Never Buy from Samsung - Consumer Theft

Ltrippy87 on 20/05/2023 - 13:16
Last edited 25/05/2023 - 09:26 by 2 other users

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

Electrical & Electronics Samsung Soundbar TV UHD TV

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closed Comments

      • Fobsessive on 23/05/2023 - 19:08
        +1

        $1 Poppin Popcorn at Woolies from Wednesday

    • spackbace on 21/05/2023 - 20:28
      -7

      I think props should be paid that you spelt it correctly 😂

  • Tafe on 21/05/2023 - 16:50
    +2

    Can confirm they are shit. Ordered a teak frame for my frame TV on March 19th.

    I've only been waiting 2 months, so still hopefull!

    • BewareOfThe Dog on 21/05/2023 - 17:56

      Is it available from a local retailler?

      • Tafe on 22/05/2023 - 07:38

        Yeah?

  • Sammy Boi on 21/05/2023 - 17:10
    +1

    Yeah it's pretty ridiculous that this happens when going directly to a company.. I Feel for you I would be so pissed off. Poor customer service/support like this can and will turn a lifetime customer away

  • Ultramup on 21/05/2023 - 17:19
    +7

    Why are people standing up for a multinational company when they dont stand for their own customers.

    They are still keeping my money for a trade up code when I did not actually proceed with trading my phone up. Zero help from customer service. ZERO. Not that they care but they have lost me.

    • Deviner on 23/05/2023 - 19:03

      Yeah this is such a weird, scummy tactic.
      I contacted them thinking there was a mistake and they told me I'd receive the money back eventually, once it times out.
      They didn't do this a couple years ago so it must be relatively new.

      Considering no order has been placed at the point they extract money out of your bank, it's pretty scummy.

  • Dack Smith on 21/05/2023 - 17:51
    +2

    Samsung is a powerful Korean multinational that will triumph over the weak Australian government all day, like Google and Apple and so forth.

    Why people still stupidly support them and buy their wares is beyond me, the quality isn’t there and ie. their OLED TVs have serious issues which are well known by now.

    Hopefully a lesson has been learned here.

    • BewareOfThe Dog on 21/05/2023 - 17:55
      +1

      We have 2 Oleds and they are great.

  • BewareOfThe Dog on 21/05/2023 - 17:54

    I have been in Retail now getting close to 40 years. When I started in Computers and Electrical, there was one brand you would not touch (ie Samsung, as well as Teac and Goldstar), and you would pay extra for another well known brand, which I will not name.
    This well known name have always been a pain to deal with in the 40 years both as a retailler and a consumer, and still can be today, but at least as a retailler we can fob them off to the local 'fruit' shop.

    Samsung are not perfect.
    They rely on value for money products and slim margins, unlike the fruit shop who are Samsungs biggest customers in Electronics worldwide.
    OP, there is a reason we have retaillers, and we may not like some/most of them, but at least they are a fallback. Regrettably they keep me in a job, that after travel/car, means I earn less than my Ex-Wife on a DSP, or my partners Ex who suffers from PTSD serving in Saudi Arabia as a Radio Operator in Air Conditioning.

  • Dreamcast on 21/05/2023 - 18:04
    +2

    You forgot the /rant :p

    It's a hit and miss with most electronic companies…..

    I had a faulty Samsung tablet arrive and the replacement experience wasn't too bad. Had a TV go from lightning strike. I knew that isn't covered under warranty, plus it was a few months out of warranty. Called Samsung and told them exactly what happened and was expecting to pay, but they replaced the power board free of charge.

    The most frustrating thing in your case, is that you have to keep chasing. I hope it all works out soon enough though and you are compensated

  • n0u on 21/05/2023 - 18:21
    +2

    I've sworn off Samsung products too for a similar warranty issue!

  • CandyMan on 21/05/2023 - 19:41
    +2

    I had. A Samsung phone that kept rebooting. They assessed it and claimed, we couldn’t find a fault, so we won’t do anything. After a few times reinstalling software and back and forth to Samsung centre they replaced it just before warranty finished. But I switched to Apple ever since.
    Samsung products are great, but if you have a problem their support isn’t great.

