I had a strange experience today, and am interested to know if anyone else has experienced this.
My Flip 4 has developed some small cracks along the fold lines. After looking this up, I figured Samsung would fix this under warranty.
I booked my phone in for service and visited a Samsung store today. However, the team assessed my phone and found a small dint and scratch on the rim of the phone. These are REALLY minor - barely identifiable unless you look really closely. They advised me that because of this damage, my entire warranty was void - even for any defective parts and services.
I questioned this, and was directed to the Assistant Manager on Duty, who said that yes, even though the cracks on the fold line may be a defect and unrelated to the other minor areas of damage, the warranty is void because of these minor areas of damage.
I then said that this doesn't seem right and may breach Australian Consumer Law. He then provided with a warranty card (attached), and told me that the second half of the first paragraph made it clear that ANY defects are not covered under warranty if there has been any wear and tear, accident, misuse, abuse, neglect or rough handling. This is absolutely NOT how I read the warranty card, but he just kept repeating the words "ANY DEFECT".
While in the Samsung store, I heard multiple other people receive the same advice, be prompted to pay for a repair and then accept this. In addition to this, the Assistant Manager told me that Samsung had been telling them to be really vigilant about warranty repairs.
I'm confident that the decision not to repair the phone contravenes the written warranty and my rights under ACL. Otherwise, it would mean that any company could simply very easily write away their obligations if they sell defective products.
Has anyone else experienced this? I'd like to decide whether I escalate this with Samsung alone, or contact ACCC.
[UPDATE - 27th May]
I got a response from Samsung Australia in writing stating that it's policy that "Samsung don't do partial repairs", and this is why any dints or scratches can void your warranty (implying that it's even if damage is unrelated to the defect).
As user @eightimmortals said:
"That's like taking your car back to the dealer because the engine fell out and them refusing to fix it because you had a small scratch on the rear bumper"
It's a clear violation of a right to a remedy if your consumer guarantees are not met under Australian Consumer Law. I'm planning to file this with the ACCC, and encourage anyone who has experienced this to do the same.
Escalate to Samsung online, but I think you’ll get nowhere.