Horrible Samsung Care Plus Support Service

LUncleMilkTea on 13/03/2024 - 09:49
Last edited 13/03/2024 - 10:04 by 1 other user

Hey everyone, I wanted to share my recent frustrating experience with Samsung's customer service.

I swapped my S22 Ultra via Samsung Care Plus and received device with faulty top screen that couldn't register the S Pen sometimes. Even after trying a different S Pen, the issue persisted. When I contacted chat support for a replacement, they refused and insisted on sending the phone to a service centre for assessment, which was a 3-hour drive away.

I explained that I have no spare phone to use if the device needed to be sent out for repairs, but they were not accommodating. Despite my objections about time and cost, I had to argue for 2 hours before reluctantly going to the service centre a few days later.

The assessment confirmed a faulty screen, but support redirected me to Samsung Care Plus, which then blamed me for not contacting them earlier when my subscription was active. Now, my subscription has expired, leaving me with a faulty phone and no resolution despite paying for a device swap and subscription.

This experience has soured my opinion of Samsung's customer service, and I won't be purchasing their products in the future due to their lacklustre support.

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Comments

  • Hybroid on 13/03/2024 - 09:56
    +8

    Samsung don't care. They were ranked the number one most complained about business in NSW in 2023.

    NSW Fair Trading received 416 complaints against the technology company this year with consumers unhappy about the quality of goods, difficulties with refunds and warranty claims.

    https://www.nsw.gov.au/departments-and-agencies/department-o…

    • jv on 13/03/2024 - 10:00
      -4

      Samsung don't care.

      Are you implying they are careless ?

      • garetz on 13/03/2024 - 13:00
        +2

        More like lesscare.

  • BewareOfThe Dog on 13/03/2024 - 09:59

    You don't have a spare?

    • UncleMilkTea on 13/03/2024 - 10:15

      Yes I do not have spare phone. If I have I would send it for it to be repaired rather than taking my time to deal with the horrible customer service from Samsung. I even drive to service centre for the phone to be fixed in the spot but they do have part and I need to leave the phone there for weeks.

      • BewareOfThe Dog on 13/03/2024 - 11:01

        Most Ozbargain members have a cheap backup phone, usually an old style one with a different carrier (i have 3 or 4 seconds) My main phone is with Amaysim, and when Optus went down last November, thankfully i had an Aldi sim, to get me out of trouble (i was dealing with car replacement issue)

  • jv on 13/03/2024 - 10:02

    Member Since : 16 min ago

    What is you real OzBargain username?

    • BewareOfThe Dog on 13/03/2024 - 11:02

      How long have they worked for a competitor? Lol

      • jv on 13/03/2024 - 11:25

        Account is now in the penalty box.

  • rumblytangara on 13/03/2024 - 10:09
    +1

    You created an account 23 minutes ago just to say this?

    Like the first person wrote, Samsung is famous for being the worst CS company in the state, if not the country.

    • Ocker on 13/03/2024 - 10:41
      +1

      Always worth joining under a new name just to have an anonymous bitch and moan

  • UncleMilkTea on 13/03/2024 - 10:12
    -2

    I do have other username but I forgot the login detail since I use different email which I had for awhile. I logged in this time with google account rather than forgot the password ordeals.

  • ConNguaHi on 13/03/2024 - 10:39
    +2

    This is my other username, apart from the account which I logged in to make this post

    • jv on 13/03/2024 - 10:50
      +2

      This is my other username

      Useful for getting around OzBargain voting restrictions.

      • ConNguaHi on 13/03/2024 - 11:06

        Thank you for letting me know

        • jv on 13/03/2024 - 11:24

          Now your new account has been banned for breaking the rules… 😔

  • justgooddeals on 13/03/2024 - 12:12
    +3

    Samsung has decided customers don’t matter. They (customers)are just pain in the ass. So doing as much as they can to piss them off. So they no longer bother them with warranty issues or when their devices breakdown.

    They make it is as difficult as possible to get anything fixed or repaired. Has been my experience. Make you jump through hoops to speak to someone. Wait on hold for 20 minutes to an hour who then transfers you to someone else. Who makes you wait on hold for 20 minutes to over an hour. Who then says they can’t help you but takes your number and promises a call back. In few days. Which you never receive. Rinse and repeat. Rinse and repeat. Till you give up hopefully! I think is the plan?

