Never Buy from Samsung - Consumer Theft

I would not purchase anything from Samsung directly. At least if you purchase from a store, you can call them and hold them accountable directly. This is not possible with Samsung, they can simply ignore you and you will have no recourse.

Purchased a TV and a soundbar for the World Cup 22 for about $5000. Soundbar never worked, sent in for repair twice, sent back "repaired" - same issue, twice. After a further 11 calls with no response or call back after the last repair I escalated to a manager and pushed for a resolution. Approval for replacement on 10/03/2023. Was told it would take 7-14 business days. Today is 20/05/2023 and all I get is "we will call you back within 1-2 business days" which never happens.

Heard nothing. Called and followed up twice a week ever since. Was told it was escalated, would be called back etc. Eventually refused to hang up the phone until I spoke to the VOC manager who assured me that he would update me soon. This repeated about 4 times. Has since ghosted me, doesn't reply to emails.

No soundbar, I don't have my money and every time I call Samsung I get the "will call you in 1-2 business days" response - I feel like I've been stolen from, from a massive company and it boggles me how this can happen with no recourse. I've had to lodge this with the Australian Fair Trade Commission, who have contacted Samsung, who have requested an "extension". Australian Fair Trade made it clear they cannot force a company to do anything and only a tribunal or court can do this.

Lifelong Samsung customer who owns their entire range from Galaxy phones to buds to gear, and I will never ever purchase anything Samsung again and will make sure I spread the word, not that it matters - I doubt they care they've lost a single customer.

Stay away, buyer beware. Straight up theft from consumer.

EDIT: Waiting on ACCC and then will apply to NCAT as I thought the ACCC may scare them into action but looking at the reports they already have on there, I doubt they will care. I've lost under $1000 but its purely for the principal. For others in the same boat, here is the link, they will make them pay, fee is $54

https://www.ncat.nsw.gov.au/case-types/consumers-and-busines…

Also, it boggles me how some are defending Samsung. They provided goods that was defective, took the defective goods and refused to return my money or give me another item. Its that simple. I myself have had good dealings with them with their phones etc, but it seems to be luck of the draw when buying from them directly and I will never purchase any big ticket item from them again.

The fact that I have to go to literal court to get my money back is ridiculous. Will update when I get my money back.

UPDATE: 25/05/2023. GAVE UP ON ACCC, LODGED WITH NCAT. COURT DATE ON 20/06/2023. LETS SEE WHAT HAPPENS. I ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO DO THE SAME

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            • @Techie4066: Someone from the justice department contacted me for remediation with scorptec so it worked for me…

  • +1

    Bought a computer monitor from Samsung and died after 13 months. Called Samsung and advised me bring in the monitor to their authorised repair center. After 4 weeks. they couldn`t fix the issue. 2 options were given, either credit or refund. Received refund within 3 working days.

  • -1

    Yes their customer service is garbage, complete opposite to Apple. Avoid

  • Will never buy another Samsung product.

  • Recently ordered a washing machine. Delayed and no estimated delvery time.
    Of course….

  • -3

    isn't this the case with every business? they care more about making money (sales) rather than warranty claims

    i'd bet you probably just dont know how to use / connect the product properly

    and items that come out of warranty departments are bench tested so likely your doing something wrong .. last thing they want is for it to come back again and upset you further..

  • Samsung makes great product but have lousy Customer Service. I swore off Samsung after Fold 3 where their service was abysmal and I just gave up on them. At this price point might as well go to chinese brand at least I know I am not getting the after service.

  • +1

    The only Samsung appliance I've bought that didn't suck was a vacuum cleaner - irony intended.

  • I have had a similar customer service experience but not involving samsung, it was an office chair from Staples that arrived damaged and customer service tried to ping pong me around for about 3-4 months. It felt like they were deliberately wasting my time hoping I would get tired and go away. Only way I could get it resolved is by notifying them I would take it to a tribunal then they paid my refund out within a day.

  • OP - is this you ? https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/thread/9pxjqz04

    Seems you posted a few other threads on whirlpool which got deleted.

    Just curious - what was the issue with the sound bar ? Maybe someone can help. It seems strange that it went back to Samsung twice and they said there was no issue or it was fixed. Sounds more like a setup issue to me.

    • 100% user

    • f.i.l. bought a Sony soundbar recently. There were problems where it would drop out after a few minutes of operation. I did a bit of digging and found mention of a firmware upgrade to fix problems with the hdmi handshake. He just took it back to JB and changed it for a Bose one instead. He is now happy.
      Customer should not have to bear the time/effort burden of the company's poor attempt at QA testing.

  • I'm surprised Samsung hasn't gotten a Shonkys yet

    • -6

      for 0.0001% unhappy customers ?

  • +5

    It sounds like many people here are defending Samsung fanatically like blind dumbasses

    I wonder if Samsung has got a PR keyboard internet defender department that spews out this stuff like North Korea?