  • FlyingMiffy on 21/05/2023 - 20:08
    +3

    Same experience as the OP but lucky for me, it was a comparatively lower value item. Basically bought something in Feb, delivery never happened and despite lodging a refund request, still have not heard anything back. The dodgiest behaviour was when they cancelled my refund request exactly 40 days after it was lodged because the ticket "had an error in it" and was told that the 40 day refund counter had to be restarted as that was the "process". Lodged a refund via PayPal instead and they took 5 business days to side with my complaint and gave my money back on the 6th day. OP is right about one thing, when a company that size purposely avoid refunds, the consumer has a major uphill battle just to get their money back. I wont bother with the 30% loyalty discounts anymore.

  • dickiee on 21/05/2023 - 20:31
    +2

    Had a similiar experience with the galaxy watch. Battery wouldnt hold charge for more than 4 hours. Took it to a service centre and they gave it back saying it was fine. So i tried again, same issue. Took it in a second time but with photos of the watch and battery percentage throughout the day. They told me the battery was changed after about 2 weeks of waiting. Picked it up. Still the same issue.

    Took it straight to the service centre without contacting samsung first with photos again of the same issue. They tried to offer a replacement, a upgrade but i would have to pay more for it but i kept on insisting on a refund. Then after around 10 emails and 20 calls they finally refunded me.

    I think they just hope that people will give up. I estimate i would have spent about 12 hours on phone calls and emails and then 4 trips at 30mins each to the service centre. Not worth the hassle for $300…

  • x0b0k7x on 21/05/2023 - 21:02
    +2

    Also had poor experience with Samsung, purchased a TV 2019, I barely watch TV and suddenly an issue. initially the warranty process seemed alright tv was taken away in days for assessment and said unrepairable so they'll be refunding me. Suppose 10 days refund turned into 6 months and after 100 calls explaining. Avoid 100% .

  • Sprayoz on 21/05/2023 - 21:39

    The screen of my galaxy s21u turns green in cold weathers last year. So I went to a Samsung store in Chadstone and they suggested me to call samsung to arrange warranty repairs.

    I sent my phone to them, and after one week, I was told the green screen was due to physical damages and I have to pay to repair. I was shocked because it was always in a case and there was even no scratch on it. When I asked them for proof, they simply told me " it's an internal decision, they cannot change that".

    After many calls, they finally agreed to repair it for no costs and posted it back. However, I found the problem STILL exists! I was so tired dealing with Scamsung and passed this phone to my mom. I will NEVER use any Scamsung products!

  • bigbadboogieman on 21/05/2023 - 22:24

    Had a similar issue with Samsung TV but luckily had purchased through JB Hi-fi and I had purchased with their extended warranty. Long story short, Samsung was not willing to come to the table but I was able to return and get an LG from JB.

    Samsung should be renamed to Scamsung. I feel ashamed because I still use their phone and Soundbar. Never buying anything from them once these items run their course.

  • Oz em on 21/05/2023 - 22:33
    +1

    Contact consumer affairs. Demand a full refund.

    • trippy87 on 23/05/2023 - 01:55

      will lodge with NCAT

  • Aap Ke Papa on 21/05/2023 - 22:35

    Will never order from Samsung ever again. Samsung is a scam.

  • berger on 21/05/2023 - 23:14
    +3

    After sales support is a joke. We sold a $9000 Samsung big screen, failed 3 times and Samsung goes quiet with the client. Client is now taking legal action. We refuse to sell the brand now.

  • eug on 21/05/2023 - 23:30
    +2

    I bought a phone from Samsung's online store in Oct 2021. A few weeks ago the screen developed a problem. I lodged an online warranty claim, they emailed me a shipping label, I sent it off last week, it got fixed, and it's arriving back tomorrow.

    I bought a Galaxy Watch 4 which got borked by a firmware update. I lodged an online warranty claim, sent it off, they fixed it and sent it back. No issues.

    The screen protector on my Fold 3 started peeling. I rang their service centre who said I could walk in and get it done. I went in, passed them my phone, waited 20-30 mins and walked out with a new screen protector on both the outside and inside screens replaced under warranty.