    Your just supposed to buy new one. Thank them for not caring and go away and leave them alone.

    As posted above Samsung was the most complained about business to New South Wales fair trading last year by long margin.

    https://www.choice.com.au/shopping/consumer-rights-and-advic…

    • garetz on 13/03/2024 - 13:02
      +1

      Australia is a tiny market to them, if you are a korean customer you would get much better customer support.

    • eug on 13/03/2024 - 13:47
      +3

      They make it is as difficult as possible to get anything fixed or repaired. Has been my experience.

      My experience has been different. The problem is my experience was fine so there's not much for me to say, so I didn't bother creating a forum post just to say "Everything was fine". So in the end you'll see more complaints than praises online which could lead you to think they make it as difficult as possible to get anything fixed or repaired. It's like a form of publication bias.

      My Samsung monitor got dimmer on the right side. I contacted Samsung through their web chat and sent photos. Their local service agent called me shortly after and set up a date to come over. The person came over and replaced the panel in about 20 minutes. It was a simple painless process. I was also sent some discount vouchers for TVs, phones, and tablets.

      I had a Fold 3 whose screen had a strange ridge running down the middle. I brought it in to a service centre who said it was really unusual as it's usually caused by physical damage but the phone looked pristine. They replaced the screen with no hassle.

      Someone I know got their Fold 3 screen protector replaced overseas. A few days after that the screen died - he suspects they damaged it while pulling the old one off. I helped lodge a warranty claim back here and thought I'd try their mail-in service. I contacted Samsung online and described the issue, they sent me a repair booking confirmation and an AusPost shipping label. I brought the phone to the post office, they provided me the packaging and I sent it off. Maybe a week later I received the phone back in the mail with a brand-new screen.

      There could be plenty more examples like the above by many other people but as you can see they aren't very interesting so people don't bother writing about it, so what you see online will be skewed towards the negative.

      As posted above Samsung was the most complained about business to New South Wales fair trading last year by long margin.

      They could very well be that bad, but they don't give the context. There were 416 complaints, but how many items were sold? If you sell 10,000 items and get 416 complaints that's not a good look, but if you sell 200,000 items and get 416 complaints that's not too bad. The more items you sell the more issues there will be.

      • justgooddeals on 13/03/2024 - 14:12

        I am glad you had good experience. Just like I’m sure others have had.

        But just like my issue yours is only an antecdotal story.

        Publication bias doesn’t stop the fact that Samsung was the most complained about business to NSW fair trading last year.

        Not an achievement to be envied and warning to others if god forbid , if, they have an issue how they are likely to be treated.

        I would think for large company like Samsung so many complaints would be too many in such a competitive electronics retailing environment. Apparently not.

        Seems they are more interested in PR.

        https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/835706

        • eug on 13/03/2024 - 14:54

          But just like my issue yours is only an antecdotal story.

          Yes, I agree. Your earlier post sounds like you're convinced Samsung has decided customers don't matter and everybody will have a bad experience based on your anecdote though.

          Publication bias doesn’t stop the fact that Samsung was the most complained about business to NSW fair trading last year.

          As I said, context is important which unfortunately that Choice article doesn't provide. The more items you sell the more complaints there will be. Samsung also uses service agents, it'd be interesting to see if the issues are with particular service agents or Samsung themselves. I do wish every state would name and shame companies like NSW too, it would help keep everyone on their toes.

          I would think for large company like Samsung 1-100 complaints would be too many in such a competitive electronics retailing environment. Apparently not.

          Evidently Apple thinks the same way too. There are definitely more than 1-100 complaints there.

          (that was really just to show complaints online can't really be trusted in every situation)

          • justgooddeals on 13/03/2024 - 15:04

            @eug:

            Your earlier post sounds like you're convinced Samsung has decided customers don't matter and everybody will have a bad experience based on your anecdote though.

            That is the feeling they have given “ME”. With the number of promised call backs that I never receive. Despite repeated assurances.

            Can’t get an issue resolved if the relevant department is un-contactable.
            I have found getting through to someone who can help next to impossible.

            I don’t appear to be the only one either.

            https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/835706

      • bjd533 on 14/03/2024 - 09:52
        +1

        Agree, only good experiences so far. But I've heard plenty of bad ones and clearly the whole phone replacement program is a load of rubbish, they are pushing out refurbs of what appears to be wildly varying quality.