    Either that or brainwashed rabid fanboys are trying to support a powerful multinational chaebol against self interest lol

    • its a bit strange and I cant understand it to be honest.

    • It's a bit like the watered down version of apple fanbois, to be sure. Either that or they're just the sort of people who derive pleasure from being as pointlessly relcalriant as possible.

  • +4

    @trippy87 your experience is completely consistent with mine. Their processes are designed to frustrate customers with legitimate concerns through deliberate and systemic avoidance of the complaining customer - it's all designed to wear you into the ground. Promises to call back never returned, and no making of notes/history in customer interactions - so that you have to start afresh even if it's your 17th follow up. I urge you and others to persist with complaining to NCAT and ACCC. Fair Trading is pretty pointless in my experience and costs you time.

  • +1

    Their order management is so poor they tried to deliver the appliance even after cancelling it several days before. When I got the notification for delivery I reached out to their support and they advised me not to accept it and the refund would take 30 business days. I own a few Samsung products and they are of good quality but their customer service is super slow.

  • -4

    Lol I assume the 87 is prob year of birth but man it reads like a boomer unable to get sound thingie working and then got scamed. No offence to OP it just gave me a laugh imagining an 87 year about to write a sternly worded letter to Mr. Samsung. In all fairness that is shonky handling at best and you are right to fight it and never buy from them again, I actually wish all the luck and thankyou for the quick laugh.

  • +3

    Samsung has fallen a long way from the go-to customer-friendly company they used to be. I have moved away from them. Their TVs aren't as good as they used to be, their customer support sucks and their phones are average.

    Nowadays it is google pixel phones and bravia TVs for me.

  • +1

    I've been saying this on here for a while. Only way I got my money back was via Paypal. Fanbois gonna hate but check out there reviews. Nearly down to rock bottom

    https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/samsung-online-sto…

    • +3

      Holy shit. I've never seen such a dismal rating.

      Almost everybody gave them one star.

      You'd have to wonder if they'll still be in business a few years from now.

  • +2

    I had the same kind of experience with LG long ago too with thousands of dollars of new equipment going bad, lack of support and needing to go to xCAT too. We've never bought another LG product for many years no matter how good, how discounted and have put many others in family and friends off them too. At the end of the day, most people have a great run with a brand (like us with Samsung) but occasionally things go pear shaped that leave a very bitter experience. This is us with LG, but I know others will have nothing but praise… Luck of the draw for us as consumers and I feel for you.

  • Samsuck

  • Similar experience with trying to organise delivery for my TV. Same rubbish automated responses about being in touched within 48 hours. And when you call, you get the overseas call centre which tells you the same crap - “I have escalated and someone will call you’. Never received a call. Called multiple times and finally asked for someone local to contact me, again another dead end.

    Moreover, the tv was in stock but they can’t tell me why they cannot allocate for delivery, even after the supposed delivery date!

    Their social media is useless so don’t bother.

    Went to LinkedIn to search for their local customer support head and sent them messages to get in touch.

    Not sure if LinkedIn assisted but finally, someone local got in touch and could assist with organising delivery.

    Around 6 weeks worth of back and forth.

    Based on everyone’s experiences, I’m just hoping the tv doesn’t die so I don’t have to deal with them again.

    Hoping someone will come up with a Frame competitor too so I don’t have to own a single Samsung product.

  • +1

    It's a SONY for a reason.

  • +1

    I had a friend with the same issue with his soundbar from Samsung. He was so frustrated that Samsung sent back the same soundbar saying its repaired when it obviously did not work. Upon frustration he told me he emailed a long ash complaint and gave bad reviews and everything he could do .
    I too was amazed on how poorly the company handled it. Utterly disguisting that they didnt gave proper instruction manual. He had to vent to me only for me to fiddle with the TV internal sound settings to make it work.

  • My fold 4 developed an issue with the hinge. I dropped it off at 2pm and it was repaired and back in my hands at 10am the next day.

    Had a few excellent experiences with the chadstone store.

  • +1

    God I hate Samsung. Still waiting on my Q930B soundbar ordered in March. All other orders I made were delayed but I've received them now. They also falsely advertise their products (and were fined $14mil for this not long ago). I really hope the ACCC will do something about this.

  • +1

    Sympathy! It took me two years of dogged persistence and countless visits to various Samsung authorised repairers to get refunded for being sold a defective HW-N950XY. One HDMI port never worked, all speakers would frequently hiss, crackle and pop, and the rear subs frequently disconnected and could only be reconnected by factory reset. It was so bad I didn't enjoy a single TV show on Apple TV, FireTV, or on DVD or bluray movie in two years. Each time I complained I'd have to drive the unit across Sydney to a Samsung authorised repairer who would keep the soundbar for several months at at time and then turn around and tell Samsung the unit worked flawlessly. When I finally lost my temper and quizzed them how they possibly reached that conclusion when one HDMI port did not work at all, they would tell me it played music just fine via Bluetooth with Samsung Smart Things, had I tried that? Samsung's defacto response was worse. They just kept telling me to go out and buy a Samsung TV and more HDMI cables to get the soundbar to work. I found that making reference to Australian Consumer Law was not helpful and only ensured worse treatment by them. In any case, I now have a Q930b and it works flawlessly using all of the many HDMI cables now in my possession.

