This sucks. Samsung has just ripped me off, and I’m more than just a little angry about it.
I bought a manufacturer recertified 22″ flat panel monitor (model 225BW) eCost.com in late February (which was delivered and put into use in early March). The monitor worked fine at first, but in the last week developed a problem with the DVI input; nothing connected to the DVI port will produce an image (but the VGA port does still work.)
Since it was a remanufactured unit, I first called eCost, and was told that they only warrant the remanufactured monitors for 30 days; I’d have to go to the manufacturer. The first representative I spoke with at Samsung informed me that because the purchase date was more than 90 days ago (95 days, to be exact) the 90-day warranty has expired, and there is no recourse. I tried to explain that I did not actually take possession of the monitor until March 4, and that I contacted them about the issue as soon as I could, but that didn’t matter — the warranty period is measured from the date of purchase, and there are no exceptions for remanufactured items. A second representative in their so-called “Executive Group” told me the same, and again refused to make an exception.
I am the sole IT support guy for my small business employer, and was the one who made the original purchase. I am also the one on whom my not very geeky coworkers rely for technical support issues. This problem first surface last week, when I happened to be on vacation, so the people here naturally waited until my return to get the problem resolved. I made the call at my first opportunity after returning to work this morning, but yet my request for service was denied. Logically, the warranty would either have a little bit of a grace period to allow for situations like this, or they would measure the warranty period by the date I took possession of the item, especially when purchased from an online retailer. I have no control over the item until I take physical possession of it at the time of delivery; why should the warranty begin before that time?
It’s also very disappointing. I can understand that Samsung would want to stick to its warranty policy, but what this is telling me is that the organization is governed more by blind adherence to policy than by logic; extenuating circumstances apparently don’t mean a thing to them. It also tells me that they don’t want to stand behind their repair work… This monitor was presumably returned to their facilities and reworked by their personnel to what is deemed to be acceptable working condition. In this case, the monitor worked fine up to almost the day the warranty expired, which unfortunately happened to coincide with my time off from work. Now, a mere five business days beyond that magic date, I’m left out in the cold with a monitor that half works. The big question here is whether I could expect the same level of repair quality for an item returned to Samsung for warranty repairs. It doesn’t bode well for them.
I have purchased a good number of Samsung products in the past, and have had few issues with them; in fact, I have a Samsung monitor on my own desk. But… you can be guaranteed that this incident marks the last of Samsung products being purchased by me for personal use or for use in this organization, as long as I’m making the purchasing decisions. They just lost a customer. Forever.
Yeah, I realize buying remanufactured products is sometimes a shot in the dark, but still… this is very telling of Samsung’s customer service and public relations arm. And of their in-house service.
Thanks for letting me vent a little more. I realize that vengeance isn’t mine, and my little blog entry won’t cause but a small ding in Samsung’s reputation, but I feel a little better. Just a little.