Yet another scam- This time a Samsung franchisee in Kalasin.

[Scouse123]

At the end of last year I bought a brand-new Samsung phone from the Samsung dealer in Lotus up in Kalasin. The phone was around 9,000 baht.

 

Anyway, the phone screen ended up cracked, the fault for that is with my other half, and we took it for repair back to the same Samsung shop in the supermarket.

 

I know the Samsung warranty doesn't cover things like broken screens and scratches etc, but I told the lad clearly, who actually sold us the phone, to send it to Samsung, get a price and get it fixed. He phoned us back and said 2500 baht.

 

We paid 2,500 baht for the new screen.

 

Anyway, we were leaving for the UK on January 20th, very shortly after the phone was given back to us on or around January 16th or 17th, the screen froze.

 

We didn't have time to go to the shop on January 18th, and on the 19th, we were in Bangkok for a night, so we left it until we came back.

 

We took it back to the shop, and the same young man tried telling me that there was no warranty as it had already been repaired once.

 

I told him he was talking out of his ass, and the worldwide warranty from Samsung was one year, and if it was internal repairs to do with the programming or software, no matter how many times we took it back, the warranty was for one year.

 

I said send it to Samsung, and you'll find I am correct. He was tongue-tied and red-faced, and I smelt a RAT.

 

Furthermore, I then discovered that the Samsung franchise was operated by the same person who operated another phone shop in the town, who of course was faceless to us.

 

Now the story unfolds is that they have been doing their own repairs in the town, i.e. cracked screens, which are the most common, and opening up the phones, in effect, bypassing Samsung, to earn profit on repairs thus voiding Samsung warranty.

 

They offered to refund the 2,500 baht and return the phone. When we went back to the shop, the boy was on a day off, and the girl had our phone and 2500 baht in cash.

 

I told them this is not acceptable, and the only reason the warranty was void as they had taken it upon themselves to do unauthorized works on the phone, when I had specifically told them to send it to Samsung repairs in Roi Et, a shop which I know well.

 

I will now have to go to Roi Et and seek a confirmation, in writing, that the warranty is null and void because the phone has been opened.

 

We then intend to take this to Samsung head office if necessary and even complain to Samsung international if necessary.

 

I was told by my other half, it's common practice for them to do this to generate extra profit. So guys, if you are getting Samsung repairs, make sure it actually is going back to Samsung.

 

This is a 9000 baht phone, and I am pissed, but what if it was a top of the range 25,000 baht phone, with this type of scamming going on?????

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 27 by Scouse123

[FritsSikkink]

Tell them you want the 2500 thb and the 9000 for the phone. Let them keep the phone and buy one somewhere else.

[Scouse123]

6 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

Tell them you want the 2500 thb and the 9000 for the phone. Let them keep the phone and buy one somewhere else.

 

They are refusing to speak to me and blocking me access through members of staff, so it's pointless shouting at them, they are just following a script.

 

[retarius]

Some people, it's only 11,500 baht, why would you waste time, effort, energy and raise your BP over such a small amount of money? Do you put no value on your time? Is someone going to reimburse you for all your petrol and the wear and tear on your car? And you chances of success are what exactly? Close to zero I would suspect.

[Scouse123]

51 minutes ago, retarius said:

Some people, it's only 11,500 baht, why would you waste time, effort, energy and raise your BP over such a small amount of money? Do you put no value on your time? Is someone going to reimburse you for all your petrol and the wear and tear on your car? And you chances of success are what exactly? Close to zero I would suspect.

 

 

So, you think just let it go?

 

That's why the service and back up on goods once they are bought is so bad in this country, because of attitudes like yours.

 

They do things like this because people don't have the know how or the guts to face them off and complain, hence adding fuel to the already blazing fire of corrupt practice.

[mfinasi]

2,500baht to fix is very low price, and would of suggested to me that it wasn't an authorized repair. I just paid 9k to fix a few dead pixels on last-gen Samsung Flip phone to give you perspective on price, and who knows if it was really Samsung that did the job.. 

