Well-hidden warranty

[greyburb]

SAMSUNG terms and conditions state: 

"The warranty period starts on the date of invoice as shown on the purchase receipt. The standard warranty period ends 12 months later. By registering the product(s) within 90 days after the invoice date, you will receive an additional 4 years’ extended limited warranty service (callout charges, parts and labour only, unless product is in Samsung’s opinion beyond economic repair), which will bring the total period of coverage to 5 years from the date of invoice (the “Extended Warranty Period”). All of the terms set in this Statement of Limited Warranty shall apply to any extended warranty. The method of service and operating conditions will be as described in the original warranty statement provided with the Samsung product."

Reading this on a small Apple iPhone screen this was all the information I thought I needed. It is clear "By registering the product(s) within 90 days after the invoice date, you will receive an additional 4 years’ extended limited warranty service"  – but that is not the case. Even when you register the product, there is no information on Registering the Warranty. One has to look for it. Wow! I do get it, who want to pay for repairs when you can duck out entirely. But Samsung, ask yourselves – when someone buys a product why would they NOT want the extra warranty? They do, but some people will read the T&Cs or the promo literature from the retailers where they say "Register your product for a 5 year Warranty" – they do not say, "Register your Warranty within 90 days".

So I registered my "product" in good faith. But guess what, no 5 Year Warranty. Just 12 months.

Why does one have to 'Register a Warranty? – you do as asked (register your product), and there is no information that one has to do more registering to obtain. Customer service are not empathetic at all. It feels like they know this, and use the 5 years as a sales drive, then make it more complicated to actually use. Navigating the website is not simple. Warranty is not a main header, its under Support / Warranty Information / register-your-samsung-product-warranty.
Why so hidden? Surely the 5 Year is a great thing that they want to shout about? Guess again.

They could clean up if they were more accurate in the T&Cs and more forthcoming with instructions on how to redeem this warranty.  But perhaps they cannot afford it.

All in all, no more Samsung in my home. Almost £2K spent this year, will be my last £.

Poor, poor service Samsung. In my opinion, i was miss-sold, but that's just how I feel.

[AndrewL]

@greyburb: I'm really sorry to hear that you feel this way, as it is naturally not our intention to mislead customers. Our home appliances, with the exception of our Microwave range, come with a standard 24 month warranty, so I'm a little bit confused as to where you have sourced the information in your post. Please can you confirm which product you are referring to, where you are currently based, and provide a link to the source of the information above, so I'm able to gain a better understanding of the issue? 

Typically, if an appliance is eligible for an extended warranty, then this information will be visible at the purchase stage. If you register a device to your Samsung account, then this is for your own personal record and convenience, however registration is not required in order for the standard warranty to take effect, as this automatically occurs on the purchase date. If you follow the link below, and select the 'Home Appliances' tab, then you can see that all relevant warranty information is visible here for each product range, including links to register for an extended warranty, if your product is eligible. 

https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/warranty/

[greyburb]

Dearest Andrew,
I wanted to be sarcastic – but I'll refrain.
This is the exact problem you have kindly highlighted with the link.

Story so far …
I purchased an OLED TV in May/June last year (because It had a 5 year SAMSUNG warranty). The Sales pitch on line (Currys) sold it with a 5 year warranty and I was told: "You need to 'Register the Product" to claim the 5 year warranty. So, I registered the product on line., using the Register Your Product button. This simple exchange persuaded my to buy a Samsung Sound Bar too and now a Fridge Freezer. But today on registering the Fridge Freezer i noticed that my TV Warranty has lapsed. This was odd. As i had Registered the TV as asked to do so.

On calling Customer service I find out that not only does one have to register the Product (as it says in the T&Cs) but I also have to 'Register the Warranty' (not something that is stated in sales or clear on the T&Cs document – Register the Warranty is not and was not on the documentation for Currys or AO. They state in Big Red Type "Register your Product for a 5 year warranty". When you go to Samsung webpage there is a "Register your product" button. So, that's what was done. No where does it say (without digging) Register your Warranty, either on any third party websites or Samsung's Home Page. It is hidden as you so kindly illustrate under 'support/warranty' – yet the Register Your Product has it's OWN button.

So one is really easy to find and is in line with the sales jargon and information on T&Cs, the other is not easily found (three steps away) and no one is told this in 'Big Red Letters'.

