            Me: the phone constantly restarts and apps crash

            Richard: cant detect problem, we'll factory reset and send back to you

            Me: Its still restarting constantly after the reset.

            Richard: cant detect problem, we'll factory reset and send back to you

            Me: what do you mean can't detect problem? Your own staff saw the problem and agreed with me when they saw it in person

            Richard: cant detect problem, we'll factory reset and send back to you

            • @minijumbuk: Ask them to escalate to their regional managers.
              I wonder if I complained to fair trading it may had made a difference

  • Did you get anywhere with this? I'm having a similar issue with them

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