 

The problem you have on the second fault is that they can claim it was damaged from the first incident. 

[Scouse123]

12 minutes ago, mfinasi said:

2,500baht to fix is very low price, and would of suggested to me that it wasn't an authorized repair. I just paid 9k to fix a few dead pixels on last-gen Samsung Flip phone to give you perspective on price, and who knows if it was really Samsung that did the job.. 

 

The problem you have on the second fault is that they can claim it was damaged from the first incident. 

 

 

The phone value was 9000 baht.

 

The screen was cracked, and they quoted 2500 baht, that was their quote, from a Samsung dealership, for a cracked screen.

 

The shop is an authorized Samsung seller/dealer.

 

I told them to send it to Samsung repairs. The nearest repair shop from Samsung is in Roi Et, I have been many times over the years.

 

They didn't do that. They tried to fix it themselves, in their probably grubby workshop nearby, and now there are other issues with the phone, which was bought brand new.

 

The first fault should not have been carried out by those with the Samsung franchise, authorized to sell, but not repair, phones.

 

It should have been sent to Roi Et, where I requested it to be sent.

 

On your Samsung flip, it must be out of warranty, to get such a bill. That's the difference, mine isn't.

 

What if it had been an expensive Samsung flip, and they just tried to palm me off with a refund on a screen, but in reality they had messed up the whole phone?

[mfinasi]

13 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

 

 

The phone value was 9000 baht.

 

The screen was cracked, and they quoted 2500 baht, that was their quote, from a Samsung dealership, for a cracked screen.

 

The shop is an authorized Samsung seller/dealer.

 

I told them to send it to Samsung repairs. The nearest repair shop from Samsung is in Roi Et, I have been many times over the years.

 

They didn't do that. They tried to fix it themselves, in their probably grubby workshop nearby, and now there are other issues with the phone, which was bought brand new.

 

The first fault should not have been carried out by those with the Samsung franchise, authorized to sell, but not repair, phones.

 

It should have been sent to Roi Et, where I requested it to be sent.

 

On your Samsung flip, it must be out of warranty, to get such a bill. That's the difference, mine isn't.

 

What if it had been an expensive Samsung flip, and they just tried to palm me off with a refund on a screen, but in reality they had messed up the whole phone?

I can't see you winning on this even if you are in the right, accountability doesn't happen here, I would be tempted to play dumb and see if Roi Et would accept it as a warranty repair without disclosing the screen has been replaced.

[steven100]

TIT ....  we know it's not right and they are cheats & lairs,  but is it worth all the stress and hassle and HBP and all that goes with it ...   what will you do in the end even if your correct ..  sue them ?   they won't have a pot to p_ss in so forget that idea.

TIT ... scammers are rampant

[steven100]

and you are right Scouse123,  I would be angry also ...

[Scouse123]

33 minutes ago, mfinasi said:

I can't see you winning on this even if you are in the right, accountability doesn't happen here, I would be tempted to play dumb and see if Roi Et would accept it as a warranty repair without disclosing the screen has been replaced.

 

I phoned Bangkok, and they have said take it to Roi Et and explain the situation and tell them you have spoken to Bangkok, and this is what they recommended. I will, of course, pass this over to Madam, to sort out.

10 minutes ago, steven100 said:

and you are right Scouse123,  I would be angry also ...

 

It seems to be everything, as soon as they've sold it, they aren't interested and don't want to know.

 

 

[Scouse123]

They actually do know us at Roi Et and tend to be a little more professional.

 

I'll try and see what they say tomorrow, I don't mind an hour's drive to get there, it gets me out of this madhouse, where we live.

 

It seems to be bloody everything though, as soon as they have the cash, that's it, they don't want to know. You say it's under warranty or guarantee, and they just say contact the company.

 

Not like Tesco or Curry's in the UK or any decent company over there, You take it back with your receipt and no quibbles, it's sorted there and then.

