Experience: "FS: Fido and Samsung Garbage"
 

I purchased a Samsung f266 from Fido at the beginning of July. The phone has never had a standby battery life for more than a day.

After being sent for servicing last month, for which I had to pay Fido $10 for a loaner phone, the problem is not resolved.

Fido tells me it cannot replace the phone.

Samsung tells me that in order for the phone to be replaced/exchanged, it has to be serviced three times and the receipts for the services performed faxed to it from Fido before any considerations to replace or exchange the phone can be made.

That means I have to spend at least $20 more for loaner phones. I have a problem with this.

After a frustrating weekend of speaking to "customer service" representatives from both Fido and Samsung, I am convinced that neither corporation adquately trains its employees in tact or accurate information exchange. I was treated very rudely by almost anyone I spoke with, despite my courteous tones.


Fido
THREE call centre representatives referred me to retail stores, claiming that only stores could exchange the phone. Retail store managers were rude and unprofessional, thinking that I was there to cause trouble and/or I was a misinformed idiot, and stated that it was the customer service line that had any power to exchange the phone. It ended with an argument between a retail store employee and a customer service representative (a call I requested to happen while I watched) and an apology from the manager to me.

A supervisor from Fido customer service line called me and explained Fido's non-existent phone exchange policy for phones older than 15 days of purchase, and told me that problems are now between Samsung and myself.

Samsung
Customer service representatives confirmed that only the three-service rule allows my phone exchange to be CONSIDERED but NOT GUARANTEED.

Nobody informed me of the (ridiculous) three-service rule when I bought the phone, nor is there paperwork stating such information from Fido or Samsung. Fido's initial claim of being merely the middleman between the customer and Samsung when questioned about the phone exchange policy (SUPERVISOR: "We're just the middle man. Samsung provides the product and Fido provides the service. Since we're the middle man, we can't exchange the phone." ) became a route of escape when I stated that the middleman, being the middleman, be responsible for informing the customer of such warranty information ("We don't have the time to learn the details of manufacturers' warranties." ). Really?! Really?!

Samsung pushes the blame to Fido, stating that Fido should be informed of such warranty details and that it cannot do anything.

The situation is simple: My phone's battery lasts shorter than a pizza in my fridge. As it is under warranty, it should be fixed the FIRST time I send it in and not require more services at a cost to me. Otherwise, it should be exchanged or replaced. The fact that each company tells me to run to the other is not what I should be doing.

I am generally a brand and service loyal person but am cancelling my 10 year old account with Fido because I do not have the confidence that they can deal with customer problems effectively. I am also trying to fight the mindset that Samsung manufactures inferior pieces of crap but can no longer purchase any more of their products with confidence because of quality, warranty and customer relations issues. Generally, I feel that both corporations will not address the holes in their operation procedures because they are too succesful to care.

You know, it was from my high school part-time job at A&W that I learned that a disgruntled customer will send share his negative experiences with three others, and those three others with three more. Sad.

Please be careful with the accompanying warranties for the products you purchase. The fine print isn't always all that needs to be known. Sometimes, like in my case, the fine print was not provided. If you are a Fido and/or Samsung customer or plan to be, I ask you to re-evaluate these companies' attitudes of who you are to them and how they will treat you if you encounter problems. I've already finished my evaluation.

The damn phone cost me $40. Opportunity cost tells me it's not worth hounding after, so I'll do what most others would do: discontinue business with both entitities. I'll stick with Japanese/European products for my electronics purchases, as I always have.

I also need to find a new wireless provider that isn't full of shit. How's Koodo?

FYI - change your title. Might get banned for it. LOL

I read the rules before posting and believe I'm in line.

I think he meant that your title states your selling fido and samsung garbage. I've been with fido for a few years and over the past 6 months I've had to call them a few times and 8/10 calls I recieved absoultely no help at all. If you're dead set on changing providers you should probably wait a few months until the Wind gets to vancouver. Also Bell and Telus are switching to GSM.