        Their education store discounts are nuts, the tech is generally good (still yet to have a mobile device fail after 13 odd years - I still use my Note 3 on occasion for example and incredibly the original battery on my Note Pro 12.2 holds around 6 hours with light use (~10 years old).

        But the best example I have is a Samsung store recommending to use a repairer nearby for an out of warranty device who turned out to be cheaper and faster than any I've used in recent times. That is putting the customer first.

  • Taro Milk Tea on 13/03/2024 - 14:36
    -2

    OP is definitely an Apple fanboy and just trolling here. Bye OP

    • Baysew on 13/03/2024 - 14:51

      I tried to buy it from their app, which can give me further 5% discount, but I couldn't finalize the payment at all. Always took me back to first page again for some reason. Talked to their support team, they advised to try again tomorrow as they just had some updates that might cause that issue.

      Guess what? The next day I checked, the phone was OOS lol…

      You must also be definitely an Apple fanboy and just trolling here, from your comment.

      • Taro Milk Tea on 13/03/2024 - 14:57

        uuhh another salty stalker apple fanboy

      • Taro Milk Tea on 13/03/2024 - 15:06

        is being a power user gives you entitlement to stalk and put salty comment?

  • ConNguaHi on 13/03/2024 - 18:45
    -1

    My current situation involves a broken phone due to receiving a faulty device initially. While I paid for the device swap, it wasn't a free replacement. Without a spare phone, sending mine for repair means being without a phone for daily use, which is crucial for work. I believe companies should prioritise doing the right thing for their customers then there will be less complain. Why need to praise for company taking your hard earned money, and provide you the service which you paid for. It is not like they give you free stuffs. I will praise if the company give me free stuff for no obligations but I do think our economy run by charity anyway.

  • SmiTTy on 13/03/2024 - 22:09
    +1

    If the problem is that it's just outside the Samsung warranty period, you could argue that it still falls within the statutory warranty

    https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/broken-but-out-of-warr…

    I assume it doesn't really have anything to do with Samsung care… Which is just an entitlement you purchased (or got for free) to have a phone replaced for a fee. Even though you've been referred back to Samsung care in relation to the repair of the fault, that replaced phone should still include the warranty entitlements from your original phone

    (I've never owned Samsung care so I'm speculating…. Dyor and I apologise if I'm talking out of my bum. I guess it could be there's no more warranty if you broke your original phone )

  • ConNguaHi on 13/03/2024 - 22:28
    +1

    I agreed with you. The phone is still under warranty period from the term and condition in Samsung Care Plus. I just checked their website.

    Anyway, I filed a report to Consumer Protection Qld and wrote an email complain to Samsung office of CEO in Australia.

    I contacted the Samsung Care Plus via phone instead of their chat support. They did lodge an escallation to Case Manager and I need to wait 5-8 bussiness day for them to call me back about the resolution. I will mention about the term and condition in their website next time when I contact them.

    I will you guy update about that.

  • Lastchancetosee on 14/03/2024 - 08:59
    +1

    I rarely rant, but we've just had the worst experience with Samsung Customer 'care', trying for three weeks to get an air-conditioning unit repaired under warranty for my 92 year-old mother. The units were installed in 2020, so my usual repairer said to go through Samsung directly as the machines are under warranty, and it would save Mum money.

    The Samsung system is ridiculous. You make a call which they log and then promise you'll hear from the next team who will get details about the issue within 3 days. No contact after three days, so I had to call back. I was transferred to the details team, who noted warranty, serial numbers,etc.. They say thank you, it will now go to their assessment team, with a promise I will hear back within 48 hours. No return call, so I had to ring again. Finally I was told they wouldn't accept the warranty, despite us having provided house and contents insurance papers, and house purchase documents. They gave me the number of their repair team in Adelaide, and offered me a voucher for any new Samsung purchases. Sounds good, except they won't say the amount and you have to call once you've made the purchase. No thanks.

    It's been four days since I left two messages with the Samsung repair team, and still haven't heard back. Meanwhile, it's been over 35 degrees here for almost two weeks.

    I rang my usual repairer the same day as the Samsung team, explaining the warranty issue and the need to get Mum sorted, and they are coming today to assess the system.

    TLDR yes, Samsung Customer Service is crap. Lesson learnt.

  • jonkvh on 14/03/2024 - 16:08

    That's why I've bought most of my Samsung gear via Telstra. They actually handle it themselves, instead of going through Samsung.

