I'm left to leave this complaint here as its impossible to speak to these people and impossible to get any help.
Good luck to anyway who incurs this madness at Samsung.
RE:Customer Complaint
Store: Currys Bolton / Branch 2317
Product: Samsung Washing Machine WW90T684D /LHS1£5.99
Date of purchase: 22/10/23
Operator selling product: Mohammed
Cost: £1491.82
Care Plan £135 + £103.50 / £60 Paid at the till.
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to raise a formal complaint regarding the purchase of a Samsung Washing Machine (Model: WW90T684D/LHS1£5.99) from Currys PC World, Bolton Branch 2317, on 22/10/23. This purchase, totalling £1491.82, includes a Care Plan costing £135 and an additional £103.50 paid at the till.
My complaint pertains to the following issues, which have transpired during my interactions with both Samsung and Currys PC World. These issues are concerning and may potentially breach UK Consumer Law and Disability Discrimination Consumer Law.
Product Defect - Samsung:
On 7th September 2023, the washing machine malfunctioned when the drum paddle detached during a wash cycle, causing a metal wire to dislodge, subsequently causing damage and ripping a whole to the door seal. I want to emphasise that this issue occurred during a regular washing cycle, specifically a half-load of children's summer clothing. I assure you that I have not tampered with or caused any damage to the machine. I am not at fault.
Care Plan Ineffectiveness - Currys:
The Care Plan, which I purchased alongside the washing machine, has proven to be ineffective. It does not cover the repair or replacement of the machine within the first 12 months of purchase, despite being advertised as a safeguard against such issues. This is instead passed to the manufactor who does not repair machines if they have become damaged due to a faulty product.
Accessibility Policy Request - Samsung:
On 8th September, I requested Samsung's accessibility policy for individuals with hearing impairments. Given my hearing impairment, I believe it is my right to receive reasonable accommodations under disability laws. Regrettably, Samsung has repeatedly failed to provide me with this information despite repeated requests.
Poor Customer Service - Samsung:
On various occasions, as documented in the provided timeline, I encountered appalling customer service from Samsung's technical support team. During a few phone calls, I struggled to understand the representative due to a thick accent and requested that he speak slower and more clearly. The calls aways seem to be muffled and robotic as if people read from set scripts with set answers. They seem to repeatedly just blatantly ignore your questions if it deviates from the script responses. Despite my hearing difficulties and numerous requests, the representatives failed to accommodate my condition and even redirected me back to the Currys store.
Unresolved Issues - Samsung:
Despite my persistent efforts to seek assistance, my issue remains unresolved, leading to significant inconvenience, lost workdays, and financial burden.
Inadequate Customer Service - Currys:
When seeking assistance from Currys PC World, I received inadequate support and conflicting information. Samsung directed me to Currys, but the local store was unable to help. It is deeply disappointing that the staff failed to communicate crucial information regarding the poorness of the manufacturer's guarantee within the first year of purchase when buying a Care Plan. Despite the acting managing admitting he was fully aware of Samsung's response. I am not the only costumer the store has had with this issue with the paddle and Samsung refusing to help.
Lack of Communication - Currys:
My attempts to escalate the issue with Currys customer care were met with unhelpful responses and a lack of follow-through on promises to call me back. Nobody takes owner ship, nobody seems to hold any authority or agency to actually make a grown-up sensible decision. There is just no end-to-end service. Its always somebody else’s job. Yvonne in Bolton admittedly was incredibly helpful, but she just could not get anybody in authority to help me. She was equally as frustrated as myself.
I have meticulously documented my interactions with both Samsung and Currys PC World in the timeline provided above, presented in chronological order. This timeline demonstrates my persistent efforts to resolve the issue and highlights the absence of satisfactory responses from either party.