He can't change it, but I can. :)

loL @ the OP~ i understand being frustrated at the way they are treating you, but i'm pretty sure it's the customer's own responsibility to read the fine print included in your package about the warranties. you can't expect someone to know the exact detail of every single product's warranties. so if i'm working at bestbuy i'm suppose to know every single possible warranty on every single product in the store? pretty sure there's a reason why the warranty package is included in the box and not outside the box. it's for the customer to read and not for the sales rep to memorize and read it to you. Pretty sure all company will tell the customer this products comes with 1 year manufacture warranty, and it's the customer's job to read the booklet's that comes with the product.

and regarding your complaint, like you stated the phone have never had a standby battery life over one day ever since the day you got it. i've got to question how come you don't bring up that problem with fido on the first couple weeks and wait until 4-5months later to complain, that alone doesn't even make any sense. that's like saying oh my phone have a problem, but i'm gonna wait couple months to send it for warranty rather than exchange for a new one right away.

and as for forcing fido to exchange the phone for you. i don't really see why FIDO have to give you the new phone ~ if anything it's call manufacture warranty for a reason ~ so if anything you should be dealing with SAMSUNG to get a replacement or something. i mean everytime the customer wants to get a new replacement fido's suppose to take it out of their own pocket to replace for the customer cause the manufacture refuse to give customer a new one? and what does the manufacture failing to repair the problem have to do with fido.. so i really don't get ur point

Not that i disagree with you being the 10$ dollar loaner phone fee is bogus. but if you dont take a loaner phone, you dont need to pay the 10$ fee.

Fido stores are the middle man when it comes to the warranty with the company itself and the phone manufacturer. At stores they dont have the ability to exchange the phone for you because they no longer do OTCs. Plus it would fuck up the inventory count if we just exchange a phone for you after the 15 days return policy. On the stores end, theyd have to charge the phone somewhere. From the managers standpoint, obviously he wouldnt have the phone paid out through his store.

With that being said, only customer service/call centre will be able to "credit you" or "exchange" your phone. It is Samsung's fault that they didn't repair it the first time they sent it in.

Its your loss that you're quitting fido's service since you're just giving up your retention opportunities. Go ahead and go with Koodo. Either you fork out the money for a better phone or dont complain about your 40$ phone crapping out. You pay for what you get.

i didnt have time to reply before
now i do

as 4PPLE said, yes FIDO IS THE MIDDLEMAN. it DOESNT MATTER what phone is under question. FIDO is the middle man, thats why if the iPhone craps out on a customer, they send it to the Apple store. FIDO CORPORATE accepts the crapped out phone and sends it out FOR YOU(xept the iphone, you take it to pac center yourself). Go to ANY service provider and its all the same, they act as the retailer, meaning they are the middle man. This is like buying a TV from a big box store like Best Buy. They will tell you to go fuck yourself and deal with samsung. The retail chain is the middleman.



I have NEVER heard of a fido corporate store charging 10 dollars for loaner phones, they take deposits of i believe $50, but thats a deposit you get back.

Maybe try another corporate store, try the flagship downtown on Robson, or goto the service center on Kingsway/Royal Oak(i think its still there).

heres another thing, have you tried another battery? you do kno that you can buy a battery and return it. small troubleshooting details. oh yes, the battery is not covered under warranty.

In terms of going to Koodo, you are still dealing with GARBAGE hardware as its also considered a DISCOUNT WIRELESS BRAND along with Fido, Solo and Virgin. The big boys get the fancy hardware, and the rest are left with entry level products like your samsung.

I understand that no matter what the situation is, the provider is always to blame, but save yourself from the shame and try to troubleshoot first. It saves time and wonders and alot of frustration.

It's always the provider's fault. What nonsense are you jibbering about, darthchili? :lol

you mean its your fault....lol

i happened to agree

basically, you put down 50 dollars for deposit that you get back if you return the loaner phone. and there is also a 10$ service charge that they actually call loaner fee. its so hard to explain to customers what it is. basically you're paying 11.20 to get your phone sent out. this is for all corporate stores.

the 11.20 is basically paying for the shipping there and back ~ they ship thru purolator so pretty sure it's gonna cost more than that if u ship it urself

NO paperwork stating such warranty details were provided anywhere.

You obviously don't understand the obligations of a middleman. If you are the middleman, or the face that represents the middleman, then as the middleman, it is your responsibility to inform the end user of the manufacturer's warranty details, directly through word of mouth and/or through documentation. As stated above, no such documentation was provided and 7/8 Fido representatives I spoke with admitted that they had no such knowledge of the above details.

The first repair was performed after two months (your math is confounding), not four to five months. I have personal and time reasons (including my own faults) for not addressing the issue sooner, but this is irrelevant to the issue at hand.

Once again, your lack of understanding of what a middleman is and what one is supposed to do faults your argument.

In any case, I have complained to both Samsung (for not being responsible enough to provide warranty details and for have unprofessional call centre representatives and a stupid policy) and to Fido (for having poor information exchange and policy knowledge and rude staff) and have received compensation from only Fido.

I'm hopefully waiting for the phone to return in proper working order.

Waiting up to 10 business days for the phone to be returned sucks, especially when I depend on one heavily for work.

