Last Xmas we bought the eldest daughter a Samsung phone. This Xmas it stopped working – three weeks after the end of the warranty period! I wrote the following to Samsung Australia to see if it would persuade them to do something useful… like repair or replace the unit. I’ll let you know what they say!!
To:- Samsung, Australia:
I bought this unit (in pink!) for my young daughter last Xmas. Over Xmas the unit failed to charge. I’m not exactly sure of the date because she wasn’t in school and was using the home phone whilst on holidays.
However, as the New Year started we realised the phone was no longer charging so yesterday took it to the local Telstra shop in Castle Towers, Castle Hill, NSW for them to look at.
After some delay they told us that in their opinion there was an issue with the mother board and the phone was effectively useless. They also told us that because the phone was a week or two out of warranty it would be very expensive even to have it examined let alone to try to repair it. Their suggestion was that it would therefore be cheaper to buy a new unit than have this one repaired.
My daughter needed a new phone urgently so we felt obliged to purchase a unit for her so selected a SGH-A401 to keep her in contact with her friends and school.
The reason I’m writing is to express my dissatisfaction both with an expensive product that fails so soon after purchase, and especially with a warranty that is so inflexible it is unable to allow for possible repairs slightly outside the official warranty period.
For some years I worked within the IBM Customer Care section and we often gave people support based on factors other than a ‘bare bones’ warranty period based on the date of purchase. Bearing in mind how close to the ‘end’ of the warranty period this unit failed, I was wondering if it would be possible for you to repair or replace the unit free of charge… or at least at greatly reduced cost to us?
My daughter was very pleased with the phone before it failed but despite prompting failed totally to back up her data to her computer. If it *could* be repaired we would appreciate it greatly.
I look forward to hearing from you.
The Eclectic Interweb 
No response yet. Do I really expect one?
i have sympathy with you,iam also a victim of sam. sgh A501. my A501 have same problem as your but in a short time 5 months, i have no service because iam in india,there is no reply from samsung.so i think what we have buy from samsung after full payment A PROBLEM—A TROUBLE ? my valueable data was in it and i lost it? this is not a samsung product.i think the old samsung have gone to die with its values and new one does not have any values,ralations,responsibility with its customor. i hate this.this was my first product in mobile section from samsung and it would be last.”the ocean builds with very small tiny drops and if there is no drops there is no ocean only dross.
We heard nothing. In the end I just gave up but I’ll never buy a Samsung again and I’d advise anyone against buying one if they expect any sort of customer service.
To be told a *week* out of warranty that they won’t repair a manufacturing fault is nothing short of disgraceful!!!
I hope you get some satisfaction from them, and if you do please let me know?? But if I was you I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting. 😦
I had this with the samsung a12 its battery leaked in my pocket and out the keypad when took in to be fixed they said I had immersed the phone in water and wouldnt replace it. My phone had never been immersed in liquid. It was in my pocket at the time it happend. Now I’m stuck in contract with no phone. Thanks samsung!
crappy phone cord for the computer is crap it doesnt fucking work.
i have an a 501, havent had any trouble with mine, appart from the fact that the phone charger stopped working, so i just use the usb cable for comp to charge it