    My friend's Fold 3 inside screen developed a problem. He brought it in to their service centre. They fixed it and he got it back 2 days later.

    I bought a Samsung fridge. It works great, no issues in the past 5 years.

    I bought a Samsung laptop years ago. It worked great, no issues.

    People typically only post comments about a brand when they've experienced a problem. What people don't see is the large number of people who don't have any issues with the product or the service, because when everything is fine there's not much to say so nobody bothers writing a forum post all about it.

    That is why Apple apparently has terrible customer service.

    So be careful about making judgements about a brand just from a complaints thread. The more popular a brand the more complaints you'll hear simply because there are more people buying the brand.

    • haemolysis on 23/05/2023 - 02:21
      +2

      Whilst I get that there’s some confirmation bias, sometimes a few case examples can show some activities which should NEVER happen, such as ignoring emails, failing to resolve in 30 plus days, etc. In such case, even just a handful of these complaints should be very concerning because it’s more that just a “bad luck of the draw” experience, it’s a total systematic failure.

    • bhubb18 on 23/05/2023 - 09:32

      Of course people are mainly going to post primarily bad experiences.

      Good (or at least not negative) experiences SHOULD be expected. If something breaks under warranty, the company SHOULD fix it with minimal hassles

  • fuzor on 22/05/2023 - 00:50

    For some reason we are a big market for south Korean engineered crap. Everyone bangs on about samsung this and Hyundai that. Now look at the amount of very basic engine design issues coming out from Hyundai/kia worldwide.

    I've hated samsung since before acl got brought in. Had a side by side samsung fridge that broke down 30 days outside of the 2 year warranty and they refused to help at all. And it was a known fridge motor design fault.

    All of their stuff is crap except for their phones. Simply because somehow they've managed to kill off all competition. I used to only buy xperia but both Sony and htc are just a shell of their former selves. Huawei got messed around by the US government and xiaomi hardly has presence. With the whole android market to themselves, samsung have actually done a good job on that front both software and hardware. But i wouldn't buy anything else from them where there are other competitors to choose from.

    • eug on 22/05/2023 - 01:04
      +1

      For some reason we are a big market for south Korean engineered crap.

      The whole world is a big market for Samsung and LG. They're huge brands that are known worldwide.

      Everyone bangs on about samsung this and Hyundai that. Now look at the amount of very basic engine design issues coming out from Hyundai/kia worldwide.

      Yeah, all those precision-engineered German cars are the pinnacle of reliability aren't they! :)

      But i wouldn't buy anything else from them where there are other competitors to choose from.

      I've had no issues with the 4 Samsung fridges I've bought (3 for work), but I can understand why you'd stay away from them after a poor warranty experience. It'll probably be less of a hassle if you bought it from a retailer like OP suggests, I suppose. Did you lodge a report with Fair Trading?

  • Ridiculous Panda on 22/05/2023 - 06:27
    -2

    Don’t they have physical stores selling phones? Might be different management and system but i would still go there and cause a scene like a Karen.

    • Techie4066 on 22/05/2023 - 15:50

      lol there was one of those scenes at Samsung George St when I was waiting to drop my faulty phone off. Lots of shouting from a customer about how their repair had been botched and they'd been using an old phone for weeks.

  • jar-unit on 22/05/2023 - 08:15

    I've had the same issue with Samsung phones. They stopped working and then when sent in for warranty repair, they blamed me saying it was water damage. Phone had never been dropped in water. ALso the phone was advertised as water resistant with an IP rating. This happened to two phones. I ended going back to Apple and never looked back

  • Nuff-Nuff on 22/05/2023 - 08:19
    +1

    Bought a washing machine directly from Samsung earlier this year. Was an absolute shambles as well. The ‘manager’ in the contact centre was one of the worst I’ve ever spoken to - couldn’t care less about the situation.

  • burningrage on 22/05/2023 - 09:04

    There is something unclear about this story.

    Usually if it has already broken 2x or more, I would immediately invoke the ACL guarantee (https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/problem-with-a-product-or-…) under major problem (non-merchandisable quality) and a refund would normally be offered.

    and do we have Australian Fair Trade Commission? First time I've heard about it.

