I think it might be time for consumers to take class action against samsung for this phone (?).
My current experience mirrors that of everyone on this thread, and I’m sure there are so many more people out there not speaking up.
I purchased my Samsung ZFlip from JB HiFi (Australia) at the end of April 2022. It had just gone on sale having been superseded by the ZFlip 2however it still carried both full shop and Samsung warranty, on top of the standard Aust. consumer protection rights. It was such a good deal the price was worth a go despite the consumer rumbling of issues. I was hoping i'd get lucky and not experience any, but i was wrong.
2 weeks into my ownership, my phone suddenly started overheating with little use and close whatever app was running at the time, ie. google maps - whilst driving – annoying. The phone would remain on but with a black screen, rendering the phone useless.
Long story short and after much faffing around, my phone was fixed by an authorised Samsung repairer, and I went on my merry way.
Literally 12 months to the day, my phone broke down again. Last week I opened my phone to find a weird opaque-like crease in the fold exactly like that of this original poster - Reynolds88. There was no reason whatsoever to account for it. I treasured and babied my phone. It was pristine. I never banged it, dropped it nor opened and closed it a million times a day. I'm 50+. I'm not addicted to social media, etc., nor on it every 2 seconds. My daily uses are practical: Call. Text. Google. That's it. As such, I was completely perplexed.
I immediately went back to the store of purchase to enquire about repair/replacement and the problem had worsened. Green and pink vertical lines were now visible. To my horror, the bottom half of the screen blackened upon another close and open. My phone was dying fast. The store was very helpful, giving me the option of having them follow it up or go direct with Samsung (like last time - no.thank.you). To my surprise the person did warn me that Samsung would look at it and probably say it was 'user damage' and charge me if repairable. Unbelievable.
I wasn't sure if my phone was fully backed up so i was advised to go home and do so, but it was of no use as I found opening the phone made the visuals deteriorate further.
It's been a week and i've not heard back from Samsung as yet so hopefully no news is good news. I just hope that Samsung does the right thing. However, I won't be holding my breath.
My key takeouts are this:
1) buy the phone from a dealer that has good customer service with faulty items. (my store kindly gave me a loaner phone as i didn't have a spare - Samsung would not do this which was really inconvenient).
2) obtain phone insurance for really expensive phones - particularly ones like this that have issues.
3) don’t waste a moment and do a back up on your phone as soon as you see the crease/crack. The screen will die, fast. It’s just a matter of time.
4) share your gripes. As already mentioned, if Samsung continue to dodge their responsibility, then a class action should be filed against them to make them accountable.
Now, some food for though…In Aust, we are protected by the Competition & Consumer Act (2010) (which superseded the Commonwealth Trade Practices Act 1974 for those of you who studied consumer law circa 2000 like me). Warranties mean nothing if a product as a whole, is not of reasonable working order, does not do what it was meant to, and does not last a reasonable amount of time after purchase. Tech should reasonable last about 5 years. Even if Samsung says that the phone was broken because of ‘user damage’, one must look at the structural integrity of the phone itself and question how it could so easily be damaged by users so early on in the phone’s life. ? ? ?
