Atrocious Experience with Samsung Note 20 Warranty (Ongoing)

LLisaNeedsBraces on 14/06/2021 - 23:51
Last edited 15/06/2021 - 22:20 by 1 other user

Edit: edited to be less ranty

Photo

Hey Peeps,

Just wanted to share my experience relating to Samsung's appalling warranty process. Phone is a Note 20 ultra 5g 512 which has been kept pristine.

Device has gone in twice for warranty - first time around for soft photos in tele - verified by Samsung rep at their store. Phone went in, came out and all was good…or so I thought.

Discovered main camera lens kludged fixes by techie and now dangles off to one side and rattles as though it isn't secured. When tracking focus is activated, the focus box sometimes shakes, sometimes moves from one side to the other, sometimes disappearing completely. Tech's also left a blue piece of plastic I recognise as the spudger from an iFixit kit inside, which has now disappeared into the phone through a crevice. Tiny specks of dust have also appeared between main lens element and camera glass (Aware at this sensor size and focal length there's no impact to image quality). Pretty sure water resistance at this point is out the window.

Took it back to Samsung a 2nd time, rep escalated to a "voice of customer" person after verifying claims
I specified what the symptom, potential cause and possible fix may be… and here's where my blood starts to boil.

Voice of customer rep emails at 4pm on a Friday afternoon to pass on the tech's suggestion it could be the "app, accessory or sim card", tech flashes the firmware, packs it up and sends it off before I had a chance to respond.
Samsung rep at store was at least honest enough to admit tech did nothing. Providing poor feedback via email netted zero response, agent on live chat suggested I "should test it".

One more try at rectifying this with Samsung before I go to ombudsman.

I work in tech, I photograph as a hobby and I know how these things work under the hood soft and hardware.
At least friends found amusement in Samsung techie's response. I have all correspondence as evidence, have been assertive yet polite thus far. Understand customer facing roles isn't easy. To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. Have worked as a tech and with similar calibre people in the past, and this just screams incompetent & IDGAF.

Am I being unreasonable in wanting the phone working as intended? Is this OTT? Any suggestions on next steps or approach? Anyone else experienced similarly poor service / technical aptitude?

TL:DR: Dissatisfied rant regarding Samsung's technicians breaking my phone's camera then not diagnosing correctly.

Mobile Mobile Phone Samsung Android

Comments

  • Drakesy on 15/06/2021 - 00:10

    Well
    I guess there's always Apple?

    • LisaNeedsBraces on 15/06/2021 - 00:22
      +1

      Lol

      Actually using one as a spare. No rattles.

  • salin on 15/06/2021 - 00:55
    +4

    If you bring your phone to Korea, Samsung will fix it for free. Even its out of warranty, local products or not (only charge parts fee).
    They just refuse to treat all customers equally.

  • follow on 15/06/2021 - 03:18
    +1

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/630289
    give their tactics a go

  • djones145 on 15/06/2021 - 06:35
    +1

    I think u need a dental plan!

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 15/06/2021 - 07:32
    +1

    That’s really weird I had 3 major issues with my note 4 back in the day and although each time took about 2 weeks to fix it was fixed no issues…

    • LisaNeedsBraces on 15/06/2021 - 08:23
      +1

      It all comes down to the aptitude of Samsung's tech of the day, be it internal or some outsourced phone shop.

      The symptom was conveyed well enough by the store rep..

      • Jimothy Wongingtons on 15/06/2021 - 08:26
        +1

        Might need to elevate to regulatory body which is BS As you shouldn’t have to waste so much time on it

  • dasher86 on 15/06/2021 - 08:55
    +2

    Samsung have always tried to wiggle out of warranty repairs for me (for small devices).

  • Ocker on 15/06/2021 - 09:52
    +3

    I have stopped buying any Samsung products because of the unreliability and poor after sales service.

  • sovereign01 on 15/06/2021 - 09:54
    +3

    I know this doesn't help but this is primarily the reason I buy iPhones. After a similar experience with Samsung I was disgusted - I've since gone through the Apple process a couple of times (including a breakage from my own negligence) and holy shit.. The ability to walk into a store, get a phone switched out on the spot and walk out with an identical phone after an iCloud backup is worth whatever apple want to overcharge for their devices.

    • bobbified on 15/06/2021 - 11:45
      +2

      I know this doesn't help but this is primarily the reason I buy iPhones.

      Could it be that Apple have already charged the cost of multiple repairs in the initial purchase price? 😜

    • LisaNeedsBraces on 15/06/2021 - 12:05
      +1

      Microsoft has done the same for me. I walked in with a swollen battery Surface Pro 4 i5 256, walked out with an upgrade to a refurb SP5 i7 512. Can't speak highly enough of their face to face service.

  • Grat on 15/06/2021 - 11:03
    +3

    As it is not fit for purchase return it for a refund. They have had 2 opportunities to repair and failed I guess this puts the phone in the category unrepairable. Australian consumer rights are strong. You may not get a refund unless you go in real hard. I bet they make an extra effort to repair if given a third chance. However, something internally may truly be broken that is irreparable. A refund sought from the retailer may be the best action.

    If the phone is repairable let Samsung prove it.

  • Dumax on 15/06/2021 - 13:49
    +1

    I had similar issues with Samsung products (Galaxy S3) and the only way I got any timely response from them was to post on Facebook.

  • leiiv on 15/06/2021 - 21:42
    +1

    This: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/630289

  • LisaNeedsBraces on 15/06/2021 - 22:18
    +1

    So…

    dropped the phone off at the Samsung Liverpool store today on my way home from work.

    Found out this store has onsite repairs, and that they use a contractor for said repairs, which says a lot.

    The two guys there didn't actually want to open a job as I had came in 15 mins before they shut (Presume they just wanted to go home) and tried to have me come back tomorrow when everyone was around.

    I insisted, showed them the paper trail and got them to open a ticket, sent them the close up photo of the crooked lens and off I went. Comparing the service in the CBD and Liverpool is literally night and day.

    No time to deal with this tomorrow, hopefully on Thursday I'll have a favourable outcome.

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