    • lint on 22/05/2023 - 09:41
      +2

      I think OP means their state's Department of Fair Trading or equivalent. The ACCC (which has Commission in it's name) doesn't deal with individual complaints, and what OP has described sounds like what Fair Trading will tell you - they can advise both parties to try resolve the dispute, but they can't force any one to take any particular action.

      OP - at this stage I would be demanding my money back. Give them notice in writing with a rundown of what's happened so far and tell them I would like a full refund within 14 days or you will take the matter to NCAT.

  • pulpfiction on 22/05/2023 - 09:10
    +3

    I literally had bit of a "fraud" situation with a Samsung warranty claim years ago and refuse to buy anything branded and try to avoid components they make (which is hard).

    Basically I sent in a Nexus phone for warranty repair (I think the camera had failed - fine whatever). I get condition notes when I dropped it off, which state minor scratches on screen and body. Also fine.

    Get it back, massive crack on the screen. Called them up, they said it came like that and it's in the condition notes. They sent the copy through. Sure enough, it was in the notes. Remarkably I kept the original slip. Here's the kicker…

    Same document, same date, same ID. But, my copy has no mention of the very obvious crack. Clearly, someone messed up and wanted me to pay for it. Zero chance I'll be buying from them.

    • Techie4066 on 22/05/2023 - 15:48
      +1

      Sounds like what OnePlus service centres were doing ~2019, deliberately smashing phones and sending them back.

  • ExpressCoffee on 22/05/2023 - 09:44

    I completely understand where OP is coming from. It seems like their mobile dept may be a bit different but for any appliances or electronics in the home.. the process is painful….

    The contact system they have is infuriatingly bad and you get tired of hearing a robot response when trying to get help. No ounce of care was shown and my issue went on for almost 12 months. I eventually ended up getting a refund for my fridge that came damaged on delivery but it was like getting blood out of a stone for something that was not my fault at all.

    And I ordered through an corporate partnership through them directly. Not even the small discount would send me back.

  • charkwayteo on 22/05/2023 - 09:51
    +1

    Fair enough, I'd avoid them too after that.

    I personally avoid samsung phones, nothing but garbage - even the cheap xiaomis and redmi's run faster in a years time.

    I also avoid seagate hard drives.

  • dowhatuwant2 on 22/05/2023 - 10:00
    +1

    strange, ive had good support from samsung for my washing machine. They sent someone out to repair it when is was 5 years old despite only coming with a 3 year warranty.

  • qvinto on 22/05/2023 - 10:01
    +1

    If you buy anything form them use PayPal. Send them written communication demanding a repair or refund. If you get no response, file a claim through PayPal. If Samsung don't respond (which they won't) PayPal will refund you

  • DodgyDavesDiscounts on 22/05/2023 - 10:11

    I've had a very bad Samsung experience and agree they are next to impossible to contact and i ended up having to do the whole contact fair trading, reverse the charge on my credit card etc…. nightmare.

  • lewislardboy on 22/05/2023 - 10:13
    +1

    Sounds like a crappy situation OP, but I don't know if you can judge Samsung's customer service on this isolated incident. I once purchased a clearance TV for $1800. It starting glitching on the panel, they sent someone to assess, and advised they'd need to replace it. As the model was no longer stocked, they gave me the newer in-market model worth $2000 more. Really couldn't complain about their customer service after this experience.

  • User76 on 22/05/2023 - 10:15
    +3

    Oh boy…

    I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM!!!

    Had an issue with my Samsung Smart Watch (heart rate reading wouldn't complete), booked in and took it to a Samsung store for warranty. It went off to iCure, and a week later it was "Fixed". Drove there to pick it up. Got home, charged it and guess what, error still there. I think they just replaced the back of the phone where the HRM sensor is, and didn't test it.
    I was pissed to say the least, wasting time to drop off, pickup and still have a broken watch.

    OK, round two.. phuck driving around, put in new claim and said to post it in. Got the label, sent it off.
    Got confirmating that it had arrived for repairs. A week later, got an SMS with a link to a new report where it showed it as repaired again.