  • ConNguaHi on 14/03/2024 - 22:00

    Got a missed call from Samsung today after sent the email to Samsung office of CEO. The person left a voice message to call me back at 12pm to find the solution for my case but no call back from that person.

  • jrvb42 on 14/03/2024 - 23:24

    Sigh. If you haven't looked at mine, and so many others repeated posts about Samsung and given them a wide berth, then you are at fault.

  • eug on 15/03/2024 - 16:54

    I coincidentally dropped my phone yesterday morning and cracked the back. I requested a swap on the Samsung Care portal and the replacement phone arrived at noon today. It's probably a refurb but it looks and feels brand new. Pretty satisfied so far.

    • ConNguaHi on 16/03/2024 - 10:09

      The problem is what if they send you a faulty replacement and what they going to do about it. I had no problem when I did my swap in the first place. The issue only arise when they sent me a faulty device for a replacement and do not want to send me another replacement, only insist me to send the phone for repair.

      I actually drove to service centre, and they advised me it will take 2 weeks plus for the repair due to no parts at the centre and cannot fix on the spot anyway.

      • eug on 16/03/2024 - 13:01

        The issue only arise when they sent me a faulty device for a replacement and do not want to send me another replacement, only insist me to send the phone for repair.

        Was the replacement device DOA or did it develop a fault?

        I actually drove to service centre, and they advised me it will take 2 weeks plus for the repair due to no parts at the centre and cannot fix on the spot anyway.

        When I broke my Note 2 screen years ago, I sent it in to get repaired. After about two weeks they called me and said replacement screens still weren't in stock so they gave me a brand new retail-boxed Note 2 instead.

        With simple things like screen protector replacements for the Folds, I called the service centre first to see if they had them in stock. They said they did so I went in and they swapped it on the spot for free.

        I'm definitely not denying that many people have had bad experiences with their service. My point is not everybody has had bad experiences.

        If you read some of the comments above some people aren't aware of publication bias and are convinced that their own experience is representative of everybody's experiences.

        They don't realise that people only bother posting about their bad experiences because when things go fine there's nothing much to say, so no one hears about it. And the more popular a brand is, the more issues people will hear about simply because there literally are many more of those products out there.

        So yes, Samsung can have bad service. But they also do have good service. Maybe it depends on the local service centre which is unfortunate.

        • ConNguaHi on 16/03/2024 - 17:22

          The device faulty at the start. I thought it was spen fault so I did change the spen but still have the same problem. I got the swap device less than a month, before I contacted Samsung.

          I am not living near service centre and will need to take a day off from work to go there. Anyway, I did go to Service Centre based on the Samsung chat support advice and thought it would resolve my issue after the service centre confirmed it is a faulty device. But then, chat support then refused to acknowledge my conversation with previous chat support. They did not send the chat transcript even though I requested.

          Also, I shared my personal experience and not trying to represent anyone. I have been using Samsung products for many year (TV, air purifer, etc). My samsung TV remote actually failed its bluetooth module last year after 5 months I purchased the TV, but I got the replacement after 3 weeks since I contacted Samsung. Additionally,
          I did not compare my Samsung experience with another company in my post.

          Sorry if you feel that my post is about ranting. I just want to continue to use my Samsung phone but if their after service like this, it does make me worry about purchasing another of their product.

  • ConNguaHi on 18/03/2024 - 11:17
    +1

    I received a call from a representative of the CEO's office at Samsung Australia, who assured me that they would contact Samsung Care Plus to arrange a replacement for my phone. I'm pleasantly surprised by the quick response from their office regarding this issue. I sent an email on Thursday night, received a missed call on Friday morning, and got the call this morning. This is my compliment for the CEO's office at Samsung Australia.

  • ConNguaHi on 11/04/2024 - 12:54
    +1

    I want to give you guys an update about my case:I filed a complaint with the ACCC and was assigned someone to handle the case, but still received no response from Samsung. Finally, after much persistence of keep on calling and email to complain, I received an email from Samsung Care Plus stating that my device would be replaced, but only after sending mine in first. Reluctantly, I sent my phone away, as it had become essentially unusable due to signal issues since the last 2 days, leaving me to rely on a cheap brick phone which I just bought while waiting for the replacement.

    The entire ordeal has been a headache since it began in February, with multiple attempts to resolve the issue and numerous setbacks along the way.

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