I'm sure If I had myself confused the Resister Your Product with, post us this or that the comeback would have been "We make it very clear, you need to Register Your Product" - funny how these things never work out for the customer. Making this harder to do will of course reduce the amount of applicants, that goes without saying (logic), so I cannot see any other reason to 'hide' this warranty registration three tiers down. FYI, my business is Website Design, so I know this could have been done better if that was the brief. There are so many different ways this registration process could have been made; clearer, more user friendly, automatic upon product registration or even in the small print on adverts with the third parties (AO, John Lewis, Currys, ETC).

So, as i said and i stand by: Confusing or disingenuous, in my opinion. I wouldn't go as far as 'professionally dishonest and scam like', but from a customer's point of view – it's left a bad taste.

Looks like on line there are reports of this dating back to 2014, so SAMSUNG have known it's a thing surely.

NB. UK based

[-Robot-]

The extended warranty is sometimes provided by the reseller not Samsung. I had that issue recently when my TV stopped working thinking I should contact Samsung but I was wrong I realised I got it from John Lewis so contacted them.

Samsung quoted me £350 for the repair. But on contacting John Lewis they arranged for the TV to be picked up for repaired under their warranty.

We must read the T&C properly and not assume this is Samsungs issue as it isn't always the case

[greyburb]

Alas Robot, not on this occasion. I purposely bought from Currys (best deal), because of the 5 Year Warranty (J. Lewis only two).
You are so right, the T&Cs are becoming more important these days (and longer) as companies are hiding so much more and using words to get a sale, but then need to 'clarify' in their T&Cs so they are not liable. I personally think this is disingenuous and manufacturers have the sale, their interest in the customer and retention is lost, just move on to the next one.
It's all about the £££s  😞

[-Robot-]

Ask Curry's and see if they will still honour it. I didn't register with John Lewis or warranty but I did have the receipt on their portal and they just sent for a pick to repair

Curry's maybe the same if you have the receipt

[greyburb]

Thank you Robot. Nothing wrong with the item, just frustrated with the Samsung 'hiding the warranty' deal three tiers deep on a web page. Poor web design or done on purpose. I'm thinking the latter as others have spoken out. 

[Help me]

Arhhhh the elusive 5 year Warranty, so we bought a Washing Machine about 3 years ago , registered it for the 5 year warranty extension, not a problem, got an email certificate to confirm, how simple is that !!!!!

So on the back of above we spent £600 on a new heat pump dryer, brilliant, can't fault it . So attempting to register for the 5 year warranty, absolutely no chance . And trust me iv tried ........ Samsung you seriously need to look at your extended warranty page, especially the part where it says enter your product name ... IT DOES NOT WORK , regardless of what description, name, serial number , product code,  my machine (an others because iv seen the complaints online) are just not recognized......... somebody needs a boot up the butt , please sort it !!!!!

[KatyW404]

Just suffered the same issue here and wanted to make it clear that this is scam behaviour and I will be contacting several watchdogs about this. 

I bought my TV 11 Nov 2020 from Appliances Direct. I registered the product on Samsung immediately. 

The order confirmation highlights "extended warranty 5 year included, call this number for a claim XXXXX". 

Sep 2022 the TV stops functioning, falls into a reboot cycle and I contact samsung for support. They cancel the repair as they can't get hold of a local centre and 2 weeks later the TV came back to life. I thought OK maybe it was a fault with the internet/update whatever and will let them know. They cancel my repair/complaint immediately, nothing further to see/do here. 

Oct 2023 - TV is back in the cycle again, lines now appearing half way up the screen, I contact for support. I am asked did I register the warranty. I said yes, I registered, but looking online and at the Samsung account, that's just the manufacturers warranty. I never knew I had to register the 5 year extended warranty. No information on the box or TV. I am informed on 13.11.2023 that it lies within the manual itself the instructions to register the manufacturers warranty and I had to have registered that within 90 days. Which I assumed I did.... as i registered the product.  

It is very clear that this is hidden from consumers and in a way that removes all liability from Samsung and other 3rd party sellers from remaining liable. There needs to be a change in how this is communicated from Samsung and 3rd party sellers to customers. I will be raising it with several watchdog organisations. 

So my TV is currently non functional as the cycle now isn't happening, the TV isn't coming on at all and I am responsible for the replacement at less than 3 years old. I've brought in my spare TV which is 15 years old, not a Samsung product and guess will live with never purchasing a product from Samsung again.