A Samsung customer is going viral on TikTok after posting a series of videos explaining the various issues she’s experienced after purchasing a phone.
Carmen (@mamichulamadness) recorded one of her latest videos from her car on a Sunday. She said the issues with Samsung had taken up so much of her time that she was actively “missing her niece’s soccer game.”
“That couldn’t have gone any worse,” she said, noting that she recently finished a call with a Samsung representative. “I’m missing an entire day with my family because I’m dealing with this.” As of Thursday morning, one of her more-recent videos explaining her predicament had amassed more than 94,400 views.
What happened to the customer?
Carmen explained to viewers that she recently purchased a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip. Initially, she said she liked the phone due to its compactness and large screen size.
However, after having the phone for three weeks, the phone experienced screen issues around its fold.
“Their own people told me this is a common issue,” Carmen said. But instead of helping her, she said that multiple Samsung representatives refused to give her a new phone. She said the company referred to her issue as “physical damage” that was apparently outside of what her warranty covered.
Carmen said that she’s spent days speaking to Samsung technicians and other employees. Eventually, her issues escalated to the legal department.
“I went to the legal department, same spiel,” she said. Essentially, Carmen said she was given the same runaround by everyone she spoke with. She said she was told that if a technician deemed it physical damage, then it’s physical damage—even if that damage wasn’t “visible to the naked eye.”
What’s more, she said that Samsung representatives attempted to blame her “minor unintentional impressions” on the screen. Carmen was adamant, however, that she didn’t damage the screen and that the issue was isolated to the phone’s fold.
“The hinge is the friggin problem,” she said.
In the end, Carmen declared that “Samsung friggin sucks.” And she said she refused to mail in her phone until she got her money back for purchasing it. “I’m going insane,” Carmen said. “I can’t believe this happened.”
Issues with Samsung flip phones
The issues with Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip aren’t unique to Carmen, it seems. In a community forum, another customer said they experienced similar issues and that Samsung refused to help.
“Is it normal for network companies or Samsung to refuse to repair phones that are still under warranty?” the poster asked. They went on to explain that their screen stopped working around the fold and that there was “a black band across the middle of the screen,” similar to Carmen’s. As a result, they said their phone was no longer usable.
“It looks like many other people have had the same issue. … [Samsung] said it can’t be repaired under warranty,” they wrote. “I know I haven’t damaged the screen at all—it’s clearly a recurring fault with the phone, so why won’t they repair a 4-month old defective screen?”
In another more-recent forum post, another Samsung customer said they experienced the same problems.
“After an automatic update that was applied yesterday morning, it initially was fine but a few hours later the inside screen stopped working,” they wrote.
Of course, while these issues might be widespread, it doesn’t appear as though Samsung is flat-out refusing help. In the first forum, another Samsung customer clarified that, while frustrating, customers could likely get their screen issues fixed as long as they were willing to pay for it. At the very least, they suggested, customers “have every right to challenge and seek legal advice.”
Viewers react to the situation
Given the sheer number of videos that Carmen posted to her account regarding her predicament, viewers appeared invested in making sure she found a resolution. One of the top-liked comments tagged Apple and encouraged the brand to send her an iPhone, which Carmen said she traded in to get her faulty Samsung device.
Three other viewers said that Android-related issues prompted them to be longtime Apple users.
“Everyone makes fun of Apple for being late with tech and features, but they thing is they don’t rush into it cause of things like this,” one person wrote.
“Apple would never release an incomplete product,” another said.
“I have been following these videos since the beginning, and I think this is my sign not to switch,” a third commenter added. “It’s crazy how I was so ready to make the purchase.”
Other users encouraged Carmen to keep sharing her predicament and to update customers when there’s a resolution. And if she wasn’t able to find one, some suggested that she bite the bullet and move on to another phone company.
“Boycott Samsung and live your life,” one viewer advised.
“Thanks so much for your time showing us your journey through this,” another wrote.
@mamichulamadness @Samsung @Samsung Canada Great job 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 #samsung #samsunggalaxyzflip6 #samsunggalaxy #samsungzflip #reviews #samsungstore #phone #fyp #reviews #samsungreview #phonereview ♬ original sound – Carmen Madness
The Daily Dot has reached out to Carmen via TikTok comment and to Samsung by email.
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