From today's "Guardian" newspaper (UK):
<< In February I bought a Samsung Galaxy Book 360 convertible laptop from Currys and paid £1,279.
After a couple of months, while sitting on a table overnight, it developed two hairline cracks across the screen. This device has never been dropped or damaged by me.
Bemused as to how this could happen, I began searching online, only to discover that hundreds of others have apparently reported the same experience.
There are forums on the Samsung website with post after post about people’s screens cracking entirely on their own.
There are people who have bought two devices and it has happened to both, as well as those who have had their laptop repaired or replaced only for it to happen again.
I took the matter up with Currys and Samsung and both have refused to help me. Currys’ complaints team keeps telling me this must be accidental damage and therefore I must pay.
A member of Samsung’s support staff told me that “you can’t believe everything you read on the internet” when referencing all of the posts on the company’s own forum.
I believe these laptops have a serious design fault, and I want a refund. >>
[signed] JB, by email
Guardian response:
<< Having looked at this, it’s hard not to conclude that there is a problem with the Galaxy 360. There are an awful lot of people complaining about the exact same issue.
On that basis, I asked Currys to take a second look into your case and it has now done an about-turn.
It tells me: “We were sorry to hear of the frustrating situation JB faced with his tablet, and are pleased to share that the case has been resolved, with our customer receiving a full refund as well as a goodwill gesture totalling £100.
“We are also feeding back internally to our teams to ensure they are well briefed, and this situation doesn’t recur.”
I also asked Samsung about your letter – and it didn’t really respond to the allegation that its laptop is not all it’s cracked up to be.
It says: “At Samsung we stand by the quality of devices and take customer concerns very seriously. We have investigated JB’s claim and are sorry to hear about his negative experience, but are pleased that this has been brought to a satisfactory conclusion.”
Will that give others the confidence to buy this product? I am not sure it will.
Others take note.
We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to our terms and conditions. >>
