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Rant

Horrendous customer service, even from the CEO's office

Oct 1, 2018 9:43PM PDT

Earlier this month, I contacted Samsung US Support by telephone regarding my Galaxy Tab S2 (8.0, 4G) with the issue of a swollen battery. They took my tablet information, and emailed me a UPS label to ship the tablet to the Samsung Repair Center in New Jersey. Shortly thereafter, I received an email that stated that due to the tablet being an international model, they could not fix it but would be returning it to me without service.

I then contacted eGlobal Central US, where I originally purchased the tablet, and they were of no help either. eGlobal Central US stated that they would not work on an out-of-warranty tablet.

I again contacted Samsung Support, this time by chat, and asked them where I could get this tablet serviced. The Samsung representative told me to take it to my local uBreakiFix. uBreakiFix informed me that they cannot fix this tablet either because it is an international model and that they must abide by Samsung directives as an "Authorized Service Center." Oddly enough, it was the Samsung US Support representative, himself, who told me to go to uBreakiFix, knowing full well that this tablet was an international model.

In my latest attempt to get a new battery for my tablet, I emailed the CEO of Samsung US yesterday to lodge my complaint. One of his assistants called me this morning to tell me that there was nothing that they can do about it, and that I would have to contact the Service Center in Hong Kong.

So, I have since contacted Samsung Support in Hong Kong, and they would like me to take it to one of their repair centers, personally. Yes, you read that right. They want me to fly to Hong Kong to deliver my tablet to them for repair in person. Here is an excerpt from their email for your reading pleasure... "You may kindly bring your tablet in Hong Kong for repair. International devices can have the different specification software and hardware that is not able to be supplied in your living country. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. We suggest you can to bring the invoice and the phone (after back up the data) to the person who will come to Hong Kong and let him/her to visit our service center... To shorten waiting time, we suggest you may go to following website to prebooking appointment..."

I must state here that my Galaxy S7 has also been hit with the swollen battery issue which actually popped the backplate off of the phone. I took it to uBreakiFix for a battery replacement. They almost sent me away because they said that I had taken the phone apart in an attempt to fix it. Then they did not even want to handle it because the representative thought it, "might explode at any minute." They finally decided to fix it, and it cost a whopping $189 for a battery, almost the same amount as the phone is worth today.

I currently have several other Samsung products, including a Galaxy S9 and another larger version of the Tab S2, but I am furious! I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER SAMSUNG DEVICE EVER AGAIN!!! I have already posted this review on several sites today, such a Consumer Affairs, TrustPilot, and the like. I will also be sure to mention this experience to all of my friends and colleagues, and suggest that they pass the word.

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