    Didn't say much else and Samsung support on chat couldn't tell me much. Drove to iCure again.. asked them about it.. waited an hour, and finally a tech comes down to say the watch isn't there but it may have been posted back.
    Trying to be chill in life now, OK cool i say, i'll wait and see at home.

    I week passes, two weeks pass. Back onto Samsung support, they are checking. checking, checking.
    Call iCure, someone will call me back…

    Another week, and a week again.
    Email Samsung support, email iCure (as i want paper trail). Samsung says they are sorry and escalating, please give them 1-2 days.

    I've been doing this for weeks now, nothing.
    Watch is gone.

    I'm here now looking for Smart watch deals.

    • eug on 22/05/2023 - 11:06
      +1

      Sounds like iCure are incompetent. Can you pick a different service centre?

      • bhubb18 on 23/05/2023 - 09:38

        With what device though? Its gone missing so they cant take it somewhere else

  • Nirmitha on 22/05/2023 - 10:26

    There's no point reaching out to their 'support team' - probably the lowest paid, untrained, offshore bunch they were allowed to put forward. Last time I tried their Live Chat it was an hour long wait for them to cut the chat off when you are unresponsive for 60secs. These aren't people trained to help you. Only buy Samsung stuff via reputed retailers if you have to.

  • ContinuousCustomer on 22/05/2023 - 10:45
    +2

    Highly suggest staying away from Samsung. Mobiles are ok I guess.

    Bought a Samsung fridge, it fell apart in the first 3 months, never again. F scamsung!

  • Dognosis on 22/05/2023 - 11:26
    +2

    I would agree that dealing with Samsung Australia is the worst for similar reasons as everyone says above. I will never order anything from them directly unless I am feeling generous/free enough to accept shit service. Wait for hrs for an actual response on their service hotlines. Wait for months for a return, exchange, correct item etc… Such a bad system that they have going. BUT never had any issues with their tech! So I think its just a Samsung Australia customer service thing.

  • PurchaseAnxiety on 22/05/2023 - 11:43
    +2

    I’ve had a lot of bad experiences with Samsung across multiple product categories, to the point where I’ve sworn off pretty much anything with their name on it. The conclusion I’ve come to is that they’re good at making their products look expensive, but have absolute garbage QA and customer service that doesn’t align with the price tag.

  • Bignudge on 22/05/2023 - 11:58
    +1

    This is why I try to buy everything from Amazon and by Amazon AU directly. Any issue…. they will throw a full refund in your face lol .

  • Big Lez on 22/05/2023 - 12:34
    +2

    Dealing with Samsung directly is terrible. I imagine them being fragmented and having inconsistent procedures which complicates things for the consumer so you're dealing with different people all the time as you get transferred and different expectations.

    It's a nightmare and I've been through it. The products are still great and I would only buy through retailers as you've suggested.

  • blehgg on 22/05/2023 - 13:04

    I had a really good experience - bought a samsung S22 - came with a car mount / wireless charge - promo.

    Directly from Samsung - mount broke after a year - bagged and returned back to samsung

    They sent out a gift card to the price of a new one.

    • trippy87 on 23/05/2023 - 01:57

      they seem to support their phones better for some reason. also you can take a phone to a physical store and physically complain to someone. you cant take a tv or a soundbar around that way, they may be using this to ignore the big ticket items

  • jerjergege on 22/05/2023 - 13:08
    +1

    Not "really" defending samsung, but the rest of the processes are just sub contractors, the call centres, the repair guys etc.

    I had a TV with dead pixels, they came out within 4 days and replaced the screen of my new Q65T, that cost 4 - 5k in 2021

  • idonotknowwhy on 22/05/2023 - 13:10
    +1

    Not going into details, but I've had nothing but bad experiences with Samsung products (except MicroSD cards) over the years.
    Phones, SSDs, etc.

  • Dack Smith on 22/05/2023 - 13:41

    Did anybody buy a S95B TV from Samsung?

