Hoping you guys can help me out... I purchased a Galaxy Z Fold 3 in February this year and about a month later the inner screen glitched out as I was watching a movie, and has been black ever since, I could not send it off to get fixed straight away as I use this as a life-saving medical device and it is mandatory for my week on week off job.
I took it to Optus who said it would cost me a fortune to fix as I had a small crack on the front screen, however, I contacted Samsung and explained the whole situation and he said to send it off because the Tech would be able to tell if it is not working due to the damage on the front screen or a hardware fault
So I sent it to tecworks banyo who sent me a text and quoted me $1,195 to fix it, I replied asking to E-mail me a detailed description of the issue as all I cared about was the faulty inner screen (that is in perfect condition as it's pretty much never been used)
I got no reply, I tried to get onto their website which came up with an o0do error and that was as far as I could get tried many times and couldn't access the site...
Then without any reply to my communication from tecworks, I received my phone in the same condition with an estimated quote of $1,195 claiming that it was sent back because they had no response in 7 days.....
The quote was to replace the
Damaged front OCTA
Damaged Back Glass
"due to signs of being dropped whilst in a folded state and has damaged the ultra-thin glass and has spread along the crease"
They have not mentioned anything about the only issue I sent it in for the faulty inner screen, which is covered by warranty for just under the next 5 years.
I could care less about the front and back screen, to be honest, it still works fine so why would I pay $1200 to make it look pretty?
So my question is
What are my options? and what would you suggest I do?
Keeping in mind I need this phone to be repaired as soon as possible as I use it as a life-saving medical device
Would you contact the telecommunications ombudsman?
Is there a way to choose a different authorized repairer to have it sent to or does it automatically book it to the closest location?
Sadly Samsung service is poor, except fot SamsungLaura's efforts to help. Certainly contact the Ombudsman (note they require evidence that you have tried to resolve). Suggest your device is "not fit for purpose".
Thanks, Troubadour, I did as you said... And it has been another 3 months and I'm still no better off, and my phone is still an expensive paperweight I contacted the department of justice and fair trading, took a long time to get the ball rolling but they finally got back to me and said they would be taking my case to into resolution with Samsung, then another long wait for until finally, a senior resolution officer from the service department advised me to send it back to the same service center that i sent it to and organize the repair, so I sent it to them and they had no idea never heard anything about it, so I explained the whole situation and that I would get the resolutions officer from fair trading to contact Samsung and find out what's going on, and this resolutions guys from Samsung has just gone dark......
I have been in constant contact with the guy from the department of justice & fair trading who is mediating these talks..... and since the 5th of October, he hasn't had a reply to any of his emails, texts, or calls........ Just nothing...... so the service center has yet again returned this useless faulty phone and finding any resolution is back in limbo.........
What would you suggest i do moving forward?
He suggested rather than wait for him to get a response I should contact QCAT and proceed with legal action in case that is quicker?
Legal action costs so you might not want to do that, up to you. Check up on whether the ACCC can help, check if there is a Small Claims Tribunal in your State. If your contact with Samsung is oral, try
Sorry, continuing, try emailing Samsung with Dept of Justice reference quoted. Even try to get your local MP to write to them (make sure to give them a clear case and info on their email/postal address). I haven't recommended this before but look up Samsung headquarters in Korea, find the correct area to write to, and copy to Samsung Australia. I see Samsung ads in Facebook, if you find any of these put your case in the comments section of the post.It is hard to find but look for senior Samsung staff in Australia and if you find several, the more the merrier, write to all of them. Prepare a press release outlining all the facts, avoiding any opinions to avoid libel claims and send to as many as you can find and copy Samsung Australia into your emails.
