Galaxy Z flip 2

[NHel]

Hello,

I bought a Samsung Z Flip 2 on a 36 month plan about two years ago. The screen has broken, entirely of its own volition, and was sent off by O2 for assessment and repair. They have told me that this is not covered by the manufacturer's warranty and so i am going to have to pay to have this fixed.

This is ridiculous.  It's a known fault with the phone, the guy in the O2 store who sent it off agreed that there were absolutely zero signs of damage, and i'm not sure i want to pay to have it repaired. Nor do i want to pay nearly £700 over the next 14 months for a phone that is broken. 

What can i do?

[Bambino]

@NHel If the phone is more than 2 years old it's not covered under any warranty: What is the warranty status of my Samsung mobile device? | Samsung UK

There is a link to contact Samsung support in the link above.

You can either pay O2 to have it fixed or find a reputable High Street shop.

[NHel]

It's just under 2 years old - i brought i in March 2020.

[madasaf1sh]

@NHel 

If a technician at the repair centre (its the same one Samsung Direct Use), says it is not a warranty issue and is user damage then that is what it is, and there could be damage that you can't see and to be honest the staff in the shop are not trained engineers. 

Check your household insurance or bank to see if you are covered for the repair, i did this with my Galaxy fold after been told by Samsung £500 to repair the screen, insurance £75

Unfortunately you have to keep paying for the handset as o2 will go on what the tech said at Samsung's Authorised repair centre

[NHel]

I'm not going to just bow down to the O2 tech people, though. 

I was told that i am will need to pay for the repair via text message, with the only explanation being 'unfortunately this does not fall under the manufacturer's warranty'. That's not really good enough, and i would have expected to receive an actual report by email or something.

Either way, the phone was cared for and the damage was most certainly not caused by me. I'm not going to continue paying for it, and will instead speak with the ombudsman.

[madasaf1sh]

@NHel 

So you ignore what a qualified technician who is certified by Samsung has to say about a device. 

 Ask for the phone back and it will include the full report, mine did from Samsung. 

Go direct to Samsung in that case, and see what they have to say. 

Just remember the phone records lots of information in its sensors. 

Can you prove that you haven't done something to damage the phone... Trust me I have seen all the lies people tell with tech, "it just stopped working" and you find out they have dropped it or slammed the laptop shut or the phone fell out of there pocket. 

The ombudsman will do absolutely SFA about this, as a qualified person has deemed it out of warranty..  Also the CIDAR service will only deal if you have been down the full complaints process. 

Don't pay for it, and see what happens, o2 will block the handset and your number and will start going down the debt collector route, and will destroy your credit file. 

[NHel]

It's both sad and amusing to me that you explain this as if it's in any way reasonable. Part of the problem is that i haven't heard what a 'qualified technician' has to say - their report is not made known to you when O2 demand that you accept their quote within 3 days. 

Being asked to pay £557 without any sort of actual explanation is clearly not alright.

I am 100 percent happy for them to use whatever information the phone has secretly picked up to determine whether or not i am at fault... because i'm not. It just... stopped... working, and i am very confident of demonstrating this.

It is the only phone i have ever owned that i have truly cared for. I even bought a case, which i normally view as a sign of weakness. I opened the thing up, and the screen just turned black with a neon pink line down it, and a few green specks. It was working perfectly the previous time i unfolded it. 

I hadn't taken it for a swim, or used it as a cricket ball, or accidentally slipped while holding a drill on it in the dozen minutes or so between openings. 

The full complaints process has already begun. 

[Bambino]

@NHel If you've begun the process of making a formal complaint there isn't anything anyone here can advise you to do. The ombudsman won't hear your case, if you choose to go that route, until all the complaint processes within O2 have been made. If, in the meanwhile, you withhold your payment for your contract, as said previously, you will find yourself in credit file trouble. O2 are ruthless when it comes to non-payment, but it's your choice as to how you proceed. Good luck. Hope you get this resolved.

[NHel]

I suppose i'll continue to pay my monthly airtime and device bills until it gets resolved; i'm not unreasonable. 

I will be expecting to be refunded any money i pay O2 from this point on however. I've already moved onto the Pixel 6 with Vodafone. 

Didn't bother with insurance, as i don't need it because i take care of my things, and the only phone i've owned that has had any sort of malfunction is the one with known screen issues. 

I eagerly await the report, and hope it's true that they send it as standard when returning the phone. 

[Bambino]

@NHel You may have insurance and not be aware of it. If you have homeowner's contents insurance many policies cover mobiles, and many banks cover mobiles as well. Worth a few minutes of your time to look into whether you're covered.