    There’s great enjoyment to be had

  • Bid Sniper on 22/05/2023 - 13:57
    +3

    Their official Ebay store, any other company would probably be banned off Ebay.
    https://www.ebay.com.au/str/samsungaustralia#tab2

    I bought two TVs from their Ebay store, never arrived but I did get a refund quickly. What's strange people blaming ANC couriers but when I bought a Samsung Neo QLED from JBHifi panel arrived next day, delivered by ANC a fortnight ago.
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/758630

  • hjwilson30 on 22/05/2023 - 14:13

    Their support is terrible. I purchased two phones from them, both the same model and both on the same network provider. One got updates and is still updating, currently 13. The other got a few updates but stopped before 11. Their answer was to wait and the other one should update. Has been 2 years since the last update and I've tried to get it sorted a few times now over 6+ months. Gave up in the end and will try to update the other by other means.

  • rehevoli on 22/05/2023 - 14:34
    +2

    Remember how the S20FE had touchscreen issues when it was first released? Tried to contact Samsung directly as the phone was purchased from the Samsung store. Spoke to the rep, didn't understand what I was trying to say, got transferred to the manager, kept on saying there was nothing they could do, then I got hung up on midway through the conversation.

    Would only buy Samsung products from a third party retailer even if it was more expensive than the discounts they offer from the Samsung online store. It's not worth the headache with warranty and after sales support.

    Had a friend who purchased from Samsung store
    directly and waited 9 months for a washer, dryer, fridge and tv to be delivered - all empty promises.

    • Techie4066 on 22/05/2023 - 15:23

      Absolutely, I can vouch for you on the S20 FE issue and add in a nice dose of horrible dealings with their support. The software patches were ineffective stopgap measures compensating for sh*t hardware. See my comment below.

  • kaleidoscope on 22/05/2023 - 15:01
    +3

    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.

    Sorry for your loss. I've been telling my friends and family since 2010 or so to never buy their crapware. Some have listened, some have not and later learnt lessons etc… End of the day people are motivated by the price and flashy features and not many people think about what happens on a rainy day.

    YMMV

  • Techie4066 on 22/05/2023 - 15:17

    Long story short, I had an S20 FE 5G fully refunded 2 years ago after I proved that the model had a defective touchscreen. I dropped it off at their store for assessment, they insisted on a repair, weeks of back and forth arguing ensued until my VOC manager Peter promised a refund, I filled out their refund form, a month went by (their processing time) and it never came. I gave them 2 days to send it however was ghosted as well, so took the case to NSW Fair Trading who got me the refund after another 2 weeks. I would urge you to do the same; be firm, quote your consumer rights and stand your ground. Those criticising you here have no clue how bad they are. VOC seems to be based in Homebush which makes it impossible to reach them over the phone (but they called me once).

    My family's Samsung TV lasted a grand total of 3 years from 2013-2016 (only 2 when the display worked properly) and we had a bad experience with their support and repair network back then. Its Sony replacement has worked well without so much as one issue. A smaller Samsung TV bought at the same time in 2013 went kaput last year and always had a rattly speaker issue.

    I've stuck to their phones and bought my first smartwatch from them after a year's hiatus in the hopes that I don't have to deal with their support. No other product categories (esp. appliances) and I actively steer people away from them.

  • krazek on 22/05/2023 - 15:21
    +2

    Samsung customer service are f'ing useless. And there's no way to speak to someone local. Never touching their products again

  • JimB on 22/05/2023 - 15:29
    +1

    I thought I was one of the few who have gone cold on Samsung.

    Use to own quite a few Samsung whitegoods, tablets and phones (last one was the S9).

    Only the small second fridge remains working without any repairs.

    The only Samsung product I'd buy anymore are memory cards and SSDs

  • RunningPineapple on 22/05/2023 - 15:55
    +2

    I experienced similar issues when purchasing via samsung.com
    - TV arrived damage. It took 2 months to organise repairs (and they wanted to charge me for it!)
    - Vacuum Cleaner was missing two attachments. They promised to send it though, but that fell through.

    Countless hours on the phone and emails. I will now happily pay more to buy from brick and mortar stores for an improved warranty experience and much higher accountability.