My job is not to run around finding out who can exchange my phone. End users don't care and don't need to care who exchanges their products. Fido and Samsung chose to work together and the fact that Samsung, Fido's retails stores and Fido's customer service line sent me back and forth between each other and claiming the other to be responsible for the exchange shows very poor information exchange and knowledge.

On another note, Fido seperates itself from the repair centre by claiming that they have no control over what the repair centre does. The repair centre itself informs me that the only connection they have with Samsung is that it is merely a licenced repair facility and in no way represents Samsung. To complete the topping on this messy, God-forsaken shit-cake, Samsung takes no responsibility for the actions of the service centre. Of the large number of parties involved, and all of them separating themselves from one another, nobody wants to admit his mistakes and nobody wants to take responsibility for anything. This in the end frustrates people like us, who have to run around like chickens.

This is probably the only statement you made I agree with. Though I'm fighting the perception that Korean electronic companies manufacture pieces of crap, I'll stick with Japanese and European brands for electronic products.

Yes, a refundable $50 deposit is required for the loaner phone, but a non-refundable $10 plus tax is for use of the phone. I'm as confused as you are.

All retail stores I contacted informed me that no batteries for that phone were available for testing or purchase. Another frustrating factor is that retail stores are unable to provide suggestions/opinions to the repair centre as to what the problem may be, so mentions of battery problems will end up fruitless as repair centre technicians have their own procedures to follow. Go figure.

I've shot so much trouble I think I'm doing to end up shooting someone from.....oops, better watch where that comment can get me nowadays.

Samsung or any other manufacturer must have warranty details in the box with every phone. It's that annoying piece of paper or booklet with the ridiculously tiny text. That three-service thing sounds pretty messed up though. That being said, it's a $40 phone. Samsung ain't the best of brands when it comes to their low-end phones, so I would just forget about it now. Switch carriers? Other carriers have even worse customer service, I'm hearing. Just stick with Fido and threaten to cancel. You'll at least recoup some of your loaner phone money and that silly Samstung purchase if you get a good retentions deal.

im curious to in which fido store did u take ur issue to

... it's in the box... you can say what u want.. but it's in the box.. my mom have the damn phone and i'm looking at the damn warranty card..

as the middleman they are obligated to tell you the general warranty ie 1 year manufacture warranty not including physical or water damage. if you don't bother attempting to read the manual/warranty info for the fine detail of the warranty then it's your own problem. you can't seriously expect a middleman to remember/know every fine detail of a warranty of every single brand/product they carry coz they are different for each product even if it's the same brand.


the point here is you said the phone had the battery problem since day one. that means you coulda went back to the store within the 15days refund/exchange policy to skip all the hassle


i think you are the one that's misunderstanding the role of the middleman here. you are expecting them to be superman and make all bad things go away.

i can't say anything about the samsung policy etc.. but i think it's your fault for not reading the receipt.. yes the fido staff should probably inform you.. but i'm also 100% sure it saids on ur receipt about the return/exchange policy.. all receipt states that regardless of what store..

When you received your receipt for the phone. It states in finerprint the return policy. Warranty policy is in the box like what everyone else has stated.

if this was an activation or upgrade, there was probably a starter kit that was suppose to be explained to you from the rep. and if you signed it, you acknowledge that you understand everything in the starter kit including warranties.

but like darthchilli, i am curious as to which store you did this at

terkan:

I am happy to know that your mother received her required paperwork. Arguments as to whether or not I received all the necessary documentation need not go any further as I have searched (yet again) based on the advice given here (thanks, everyone), finding nothing, and have also been advised by a retail store employee who confirmed that not everything I needed was in my box. The store employee also admitted to Fido's faulty communication methods, as he mentioned that I was not the first to deal with this crap.

Our expectations as to what a middleman's duties are may differ, but what we do agree on is that a middleman is responsible for providing warranty information, at least through documentation to the end user, which did not happen in my case.

I will pick up a copy of the above mentioned "fine print" today, but am curious as to whether someone can provide me the statement(s) that advise (directly or indirectly) that I am subject to Samsung's return/exchange policy.

damnit...WHICH STORE

Sorry darthchilli; the phone was purchased at the store in Pacific Centre.

The phone returned in "cannot get a signal" mode, so I had it for a full eight minutes before returning it to the retail store to be sent for its third repair. As Fido (the "middleman" :twirleye:) has its limits to what it can communicate/suggest/recommend to the repair centre, I called the repair centre myself to insist that it's repaired correctly before it's returned to me.

I'm looking forward to when I have to send the three-service paperwork to Samsung for them to consider but not guarantee a replacement of this phone.

just buy a new phone...
that SE715a is good
get that