My sister who had been using an iphone which lasted for 6 years and was also sold for Rs 8000 before she upgraded to a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G 128 GB on 04th November 2021.
I was always against her buying this phone as i did not think it would last as long as an iphone or any other regular phone but she said that its a really good phone and got it.
The phone started acting up in June 2022 and would only work when it would connected to a power source and the screen was also getting delaminated around the area where it folds.
She took it to the authorized service center in Ville Parle Prime Mall where the engineer told her that since it was physically damaged it wouldn't be covered under warranty and that there was a huge dent on the hinges whereas there were only minor superficial scratched on the phone which is a normal thing since it is handheld phone device not something you keep a safe that it wont have minor scratches.
She kept following up with Samsung over emails and but they did not pay any heed just sent automated replies on mail no action was taken.
All this while i wasn't aware of this and she did not even tell me about it as i had opposed her buying that phone as i had a feeling that its not a great phone because of the folding technology.
She was using the phone for 5-6 months after june 2022 with it always connected to a power source since Samsung never gave her any support with the warranty.
Just Imagine buying a phone with an MRP of Rs 95, 999 and not being able use it while you are travelling by public transport or out and about as it will always be required to be connected to a power source, otherwise you have to carry a bulky power bank four times the size of your phone just to be able to use your phone.
Since Samsung had left her with no option but to carry multiple chargers for wall sockets car chargers and power bank just to keep the phone on otherwise it would not work.
Recently during Diwali time she had gone to a friends party where she got late, we were very worried and her phone stopped working altogether even if she would connect it to a charger or a power bank or the car charger and we could not reach her and everyone got worried and when she came home we found out that her car got punctured and she was stranded couldn't use any apps or calls to get help and which is why she got even more late.
Upon inquiring about why the phone wasn't working she told me the entire episode that Samsung had denied her warranty support.
I got really agitated since this was a major threat to my sisters safety because the phone will not work when needed.
There are many SOS features on the phone but they can only work if the phone works when you are out and about but Samsung required her to be connected to power source 24/7 since June 2022 to be able to use the phone.
i bought her a new phone the next day as she was going out of station for a friends wedding.
I went to shop where she had purchased the Samsung Z Flip Phone from, the shop keeper said that the service center would open after two days due to festival season so i went back after 2 days, the shop keeper sent a person with me to the service center where we waited for about an hour and then that person left as he had other commitments, and they were again giving me stupid reasons like there is physical damage on the phone, whereas there were minor scratches which is normal and there was not a single scratch on the screen except for the delamination which had started happening in June 2022 which is a manufacturing defect in the product as reported by hundreds o[censored]sers I came across online facing similar issues.
Upon trying to reason with manager and a few hours of talking on the customer care helpline no[protected] about the warranty and the hardship faced by my sister finally the person Mr Pravin who was very considerate and he said that the ASM i.e. Area Service Manager would contact me within 24 hours as they had some protocol that he couldnt contact me right away. Finally the service center manager took the phone submission said maybe if you had come earlier then this problem would be solved in June 2020 itself he was hinting that maybe because she is a girl she wasn't very effective in getting things done, which is very sad as she had tried really hard but they didn't give her any support in fact this phone is a security problem for her as it wont work when needed.
After that i went back to the shop where we bought it from and the shop owner called someone in Samsung and requested them to also do the needful and ask the ASM to call ASAP, the shop keeper tried his best had even sent a person with me to the service center but the service center manager said that Samsung has rejected he cant do anything.
I got no call in 48 Hours also from the ASM so then i decided to call the Samsung Helpline again which my sister also had done but this time they escalated the case to Head Office and later on after a day or two i got a call from one person from the HO who was also not ready to listen had passed a judgement already that the phone is dented and will not be covered under warranty whereas the phone has few minor scratches which is a very normal thing since its a hand held device.
He also said that my sister when she had entered the service center in June 2022 she had connected the phone to a power bank which is not right but then if the phone isn't working what do they expect and i was shocked that they got that minute detail about her visit to the service center in June 2022 but they did not resolve the problem.
Then Later on i got a mail from the same person asking for the bill of the phone which must be updated in their system but yet they asked me for it i sent it over and i also found multiple similar posts on this website where they have denied warranty to customers of the so called premium phone and only after long term time wastage they have given solutions and there is not a single girl or woman whose complaint has been resolved.
In a time when we are talking about equality and UN SDGs this is how a Huge Electronics Brand is treats its customers.
I want them to give my sister a solution in the form of a working phone and Extended Replacement Warranty/Guarantee of at least 2 years along with a hardship compensation as she had suffered for 6 months because of Samsung's Negligence.
over the calls they kept saying again and again that they would not give any free of cost warranty whereas warranty is something which the manufacturer gives and is a defect liability period wherein if any problem arises its covered and my sister has suffered since 6 months despite having bought such an expensive so called premium product of Samsung.
First three pictures attached are of the phone submited by service center to Samsung in June 2022.
The Video is when the Service Center manager was removing the scratch guard in OCT 2022 which they had told her in JUNE was a part of the screen itself.
The last four pictures are the ones which have been taken by the manager to be submitted to Samsung.
Request you to do the needful and make sure the flip fold users get justice as i see many many people who are being harassed by Samsung.
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