    • [Deactivated] on 23/05/2023 - 10:52
      +1

      Countless hours on the phone and emails.

      This is a total dealbreaker. I don't want to waste time with shit service even if their product would've been superior, which it is not.

  • Plug on 22/05/2023 - 16:08

    What method of payment did you use? Any chance of recompense that way?

    • trippy87 on 23/05/2023 - 01:58

      credit card, may need to go down that route, lodging with NCAT anyway

  • Plug on 22/05/2023 - 16:11
    +2

    Son had a faulty laptop of theirs. Took it into the Samsung service centre in Leader St, Adelaide. Heard nothing back from them for over a year despite a few enquiries then that service centre closed down so the laptop disappeared for good.

    • johnfuller on 23/05/2023 - 09:40
      -2

      how did you let that repair go on for so long, sometimes consumers are to blame ..

  • relentlessM8 on 22/05/2023 - 16:12

    Same experience, getting refund for a faulty phone was a nightmare from them..

  • pformag on 22/05/2023 - 16:13

    Contact the ACCC, they will get involved.

    https://www.accc.gov.au/

    • Techie4066 on 22/05/2023 - 16:17

      The ACCC don't deal with individual consumer cases. Bad advice. Small claims courts and consumer advocate (fair trading) offices can help.

    • Techie4066 on 22/05/2023 - 16:20

      Since you negged, please explain away how the ACCC can assist in individual consumer cases. Where can I submit my case? I assume it's not this website:

      We don’t resolve individual complaints or provide legal advice on your rights and obligations under the law.
      We don’t make formal decisions on whether a person or business has breached the law as only the courts can do this.
      We generally don’t comment on our investigations or what action we may take from the information provided in reports we receive.

      Pretty crazy how misinformed people are about the ACCC…

      • lostgoat on 22/05/2023 - 16:28
        +1

        Some people here defiantly have no time value . And it doesn't matter for them to run around the site all day and achieve 0 for a WS that can't help .
        My advice to them is to wait for the next $1 profit deal here so you can at least buy a Maccas cone and get some change .

  • annyfication on 22/05/2023 - 16:23
    +1

    Lodge a complaint with Fair Trading.

    • kiriakoz on 22/05/2023 - 22:18
      +2

      What kind of a moron would be a "fan" of a corporation which only exists to make money? That goes for all of them: Tesla, Apple, Samsung, whatever.

  • jugsy on 22/05/2023 - 16:57

    Spoken to bank?

  • whatgift on 22/05/2023 - 17:22

    From being in these forums for many years, you could pretty much tell an identical story about any electronics manufacturer. I would never base my purchasing decisions on anecdotal experiences from a relatively small number of customers. I'm not suggesting that Samsung is a good company or anything, but it's important to have some perspective on experiences like these. As a public service, it's worth hearing though for sure.

    • Techie4066 on 22/05/2023 - 18:22
      +4

      In that case, you might want to actually look at the data by reviewing NSW Fair Trading's complaint database and ACCC reports. You'll find one name features very well in those datasets.

      • ozbs25 on 22/05/2023 - 18:36
        +2

        They also sell a lot of products. I don't have the numbers for NSW but they sell the most phones worldwide as well as the most TVs by far.

        • Techie4066 on 22/05/2023 - 18:45
          +2

          That doesn't explain Samsung's massive overrepresentation in the NSW Fair Trading data, which doesn't lie. Sony Australia has received 10 complaints total in the last 2 years, vs Samsung's 866 complaints. That's over 1 a day from people who can be bothered to lodge a complaint and don't proceed straight to NCAT.

      • [Deactivated] on 23/05/2023 - 10:41
        +2

        The details validate everything OP says. What is going on at Samsung @Sydney Olympic Park? They racked up 843 complaints. Cannot refute this hard data.

        Thanks for the link. Never knew this information existed.

  • Vancomycin 1000mg on 22/05/2023 - 17:25
    +5

    Same here,

    Bought a soundbar in January 15th, never shipped, only lies and would never give you striaght answers. Every phone call would just go round and round. Never once there was a resolution. They lied to me saying that product is out of stock and they would give me some thing equivalent or higher. This never happened. They ended up cancelling my order.