Timeline:
SAMSUNG:
- Friday 8th September Made a lengthy call to the repair team. The person I spoke to was difficult and discourteous. During the call, I repeatedly requested the individual to speak more slowly and to keep the mouthpiece away from their mouth as the call was muffled and I am hard of hearing. Due to my hearing problems, I found it challenging to comprehend the conversation. I asked my son for assistance to help several times. He, too found the man challenging, he flatly refused to take his mouth away from the headset to stop the muffled call. The representative had a thick accent, further exacerbating mine and my sons difficulty in understanding. Regrettably, this phone call proved to be extremely challenging, as the individual refused to acknowledge or accommodate my hearing problems. Despite my persistent efforts to communicate my condition, the representative did not acknowledge that I could not hear or comprehend him. Instead, he directed me to visit the Curry's store. They sent me back to home and told me to call the man back. They could not help as I was still within a 12 month manufacturing guarantee.
- Friday 8th September 12:06: Emailed Samsung with pictures and explained my situation after another lengthy rude call
- Friday 8th September 16:25: Samsung representative Joan R advised me to contact them if I have questions. (I have already done this)
- Saturday 9th September 13:30: Samsung representative Kathrine advised me that somebody would be in touch in 1-2 days and I requested the policy on accessibility for hard of hearing.
- Saturday 9th September 15:51: Samsung representative Joan R ignored my request for the accessibility policy and said somebody will call me back.
- Sunday, September 10, 2023 2:06:37 PM: Samsung representative Julien considered outside manufacturer's warranty coverage and I needed to use Currys Care Plan
- Monday, September 11, 2023 12:31:18 PM: Samsung representative Harold advised that somebody would be in touch within 1-2 days.
- Monday, 11 September 2023 17:08: Samsung representative Kathrine said she was expediting my call, that somebody would be in touch in 1-2 days.
- Phone call: 12th September: 13:47: 11-minute call where I was cut off. Told I needed to pay £100 for a repair visit.
- Phone call: 12th September: 14:03: 1 hour and 7-minute call with a man who was patronising, rude, and unhelpful. Advised I either pay £100 for a repair visit then costs on top or claim on my house insurance. When I refused he told me to go to the store where I bought the product. Explained I have done this. I need a repair person to come out, tell Currys the product is not working so I can claim on the care plan. He advised I need to pay for this. I asked him what their accessibility policy was. Abruptly told me, he didn’t know. I explained as customer services, it was his job to know, he said it wasn’t. He refused to send and sent me back to the Bolton Store. I did, it’s a 50-mile round trip. Fighting my way through rush hour traffic took me over 3hrs. Plus, about 45 mins in the store. Was a wasted journey.
Currys Timeline:
- Friday 8th September: Samsung advised me to go to the local store. They couldn't help me and sent me back home to phone Samsung.
- Tuesday 12th September: Currys PC World Bolton Store, - Bolton Store, Yvonne: Very nice lady who offered to contact Samsung for me. She had the same curt rude replay. I needed to pay for someone to come out. Because I have Currys care she said this should not happen. She tried very hard to explain I was not at fault but Samsung would not listen. Yvonne emailed Currys safe the customer service to see if they could help. back Yvonne promised to call me back on 13/9/23 – No call back.
- Thursday 14th September: Currys PC World Bolton Store, Didn’t know what to do. Nobody had got back in touch to help her from Curry’s care team / keep the costomer team. The manager was off and the Operations manager was sick. Yvonne asked the acting manager for help. He said that lots of customers have this issue with Samsung refusing to honour manufacturing guarantee. He keeps saying the staff are not letting customers know that in the first year of buying the product, you have to use the manufacturer. Its not made clear at the point of sale. Advised I go to the Ombudsman as there is nothing he could do due to managers being off. I told him not good enough. He told Yvonne to call me back when she hears from Currys head office- I was promised this would be 15/9/23 – No call back yet.
- Friday 15th September: I called Currys' customer care team, and Precious reassured me that she would call me back by 8 pm that night.
I kindly request that my concerns be treated with the utmost seriousness and addressed promptly. My primary request is for a new washing machine to be delivered urgently, as the current one is unfit for purpose and still under the manufacturer's guarantee.
Furthermore, I seek a comprehensive response addressing all the issues raised in this letter and a resolution that aligns with UK Consumer Law and accessibility regulations. I anticipate a timely and professional response from both Samsung and Currys PC World. I trust that you will give this complaint the attention it deserves and work toward a satisfactory resolution.