[richard_smith237]

2 hours ago, retarius said:

Some people, it's only 11,500 baht, why would you waste time, effort, energy and raise your BP over such a small amount of money? Do you put no value on your time? Is someone going to reimburse you for all your petrol and the wear and tear on your car? And you chances of success are what exactly? Close to zero I would suspect.

 

In fact he shouldn't have even bothered to get the phone fixed, right?....  its quicker and easier to just go out and get a another...

In fact its quicker still to buy two phones at the same time, just in case one  of them breaks... 

 

After all, its only 11,500 baht.... 

 

 

Yes... For those unable to tell the difference, the above is a sarcastic facetious response to the utter dumbflukkery presented in reatrius's post which completely over looks the issue of duplicitous business practices and dealing with liars....   when instread choosing a dumbed down, oversimplified haltwitted response in attempt to be a wizeAr$e and instead highting a certain degree of knobheaderry... 

 

[JensenZ]

14 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

They actually do know us at Roi Et and tend to be a little more professional.

 

I'll try and see what they say tomorrow, I don't mind an hour's drive to get there, it gets me out of this madhouse, where we live.

 

It seems to be bloody everything though, as soon as they have the cash, that's it, they don't want to know. You say it's under warranty or guarantee, and they just say contact the company.

 

Not like Tesco or Curry's in the UK or any decent company over there, You take it back with your receipt and no quibbles, it's sorted there and then.

I wouldn't take a phone back to the shop where I bought it. I'd take it to the Samsung Service Center. It's the same with Apple... take it to Apple Care. If you go into an Apple reseller store (Studio 7), they send you to Apple Care. They don't offer to send it on your behalf to Apple Care for repairs. It's the same at official Samsung dealers. All the official dealers can do is replace the phone if it is defective within 7 days.

 

It's your misunderstanding about how things work here that got you into this mess.

 

I had a screen that developed a thick line and needed to be replaced - Samsung Note 20 Ultra - I took it to the Samsung service center and they offered to replace the screen while I waited. That was about 8000 baht. I traded the phone for a new model instead.

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, mfinasi said:

2,500baht to fix is very low price, and would of suggested to me that it wasn't an authorized repair. I just paid 9k to fix a few dead pixels on last-gen Samsung Flip phone to give you perspective on price, and who knows if it was really Samsung that did the job.. 

 

The problem you have on the second fault is that they can claim it was damaged from the first incident. 

 

I have an iPhone... If I had a cracked screen and some-one quoted 1000 baht or 5000 baht for a repair / replacement, I'd have no idea if that was right or not.... I had have to turn to the internet and get a better ball park.

 

The difficult of course, is that the ball park figures we get here may not be the official repair charges, it may be a localised repair.

 

I think the issue highlighted in this topic is that it was not clarified that the repair was not with Samsung and the Samsung Warranty is not itself voided.

 

It seems the Op specifically asked for the 'Samsung' Repair and not a localised repair - and this is an issue, Thainess has crept in, someone has seen their angle for squeezing a profit, ultimately at the cost of someone else (in this case the Op).

 

The only thing to do in future is to never trust 3rd party re-sellers and deal directly with the manufacturers at point of sale. 

[richard_smith237]

11 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

It's your misunderstanding about how things work here that got you into this mess.

 

Yes and no.....   IF the seller had any scruples they would have told Scouse that they are going to fix the phone themselves and not send it to Samsung....    

 

...   The fact that  the Op asked them to send the phone to Samsung and they didnt leaves two possibilities.

a) Misscommunication and the shop simply figured the Op wanted the phone fixed and they could do that.

b) Clear Communication and the shop figured the could apply a 1000 baht fix and profit 1500 baht and not care about voiding the warranty. 

 

 

The issue very clearly....  make sure there is 100% understanding between shop and customer, nail down specifics and leave no room for ambiguity....  (this is a lesson learned for me)....    Wife in the Past has implied I'm giving staff a hard time when asking so many specific questions to dig out an 'underlying truth' when they are being vague and unspecific with an answer..... 

