Samsung Galaxy A5

[Anonymous]

Last Friday morning I turned my phone on but noticed the screen was not displaying properly and there was a crack on the screen.  

I contacted 02 customer services explaining circumstances and in no way had I damaged it myself (took photos for evidence proving no physical evidence of damage to phone) and arranged for phone to be sent to repair centre. I was also told that the phone had a twelve month warranty in which I purchased handset in April 2015.

I had to pay for tracked service as 02 free delivery postage not tracked so wanted to ensure it arrived safely.

Anyway got an e-mail today from  o2 mycare telling me that unfortunately the handset is deemed out of warranty due to CRACKED LCD SCREEN ? And that it would cost me £85.99 for a full repair.

There was no proof or explanation of any sort what caused it but I am aware that there have been issues regarding this make and model regarding problems with the screen.

I today contacted customer services asking for details and what evidence they have to back-up their findings but none could be given and spent nearly an hour trying to explain that if I had damaged it myself, I would have not wasted my time sending it back and taken it somewhere local for repair as I have no insurance.

I then got passed to Samsung who said that they could not help me as o2 repair centre have my mobile handset.

I feel pretty upset with the customer services provided and wanted to know if the matter could be taken further or what Consumer rights I have to avoid the additional expense ? Has anyone else encountered a similar problem with this type of phone and what was the outcome ?

A very un-happy customer. 

[MI5]

Unless you can find evidence of thousands of other customers with the same "mystery" crack, you will never win this argument, I'm afraid.

[Anonymous]

brilliant so basically there was no evidence of water or accidental damage yet they can state that it's deemed out of warranty without a detailed explanation ! Great customer service that is and so warranty is pretty worthless if outside 14 days returns / refund period.

Has anyone ever escalated a complaint ?

[jonsie · Accepted solution]

Samsung would have to accept that it's a common problem before they would replace as part of a warranty claim. I can only suggest you get the phone returned to you and send it to Samsung for inspection and a decision. Other than that you will need to pay I'm afraid.

[jonsie]

You can email a complaint to the address in this link.  How to complain

[Anonymous]

Thanks jonsie for your time in reply.

Thought as much but have nothing to lose in sending it to Samsung in which I wish I had done in the first place.

But no doubt they will just say the same most probably.

Cheers for the link.

Hurlock 

[MI5]

We would have advised you went to Samsung in the first place rather than O2 but in this case I can't see them saying any different.
It's not normal for screens to just break without any reason.

[Anonymous]

Thanks MI5 for your comments.

Yes all hindsight but may still do that anyway as I believe o2 repairs are not up to much by all accounts.

So you are saying that there are never any manufacturer faults with any phones ? Seems strange that on reading various reviews regarding this type of phone it seems that this fault has occured on numerous occasions. But like you said probably not enough for o2 / Samsung to admit that it's due to a manufacturers fault so us customers just have to live with it.

[MI5]

In all honesty, the only manufacturer that has ever acknowledged an issue of this type was Sony with the Z2.
There were some reports of Galaxy S4's cracking for no reason but it wasn't a widespread issue and Samsung never admitted to any manufacturing faults.
I'm not suggesting it could never happen but it would be extremely rare and the pressure on the screen from the frame would be immense.

[Anonymous]

Thanks MI5 for your further comments.

Well just received the following up-date from o2 repair centre:-

Good Afternoon

Thank you for your reply.

We are sorry you are disappointed by this outcome.

When handsets are sent for repair, all manufacturers request accredited
repair centres to conduct an inspection of the device to ensure it is
within warranty condition. This is part of the manufacturers warranty
terms and conditions and must be done prior to any fault diagnosis being
carried out.
Due to this all certified engineers must look for any of the following
signs before conducting any repair:

• A non-approved repair centre has opened the phone.
• The mobile phone has been damaged.
• The mobile phone has been used incorrectly.
• Liquid contamination is diagnosed on the device.
• The IMEI sticker is damaged, removed or torn.
• Warranty period has expired.

Please note the above list is not exhaustive.

In the case of your handset, the OCTA LCD Panel has been cracked. This
component is internal to the device and is usually the result of
excessive pressure, twisting or bending being applied to the handset,
which to the naked eye can look fine, however on the inside it has
caused the failure of the aforementioned component.

As Samsung consider that damage has been diagnosed to the device, the
warranty they offer is now void.
In order for any faults to be inspected, the damage would require to be
repaired first of all, this action would in turn restore the warranty
allowing for all reported faults to be investigated and resolved.

Unfortunately O2 has no jurisdiction over these terms of warranty, if
damage is diagnosed on any of our customers devices, they will all each
be contacted with similar quotations for repair or replacement.

Please reply if you would like to proceed or request return of the
device un-repaired.

Kind regards,

O2 Return & Repairs

Not too sure about their explanation, suggesting that I have been throwing the phone about perhaps yet no mention of any signs of damage to the casing of the phone etc.

Would one just accept it or perhaps seek a second opinion ?

By the way I spoke to Samsung technical services / repairs and they said that they could not comment without actually seeing the handset.