Defective Samsung S23FE

[jessiejanski]

I bought a Samsung S23FE on November 30, 2023. It's been defective since day 1, with a clicking noise whenever I'm on a phone call, apps glitching and not working properly (not functioning properly as well as delayed or completely missing notifications), and very poor camera quality (almost rendering cameras unusable in some situations).

I had talked to Customer Support many times until February 7th when I finally took it to a Samsung Service Center (which I drove an hour each way to make sure I wouldn't be without my phone). It was inspected but I am not happy with the service there. Firstly, my appointment was cancelled after I left which makes it look like I wasn't there, and the form I filled out with required information was not kept as well (I found out because when I later contacted Customer Support, they said there was no proof I had been there). This is poor business practice and borderline illegal, they should not be destroying records. They also gave me fake solutions to try and fix the issues, saying to push a button to fix the camera quality, when no such button existed. Even when she showed me how to do it, she was literally just tapping the screen and there was no button, and the camera quality did not change. They suggested a weak network may be the cause of the clicking, but Rogers checked my network and there were no issues. They also suggested to factory reset my phone but not carry the apps over to fix the apps glitching, which I told them I already did so before going there and it had no effect. This was a waste of two hours of driving.

I turned to Rogers to see if they can do anything since Samsung refused, they made an exception and shipped a replacement Samsung S23FE, which had the same issues as the one I bought, indicating that the model is defective. I had to send that one back and be left with the originally defective phone.

Back to Customer Support, I tell them I still have these issues after the phone was inspected at the Samsung Service Center, they tell me repeatedly to get the phone inspected which I tell them repeatedly it was inspected. They say they don't have proof, even though I show them the photos that were taken when my phone was hooked up by the technician. So I ship the phone to FutureTel, Samsung's repair service. They acknowledge the issue with the camera, completely ignored the other two issues. They say they replaced all the cameras, which they are either lying about or they are just as defective, because the camera quality is still the same, which is almost unusable especially for a phone that is over $1,000. The other two issues were not even addressed. 

I was directed so high in the Samsung Customer Support chain that I got to the CEO Support email, which again just kept repeating to get the phone inspected, when I kept mentioning that it was already inspected TWICE by Samsung technicians. They didn't care, they just kept repeating the same thing over and over again.

I had to launch a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and after detailing what happened, Samsung still kept repeating to get the phone inspected. It was like they weren't even reading my messages and were looking for any way to avoid doing anything about my defective phone. Keep in mind again that even my replacement from Rogers was defective in the same ways. I had originally asked for a replacement, but after receiving a second defective phone and poor customer service, I wanted a refund (which I am legally entitled to under the Consumer Protection Act for a breach of contract). They refused to do anything for 4 months until I was finally offered a Samsung S23, which would be a downgrade because of the smaller screen (which is why I bought this model). Even then, I am entitled to a refund regardless of what else they could offer at this point. It also took 4 months for them to offer an inadequate solution.

Despite Samsung being reminded of their legal obligation, they have still refused my requests for refunds and I am left with either my defective phone, or accepting a phone that is a downgrade. Either way, I should have received a refund and the fact that Samsung has yet to offer me one after 4 months of going back and forth with them is criminal. 

I can see from their Better Business Bureau complaints that in some similar situations, they offered a refund to the customer without a single argument from their side, so I know it is possible. A customer should not have to do this in order to receive what they are legally entitled to. 

I have also launched a complaint under the Consumer Protection Act, where I was advised that the matter should be handled in Small Claims Court. I am hoping to avoid that if I can, but the service that Samsung has provided is completely unacceptable. I would be more than willing to send the defective phone back with the original box and accessories if a refund was processed, and to mark my Better Business Bureau complaint as resolved. 

Update April 13, 2024: My phone has now started glitching more in that the screen is scrolling by itself up and down rapidly, and clicking on things by itself. It happened 3 times today.

[Helenna]

Hi jessiejanski, we feel very sorry to hear about your issue and we certainly understand how frustrating that must be for you. We sincerely apologize for all the inconvenience caused to you.

We kindly request you to provide us the requested information asked in DM( direct message ). We will forward this issue to the higher team for further review. 

Please check the direct message by following the below instructions and reply to us with the requested information.

Log in to the web version of Samsung Members community Canada.

(Link: https://r1.community.samsung.com/t5/community/ct-p/ca-community) and click on the Message icon at the top right (Samsung Members ) > Inbox > Reply to the DM (Direct message).

OR

Viewing your Direct message Inbox from your device. On the Members app go to the Community tab. Click on your profile picture and username. Click on Direct message.