 

Also... if something is of value and within warranty, just go straight to the manufacturers main point of sale and bypass the middleman / 3rd party vendor. 

[The Fugitive]

As I see it, the problem is a frozen replacement screen which they supplied and fitted for 2,500 baht. The shop is nervous and evasive. How about asking them to repair your phone (unfreeze their replacement screen) free of ADDITIONAL charge? You were initially happy with the repair and price. This way, your phone gets fixed, they get to keep the 2,500 baht and you don't incur extra expenses and suffer raised blood pressure?

[steven100]

8 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

nail down specifics and leave no room for ambiguity.... 

 

this is absolutely 100% correct when dealing with any Thai person, contractor, official, or shop ....  it's like you almost have to have a contract written to do anything here just so the supplier, worker, shop keeper,  cannot cheat you because they will try every time if it saves them $$.

 

it's happened to me many times in building two houses. 

[Lacessit]

45 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

In fact he shouldn't have even bothered to get the phone fixed, right?....  its quicker and easier to just go out and get a another...

In fact its quicker still to buy two phones at the same time, just in case one  of them breaks... 

 

After all, its only 11,500 baht.... 

 

 

Yes... For those unable to tell the difference, the above is a sarcastic facetious response to the utter dumbflukkery presented in reatrius's post which completely over looks the issue of duplicitous business practices and dealing with liars....   when instread choosing a dumbed down, oversimplified haltwitted response in attempt to be a wizeAr$e and instead highting a certain degree of knobheaderry... 

 

I don't think some of those words are actually in the English language, but I do admire your sense of composition.

[riclag]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

In fact he shouldn't have even bothered to get the phone fixed, right?....  its quicker and easier to just go out and get a another...

In fact its quicker still to buy two phones at the same time, just in case one  of them breaks... 

 

After all, its only 11,500 baht.... 

 

 

Yes... For those unable to tell the difference, the above is a sarcastic facetious response to the utter dumbflukkery presented in reatrius's post which completely over looks the issue of duplicitous business practices and dealing with liars....   when instread choosing a dumbed down, oversimplified haltwitted response in attempt to be a wizeAr$e and instead highting a certain degree of knobheaderry... 

 

Im confused Mr Smith !

I just did a search for repair vs buy new.Seems like the majority are in your favor which I would also agree with . 
 

But what confuses me is that you would deny and criticize someone for their opinion! A opinion to throw something away for various reasons.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652623012106

 

[patman30]

take it to a samsung customer service centre 🤦‍♂️
i had a Laptop brought to me from uk and had battery replaced under warranty in Pattaya at samsung service centre on sukhumvit near lotus, but i think they moved it to pattaya klang
for bkk see HERE

to me it sounds like the shop just repaired the screen themselves, hence the offer of refund.

Edited February 27 by patman30

[steven100]

3 minutes ago, riclag said:

Im confused Mr Smith !

I just did a search for repair vs buy new.Seems like the majority are in your favor which I would also agree with . 
 

But what confuses me is that you would deny and criticize someone for their opinion! A opinion to throw something away for various reasons.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652623012106

 

Riclag,  I don't think he's criticizing at all,  he's merely putting his view and opinion across,  now whether OP takes that on board is up to him. 

[JensenZ]

 

15 minutes ago, patman30 said:

take it to a samsung customer service centre 🤦‍♂️
i had a Laptop brought to me from uk and had battery replaced under warranty in Pattaya at samsung service centre on sukhumvit near lotus, but i think they moved it to pattaya klang
for bkk see HERE

to me it sounds like the shop just repaired the screen themselves, hence the offer of refund.

The Samsung Service Center in Pattaya is on Pattaya Nua, on the left heading toward the bus station. They offered to replace my screen while I waited, in under an hour.

[Bangkok Barry]

3 hours ago, retarius said:

Some people, it's only 11,500 baht, why would you waste time, effort, energy and raise your BP over such a small amount of money? Do you put no value on your time? Is someone going to reimburse you for all your petrol and the wear and tear on your car? And you chances of success are what exactly? Close to zero I would suspect.

