Samsung damaged my phone

oeb

Good morning,
I recently sent my Samsung Galaxy S7 edge in for a warranty repair (There was vertical pink lines appearing down the screen, which is apparently a not uncommon issue). There was no other damage to the phone.

After a few weeks of faffing about (Them not collecting it at arranged dates) their courier (Nightline) eventually arrived (on a non scheduled date) to pickup the phone. I popped out the simcard and gave him the device. Two days later, Samsungs Dublin repair agents (SBE) sent me an quote for €250 due to damage that invalidated the warranty. When I asked them for evidence of what damage they were talking about (As I mentioned, the phone was undamaged) they sent me a photo where it appears that the glass over the camera lens has been smashed.

They are refusing to repair the damage either Samsung, or someone operating on their behalf (Nightline or SBE) has caused to my device. Is small claims court my only option?

Thanks

L1011

SBE damaged a handset of mine also. Small claims against the network (as retailer, who told me to use SBE), who never turned up solved that one.

oeb

L1011 wrote: »

SBE damaged a handset of mine also. Small claims against the network (as retailer, who told me to use SBE), who never turned up solved that one.

It was all arranged with Samsung on my side, I only know it was SBE as they were the ones who emailed be the quote. I guess Samsung is who I have to name so.

oeb

I have never made a small claims before. Do I claim for the damage that SBE or their courier caused to my phone (They quoted €259.35 to fix it, and I'm unsure if that includes fixing the original warranty issue that it was sent in for), or do I claim for the cost of replacing the phone with a like replacement? Will they even fix the phone if I have to go to court for damages?

njs030

You'll need to pay for the repair and then claim it back in the scc.

They aren't charging you for the warranty repair they are charging you for the physical damage which probably happened in transit but they don't know that anymore than you do.

If you don't pay for it they won't do it.

oeb

notjustsweet wrote: »

You'll need to pay for the repair and then claim it back in the scc.

They aren't charging you for the warranty repair they are charging you for the physical damage which probably happened in transit but they don't know that anymore than you do.

If you don't pay for it they won't do it.

I can't afford the €260 to get them to repair the damage that they caused. It's pretty clear judging by the photos they sent that the damage was occurred in transit or on recipt, there is plenty of loose glass in the lens etc.

njs030

oeb wrote: »

I can't afford the €260 to get them to repair the damage that they caused. It's pretty clear judging by the photos they sent that the damage was occurred in transit or on recipt, there is plenty of loose glass in the lens etc.

Who arranged the repair? It's better when its done through the shop you buy the phone from because they check the condition of the phone when it's handed to them and sign a form saying there's no obvious physical damage which avoids problems like this.
Plus they wrap phones properly and carefully to avoid any damage... Acres of bubble wrap!

Unfortunately in situations like this you're saying it wasn't damaged and they are saying it was.
The eventual thing to do is make a case with the scc and they will decide what to do, they can then order a repair to be done if they deem it was damaged in transit/on receipt.
If it's very obvious then you'll win but it could take a while unfortunately.

I suggest sending a registered letter (to whoever you arranged the repair with) stating your intention to take a case to the scc and giving them 7 days to fix the phone might be worthwhile as the scc expects you to try and sort problems out yourself first.

oeb

notjustsweet wrote: »

Who arranged the repair? It's better when its done through the shop you buy the phone from because they check the condition of the phone when it's handed to them and sign a form saying there's no obvious physical damage which avoids problems like this.
Plus they wrap phones properly and carefully to avoid any damage... Acres of bubble wrap!

Unfortunately in situations like this you're saying it wasn't damaged and they are saying it was.
The eventual thing to do is make a case with the scc and they will decide what to do, they can then order a repair to be done if they deem it was damaged in transit/on receipt.
If it's very obvious then you'll win but it could take a while unfortunately.

I suggest sending a registered letter (to whoever you arranged the repair with) stating your intention to take a case to the scc and giving them 7 days to fix the phone might be worthwhile as the scc expects you to try and sort problems out yourself first.

I have had the phone about 18 months, so the warranty issue was arrange direct with Samsung Ireland.

I will try the registered letter route, I doubt I will get very far though, as I have repeatedly tried appealing to both SBE and Samsung. They are saying that it was my responsibility to ensure that the phone was packed securely, but it was packed by the courier. Any time I or my friends have returned devices like this, packaging has been provided to the courier by the phone company. (I have personally had a warranty repair by apple, and both a colleague here and a friend in the UK have returned Samsung devices in this manner.)

njs030

oeb wrote: »

I have had the phone about 18 months, so the warranty issue was arrange direct with Samsung Ireland.

I will try the registered letter route, I doubt I will get very far though, as I have repeatedly tried appealing to both SBE and Samsung. They are saying that it was my responsibility to ensure that the phone was packed securely, but it was packed by the courier. Any time I or my friends have returned devices like this, packaging has been provided to the courier by the phone company. (I have personally had a warranty repair by apple, and both a colleague here and a friend in the UK have returned Samsung devices in this manner.)

Your contract is with the retailer not the phone company. While you can arrange repairs directly with them you don't have to.

Were you told the courier would arrange packaging? If not then yes its your responsibility to safely package your phone and ensure it's not in danger of being damaged.
When I've wrapped phones (and I've wrapped hundreds!) I'd wrap them in bubble wrap until they are almost invisible, another few layers the opposite way and then into a small box and firmly packed with newspaper to hold them stable. They do break easily.

The courier possible did you a "favour" when they turned up and you weren't ready but it looks a little like you expect Samsung to take responsibility for the couriers actions and they expect you to... Perhaps the people you need to contact are the couriers then.

TerrorFirmer

You just handed over the naked phone to the courier? That is a bit bizarre, I'm surprised he even took it. Sometimes companies will provide packing before collection, but I have never, or even heard of, someone just handing over a bare item to a courier. Courier's are bad enough when items are packaged as they should be - surprised the phone wasn't broken in half if just handed over like that!

I think you may be out of luck on this one if that's what happened.