Note 4 battery issue

[Anonymous]

My Note 4 has just been repaired by an insurance company after it became bent.  They fixed the phone and it looks great but the bent battery wasn't replaced but instead they bent it straight (ish) again.  I am very concerned that this damaged battery may leak or worse but am I being paranoid?

Samsung are not responding to my question but doubtless they are very busy now the Note 7 has gone so horribly wrong.

Thanks all. 

[MI5]

Definitely not safe.
Go back to them for a new battery.

[adamtemp64]

I would contact the insurance company and explain your concern and ask for their  advice as it is their responsibility the issue is resolved to your satisfaction 

[jonsie]

I can't believe anyone would be so irresponsible in straightening a battery and think it safe. It needs to be replaced as soon as possible.. 

[Anonymous]

I started a thread about this a couple of weeks back but I can't seem to find it.  Anyways the plot thickens as they say...

My O2 Galaxy Note 4 got bent recently so I claimed on my insurance and it was sent to a Samsung Approved Repair Centre to get fixed.  The battery had been bent in the accident and it appears to have been straightened rather than replaced and that is my only concern.  As you will read Samsung do not want to hear that one of their approved repair centres could be so stupid and are fobbing me off and burying their heads in the sand at the expense of their customer safety AGAIN.

The reason I believe the battery is the old one and not a replacement are 3 fold.  (1) The repair log that I requested doesn’t list the battery on the schedule of replaced parts.  (2) The battery terminals have polished grooves where they have been rubbing on the connectors for the past 2 years and (3) The battery was only bent on the outer edge bent on the outer edge and obviously in the direction the phone was bent.  The battery is still only bent on the outer edge but this time in the opposite direction.  It is my belief that the repairers overdid it when he straightened the battery.

The repair centre do not want to know and simply state the battery has been changed.  There is clear evidence that it has not been replaced but they are not interested in the problem.

Samsung have been about as unhelpful as you can imagine.  If you go digging on their website you will find very clear advice that says damaged batteries are dangerous, they pose a risk of fire and explosion and you must replace them.  See http://www.samsung.com/uk/support/newsalert/49524.  However, when a customer reaches out to them with safety concerns about a bad repair they go into full fob off and denial mode.  I have heard everything from ‘if the repair centre says the battery is new then it is new’ (how naïve can you be) to it probably is a new battery because they are not all flat when they are made.

It is obvious Samsung are not going to take customer safety seriously until they are forced to so my question is this; on my PC I have a app that tells me about the life of my battery, the charge cycles, the decay, the build date etc. is there such an app for mobile batteries?  If not can the serial number tell us the build date?

Thanks all

Mark

[Cleoriff]

Hi @Anonymous Your previous thread is here.http://community.o2.co.uk/t5/Android-Devices-Samsung-HTC-Sony/Note-4-battery-issue/m-p/1008910

The thread was marked solved as you were advised to contact the insurance until you were happy with the outcome. You obviously aren't ...so you do need to take this up with them again. I doubt there is any app  to do what you want it to do.. I have a Note 4 and never seen one..Maybe @MI5 could confirm?

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the link to the old post, I really must get better at this stuff.

 Sadly it isn't solved but I am sure it will get solved shortly.  My bank is the insurer and to be fair to them they paid the claim and the phone was repaired, are we saying that legally they are liable for any injury or damage cause by the repair because they paid the bill?  That might focus a few minds I am guessing.

[MI5]

I would take to social media or even the press to highlight the negligence - this usually gets people interested .

[Cleoriff]

No I'm not saying the bank are liable at all. I am indicating is that your insurers (bank)  need to sort this out with Samsung. If the claim/repair isn't fixed to your satisfaction then the insurers need to act on your behalf.

However you will need to prove the battery hasn't been changed. Samsung will need to prove it has...

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the response MI5.  Sadly I think you are right and the only way to get this issue addressed may be go public and start a stink.

Samsung have stated that their repair centre would not do such a silly thing and that they did not have any records of their repair centres touching my Note 4.  They basically will not engage now because the matter has been passed to their Public Liability Team.  If it wasn't an approved repair centre then they are not liable in any way, why then I wonder have they shut down and passed it to their Public Liability Team?

The insurers are saying that the repair centre is Samsung approved and name them as SME but without full contact details and have not provide contact details when requested.  Does the name SME mean anything to anyone?  Are they Samsung Approved?

I will leave this until the middle of next week but Samsung and the insurance company are not interested in taking ownership of customer safety so we will just have to see if there are any other groups out there that might like to.