Samsung 'Borrowing' Money

[Clubhouse]

I'm in the upgrade programme (my error) and on launch day I ordered the S21 Ultra in Phantom Titanium which I was told would take 4-6 weeks to 'personalise'. I thought this was worth the wait so I placed my order. On 19th Jan I received two emails from Klarna informing me that I would be making a monthly payment for my old handset AND a monthly payment for my new handset (what?). I called Klarna and was assured that all was well and this wouldn't happen. Fast forward to 2nd Feb, two more emails from Klarna telling me that both payments would come out of my account on 5th Feb. I called Klarna again who told me that the original information I'd been given was wrong and that they can't do anything and I'll need to speak to Samsung. I called Samsung and they said they would look into it and get back to me in two days, which they didn't. I called them again yesterday as sure enough they've taken two payments. The adviser I spoke to said the money had been taken twice because I hadn't returned my old handset! I tried explaining the situation again and she went back and forth to her 'internal team' (?) and she kept saying I'll get the money back when I send in the phone. I escalated it to a complaint and received an email this morning, thanking me for my 'cooperation and understanding' but telling me that they CANNOT do anything to rectify the situation until I return the handset. How can Samsung expect customer loyalty when they are charging members for a contract that has yet to be fulfilled? They're not a small company and they must have known this was going to happen so why place the financial burden on the customer?

[Attaz]

You need to keep at them cause in no way can they be charging you for both especially if you haven't received the new handset?? Your paying for something that you don't have, until you receive the phone you shouldn't be paying I would advise you to keep at them and be very stern.

[Clubhouse]

I've sent a blunt response to them saying that I don't accept their terms and I want an immediate refund. The adviser I spoke to yesterday was polite but she kept on repeating that I needed to return my current handset before the contract would cease. I get that but surely my new contract won't start until I've actually received my new phone? It's completely unfair as I'm supplementing both contracts despite only having the one handset. Samsung are shocking at sorting things like this out and I can't be the only customer that they're double charging ...

[Chrismartin1992]

Sounds like they haven't thought through a good process for individuals using the upgrade program, that at least keeps buyers informed about what happens.

I can understand the payment needed for the old phone until its returned, as presumably this would just be settled at the point of trading in your previous phone. But you'd expect them not to take payment yet for the new phone.

I guess all in all, you'll have just ended up for the S21 a month earlier? Surely/hopefully this will just work itself out at the end. 👍

[Clubhouse]

I guess it depends on which way you look at it. There's no advantage to me at all in paying an extra month up front as the upgrade date in the future will be the same as will the trade in value. A contract shouldn't become effective until the goods have been delivered, which they clearly haven't. I've read some reviews on here about the S21 Ultra not being all that so maybe I'll just cancel the upgrade and stick with what I've got. The last two incarnations of the Galaxy S series have been a bit meh so I'm probably not missing anything.

[Chrismartin1992]

Got to be honest I don't know exactly how the upgrade program works. Presumably its just a glorified HP agreement where your trade in at the end pays off the balance remaining. Do they say at all how they settle up at the end? I.e. if you've got less to pay to clear than your phones trade in is worth, do they give you a refund/credit towards your new device?

Agreed about paying in advance on the S21, hence my comments suggesting they've not thought it through properly with those exclusive colours! I purchased my S21 Ultra in Navy using Klarna too (which I am yet to receive) and have paid the initial 10% and an 1 months installment so far. I'm not fussed about this personally as I'm not on the upgrade program.

Also agree with you r.e. the phone not being all that. Some of the recent reported issues aren't great!

[JimmyBawa]

Had the same issue. On all my previous upgrades I had the new phone for at least couple of weeks before payment was made but due to the special colours this time I paid before the phone was delivered. KLARNA said there is nothing they can do as its their terms. But received an email last week to say the payment for my old phone is on hold but they wnet and charged me anyways! So not I have to contact them and try to claim it back. To be honest the issue is KLARNA's but they are just throwing everything back at Samsung to say its delivery delay issue. I did contact Samsung and they were nice enough to listen and escalated the issue to Klarna for me but I'm not holding my breathe. End of the day Klarna is a financial company and all they are bothered with is you making the monthly payments. The problem is if you just cancel you DD or stop the payment they just go and mark it as a missed payment which will just kill your credit file!

[Clubhouse]

It sounds like you got a bit further than me but with the same result. When I spoke to Klarna initially to explain the situation they told me to speak to Samsung to arrange for the phone to be delivered quicker! I'm sure that this must be a contractual issue as both payments have been made from the same DD with the same payment reference. This has cost me close to £70 this month and from what I can tell each company just wants to hide behind the other and neither wants to help.

[JimmyBawa]

Nah but this is Klarna issue not Samsung. So you just need to file a complaint with Klarna and you will sort it. I know its waste of time but it needs to be done. Samsung was kind enough to offer me vouchers for the inconvenience for something that was not their fault. So needless to say I took it. I have also been charged for my new and old phone this month but I'm sure it will be refunded once the complaint is dealt with. Had similar issue couple of years ago on my S10 upgrade!

[Clubhouse]

Complaints have already been lodged with both. One way or another they'll have to sort it out but it's a matter of principle as much as anything else. Klarna say speak to Samsung and Samsung say to speak to Klarna. The Vodafone trade-in guarantee offers the same terms as the upgrade programme (new phone every 12 months) with lower upfront charges. If I don't decide to cancel I definitely won't be bothering with this next year.