Jul 21, 2011 08:15 PM
13219 Views
(Updated Jul 21, 2011 08:13 PM)
This is regarding one of the most disturbing experiences that I have faced after buying a Samsung 26 inches LCD - Model C450. I have always recommended Samsung products to my friends & after this experience, I have taken a oath to not recommend this to anyone & maybe dissuade people from buying Samsung products.
I bought this LCD on the 8th of May 2010 without much research because Samsung was the only brand that I considered. But couple weeks ago(2nd week of July), the television set started acting in a very weird manner. The set switches off on its own & after couple minutes switches on again. And this continued till it reached a point where it goes off & doesn’t switch on for at least couple hours. Even switching on the set manually never worked. This is when I raised a compliant with the Samsung service centre. I was told that the support representative would come to check the set. The technician did come the next day promptly. But the minute he did some basic check(he did not even take the set off the wall mount), he indicated that there is an issue with the motherboard and it would cost us Rs 4000. This was absurd as the set is fairly new & just out of warranty. The point to be noted is the usage which is fairly normal if not on the lower side. And to think that the set conked off after a year was not what I wanted. Anyway the support personnel indicated that somebody from the centre would get in touch with me with an estimate of the cost & based on that, I could take things forward. But the call never came at least for couple weeks.
And then all of a sudden on the 21st of July, without any prior appointment or consultation, the technician arrived with the motherboard. Now who in the wildest of dream would have thought of such erratic behavior from Samsung. Definitely not me.
My questions for Samsung is as follows:
Does Samsung manufacture television sets which works only for a year?
I paid Rs. 23000 for the set & the repair cost for the set which is just out of warranty is Rs 4000. Is it a manufacturing issue? Samsung should certainly look into this, because if they don’t rectify such issues, am sure the market share will go south shortly.
I strongly feel that this issue what I face is a manufacturing issue because the usage has just been normal. And we take precautionary measures to switch the set off in the night before we sleep & during the day when not in use for long hours.
I was also told by the technician that the cause of this motherboard damage is because of the voltage that fluctuates inside the set. I use a ISI branded voltage stabilizer for the set & he told me that it is something internal & not because of the power supply to the set. Now, if that’s the case whose fault is it to manufacture such delicate/flimsy television sets.
Lastly, we also have another television set from LG which we bought 6 years ago & till moment it has not given a single problem. And in fact, we use this television much more than the Samsung set. All the above pointers force me to think that it is in fact the problem with the manufacturer & the manufacturer should be solely responsible for not just changing the faulty motherboard, but to provide an extended warranty & also to revive the whole support mechanism.
With this I conclude the email hoping that I don’t have to take an alternate medium to get the Samsung officials to revert.