    I finally got refund a two weeks ago.

    Oh and also we have a massive samsung product in our home.

  • ozbs25 on 22/05/2023 - 18:24

    We bought a Samsung TV in 2011. Died after 2 or 3 years. Went to the retailer who fobbed us off to Samsung. They told us to go back to the retailer. I called up Samsung and brought up ACL. They sent out someone to look at the TV and deemed it unrepairable. They gave us the latest model that matched our TV and we're still using that as our main TV.

  • AwesomeAndrew on 22/05/2023 - 18:42
    +1

    I've had a good experience with Samsung so far. I have a Galaxy Watch 4 which developed a fault after about a year where the watch band would fall off randomly. So I took it to the Samsung express mobile service point at Harvey Norman, and it was repaired within 5 days under warranty.

    • trippy87 on 23/05/2023 - 02:00

      it seems to be an issue with av/audio and buying from samsung directly. id just stay away, not a fan of russian roulette.

  • sp3ctr41 on 22/05/2023 - 19:48
    +1

    Sharing my good experience with Samsung. My S21 Ultra developed a dead pixel issue near the centre of the screen after 2.5 years (out of warranty). Called them up, they took it and replaced the screen and the battery, all free of charge and within 3 days of giving them the device. Excellent warranty.

    • trippy87 on 23/05/2023 - 01:59

      they seem to support phones and phone related accessories well. The bigger ticket items not so much. I think its cause phones are smaller and you can literally take these devices to a store to complain but you cant do this with a 75 inch tv or a soundbar with a sub and satellites

  • USER DC on 22/05/2023 - 20:11
    +1

    I got similar experience, samsung online directly is just straight up $hit and literally goes against consumer laws.

  • ribze1 on 22/05/2023 - 21:22

    Ok i know the problem, you spent alot of money to watch one of the most boring sports in the world.

  • echelon6 on 22/05/2023 - 22:19

    Yeah Samsung fked me over on a TV. Lasted 5 years. Too long for any warranty, too short to be reasonable. Currently loving my hisense

  • Shane34 on 22/05/2023 - 22:45
    +1

    They can be beaten. They play hard ball. But they do relent if you harrass them enough. About 15 years ago they pulled a similar scam on me. I got all the fax numbers, including the execs and bombarded them with derogatory faxes for weeks. Ended up getting a call from close to the top of command in Australia, and a refund 😄

    • trippy87 on 23/05/2023 - 02:01

      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.

      • Ash-Say on 23/05/2023 - 06:57
        +1

        ACCC don't act on individual complaints so don't waste your time.

        • jerjergege on 23/05/2023 - 07:47
          -1

          Yes they do.
          Scorptec kept saying to use their website to do an RMA, on their website RMA form it didn't have the product I had because it was discontinued however my product had a 5 year manufacturers warranty.

          After an ACCC complaint, they call me back within 2 business days, after 14 business days that the ACCC takes to look at your case.

          Web form ID: accc-report:XXXXXX

          Thank you for your report. We appreciate you taking the time to write to us.

          Responses will usually be provided within 15 business days.

          We will respond to you where we have information that may help you, or you have asked a question about your rights or obligations under the law. If this is > not the case, you may not receive a response.

          Our website provides information about your rights as a consumer and how to resolve a dispute about a product or service. See:

          www.accc.gov.au/consumers

          You can also see our website for information about what we can and can’t do for consumers and the types of matters we prioritise.

          • Ash-Say on 23/05/2023 - 07:58
            +2

            @jerjergege: At the end of 15 business days, they will just say that we have made a note of your complaint but won't take any further action.

            Talking from a personal experiences when I raised 2 different matters. I don't bother going to them now.

          • Techie4066 on 23/05/2023 - 11:17

            @jerjergege: All you did was made a report upon which they may provide you with general advice pertaining to consumer rights on how to proceed. They'll direct you to your relevant state Fair Trading office or small claims court, just as their website does. Those reports help the ACCC (our competition regulator) formulate policy or monitor businesses, and that's about it. Anything else is outside the scope of their legislated role.

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