  • +1

    Thank you for your post. Well done on raising this issue and spreading useful information for people. I will consider your post when making future buying decisions, I am sure there will be other people as well. It is easy for big corporations to ignore single customers but community has much more power. And to me this is not only about Samsung - it is about terrible customer service. There are many corporations with terrible service and community deserves to know these companies. I had very similar issue with Optus and had to talk with them for 3 months every day to resolve simple technical issue with simcard transfer and they were terrible - I had to go to ombudsman to resolve it. Reviews and discussions like this post is a fair and reasonable response which we normal people can do in such cases. Please keep us posted about this case. This issue is also about probabilities - even people who don't understand this post will remember it and it will accumulate into their brain. And if they see 2-3 more reviews like this they will consider that risks with Samsung are higher and it justifies lower value for their products.

    Actually positive recommendations on ozBargain also work! Dell for example has good support with monitors - I learned it from OzBargain and I bought 2 of their monitors as a result

  • https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/699238
    There are countless similar threads and there’s the product review site.

    The structure of their online store and customer service is horrific. The service people are completely powerless. For me, I waited 4+ months for tv and sound bar that were ‘in stock’ when purchased, and spent countless hours chasing it up, taking days off to wait for deliveries that didn’t come etc

    Eventually I filed consumer commission complaint and posted on samsung forums, shockingly either one or both of these actually had an impact - It seemed forum staff have some power to get issues escalated to a level where someone with power can fix it - a power which phone staff do not have

    My favourite part was Samsung claiming the courier has had the tv for months and probably lost or stole it. I called the courier, they say they sent someone to warehouse multiple times and tv never there. Courier offers a 3 way call with samsung support because their system says Samsung is lying - samsung support says they are not allowed to speak to courier directly, only another department can….’will ask them and will call you back’ (they never call back)

    Clearly there is a major organisational problem with Samsung’s online store

  • Added my 1 star review to all the links. Unbelievably terrible for such a big company

  • +1

    Twice recently I ordered from Samsung,
    each time they let me choose a 'delivery date',
    each time they came back and delayed it by 7-10 days,

    The first one I tried to cancel and get a refund, and they said "It's with the courier" – this was days before delivery – "so we can't cancel it. If you want to cancel it, after you receive it [in a few days], send it back"!

    So I agree:
    Only buy from Samsung if you wanna wait 2-3 weeks for your order.

  • I have bought several phones from Samsung online store and never had any issues before.
    However, I think I am out of luck this time. I purchased a S23+ Cream on 27th April and the order has been showing 'Awaiting dispatch' since 28th April.
    I have called and emailed them but got similar replies as mentioned in other posts.
    I am wondering what is the best action should I take right now to get Samsung deliver my phone?

    • Chargeback or Fair Trading

      • Thanks for the advise. I didn't think about Chargeback at first. I contacted AMEX and they confirmed they can dispute for me.
        I will try both Chargeback and NCAT to see what will happen.

    • Surprising, I bought a S23+ Blue on 3/5, was shipped out next day and to me within a few days.. Ordered a few items this week as well, ordered sunday night shipped out today.

      I reckon you should go to the local samsung store and see if they can do anything about it.

      • Yes, that is the normal time it should be as I made several purchases before.
        Local store can't help with online orders.
        I think the best solution is Chargeback and NCAT after I read all the comments.

  • At Dick smith back in the day. We had customer sue Samsung and got pay out on 10,000 tv set and sound system that was Falt most of the time.

  • I may in a minority but Samsung Australia has been very good to us. No issues replacing a fridge at the end of its warranty period with a more expensive fridge.

  • Lol, there was a time when Sony was bragging that they were brand number 3 behind Coke and Maccas.
    Then there was Nokia on the cusp of mobile phones.
    Now it is Samsung on a cusp with all 3 giving sort of excrement service.
    Food for Oppo, Xioami etc….
    Oh forgot, just google Apple and right to repair!

  • Huawei FTW!!

  • +1

    Seems like a common occurence with the samsung store. They need to get their shit together by the sounds of things.

  • +1

    I waited 8 months for a refund from the Samsung store after they sold me something they had no stock of. It took multiple phone calls to them to even work out they had no stock! First they claimed it had been delivered. Worst customer experience I have ever had. DO NOT BUY FROM THIER ONLINE STORE!

  • -1

    You sure the soundbar not working isn't just user error? seems most likely cause if they have said multiple times they fixed it?

  • UPDATE: 25/05/2023. GAVE UP ON ACCC, LODGED WITH NCAT. COURT DATE ON 20/06/2023. LETS SEE WHAT HAPPENS. I ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO DO THE SAME

    • What happens next, is that this NCAT case finally gets their attention, and triggers a refund.

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