 

Well, some people - not you, clearly - really, really hate being scammed and cheated. Other's - like you, clearly - are happy to let people cheat them behind their back and take them for a fool with their third world service standards and business methods. You're an idiot. Still, if you'd be happy throwing 9000 away - which clearly wouldn't bother you at all - send it my way. I'll then deny I received it. Or send you a broken phone in return.

[riclag]

16 minutes ago, steven100 said:

Riclag,  I don't think he's criticizing at all,  he's merely putting his view and opinion across,  now whether OP takes that on board is up to him. 

I dont see it that way! You need to reread the statement  

 

“dumbflukkery” presented in the The person he was criticizing post.

 

Its a insult and highly critical!

[Wee Jimmy]

Just now, Scouse123 said:

 

 

So, you think just let it go?

 

That's why the service and back up on goods once they are bought is so bad in this country, because of attitudes like yours.

 

They do things like this because people don't have the know how or the guts to face them off and complain, hence adding fuel to the already blazing fire of corrupt practice.

You are correct mate, it's also a matter of principle.    Keep at them and threaten them with court action if they don't refund your money.

[Scouse123]

I forgot to tell you guys, when we collected the phone, that not content with voiding my warranty by opening the phone up without permission and not sending it to Samsung, the screen they had replaced, they have taken out and put the broken one back in place of it.

 

I am going to lay it all out politely to Samsung repairs tomorrow and get their views as recommended by Bangkok today.

 

Disgusted isn't the word.

 

But, they do the usual cowardly way and block direct access to themselves by hiding behind staff, leaving customers to vent their anger at them instead.

 

There was no miscommunication whatsoever with them.

 

They did something I specifically asked them not to do, and that was trying to fix it themselves, to squeeze more profit.

 

There is another local phone seller here by the name of Advice IT, I have dealt with them on numerous occasions and bought computers, printers, phones etc and whenever there has been a phone issue, they have always sent it to the Samsung repair shop in Roi Et.

 

I don't know why she decided on this occasion to buy from Samsung in the Lotus supermarket.

[steven100]

48 minutes ago, Wee Jimmy said:

You are correct mate, it's also a matter of principle.    Keep at them and threaten them with court action if they don't refund your money.

 

😂  ...........    and they'll laugh the same,    do you know how much a Lawyer costs here ?  do you know how many times you have to go to court before anything concrete happens ?  

[kennypowers]

5 hours ago, retarius said:

Some people, it's only 11,500 baht, why would you waste time, effort, energy and raise your BP over such a small amount of money? Do you put no value on your time? Is someone going to reimburse you for all your petrol and the wear and tear on your car? And you chances of success are what exactly? Close to zero I would suspect.

 

Because it is the principle. They are ripping people off. It's fraud. What if a poor person had worked months to save up for a decent phone, and they did this to them? These people need to understand that in a civilized, adult society you don't carry out such deceptive behaviour at the expense of others. 

Edited February 27 by kennypowers

[richard_smith237]

7 minutes ago, kennypowers said:

Because it is the principle. They are ripping people off. It's fraud. What if a poor person had worked months to save up for a decent phone, and they did this to them? These people need to understand that in a civilized, adult society you don't carry out such deceptive behaviour at the expense of others. 

 

 

I think there may be another facet at play here.

 

Taking sending the phone to Samsung can take weeks (I guess), but getting the phone repaired locally could return solution within a day, perhaps two.  Thus, when given the choice I imagine most Thai's would want the 'quick' repair. 

 

Its possible the vendor was not trying to deliberately cheat the Op, but giving him the solution he thought he wanted and going about in a very clumsy, unprofessional manner becase everyone else is just more of the attitude of 'yeah whatever - just fix it'....

 

So... I don't think the Vendor was pulling a deliberate scam.... but just operating in an manner which is clumsy without clear communication - and thats is pretty much par for the course here and its only when we start asking 20 questions that we find out the rings, hoops and circles Thai's will jump through and run around not to do something properly....