Epitome of recurring problems!! November 13 update. Review on Samsung RT-25 Refrigerator

Update on November 13, 08: No response to the mail of November 11, 08, hence here is the follow up mail with certain changes:Any update on these queries of mine? Also a change wrt costs I had mentioned in my previous mail. The INR 507 that were charged was not transportation which was mentioned by the person who delivered the fridge, as I discovered later. They are service and labor charges.

My questions are now:- When this is a disputed case, why am I being charged for this repair? I have already coughed up close to INR 3000 over these repairs over the past few months.

• What was this expense incurred for? What was the nature of the problem? Who will answer that? What was the reason for INR 507 to be charged?- Why was there no estimate of the charges given to me? A service norm is to give estimates before raising the final bill? Why was there absolutely no communication on the issue, proposed solution, estimate of the same and the final cost?- Who is accountable to give me a response? By when will this response reach me?- If raising it with the consumer forum is not evoking response, are you indicating that I must seek redressal through other forums? The amoutn of time I am spending on this and not to mention the emotional trauma of being cheated and probably discriminated because its a lady fighting this cause, is huge. But I will not loose steam. You will see me persist till I get the Samsung team to realize and acknowledge the glaring loopholes and insensitivites in the service and people system.Update on November 11, 08: Here is the latest mail that has been sent to the Consumer Forum mail id and to the Samsung anchor to whom my complaint was raised. Open Questions, no answersHere is the latest update and a fresh set of questions to you and your service team.

Update: My fridge gets picked on Friday October 31, 08 and is returned today November 11, 08. In all these days we did not receive any information or update on what was the problem or what was being done to the equipment. On Monday November 3, 08 I was expected to receive a call from the Samsung team about the issue and the time it would take to rectify and return the fridge. On November 5, 08 I sent a mail and the next day my husband got a cal informing him that it would take 2 more days. As was expected no communication reached or phone made long after the 2 days were over. On sending a reminder on November 10, 08, the fridge was sent across on November 11, 08 and I was forced to make a payment of INR 507 for the transport charges!!!! Does it get any worse than this? The only saving grace is the replacement fridge. But the mental trauma we have gone through and not to mention the effort spent in tracking this episode has left a bitter taste. I have been so wronged that I would like to wage it out till I get my due returns with dignity and transparency from your organization. Hopefully then there would be a sense of transparency that you would like to maintain with your consumers.Questions: Till date I have no idea what was done to the equipment from October 31, 08 till November 11, 08.1) Why was there no communication or update about what was going on with the equipment? Or is it that the equipment was just taken for an eyewash and returned as it was?

2) Is it not expected to give us an update on what the issue was? Not once did anyone of the folks marked in this communication or who handled the case, that is if they have even attempted to touch the equipment, connect or call us during these 12 days.3) Nowhere was it mentioned that we have to pay for the transportation charges. Why was I dumped with the charges in the last minute? Was it a bid to hold me at ransom? What is the explanation for this?

For me, this issue is far from over even now. I would expect responses to all these questions and a suitable explanation on what transpired over the period of 12 days when my equipment was with you folks and why I was charged with this amount in the last stages. Needless to say a prompt response is expected. Update as on September 24, 08: I finally raised a complaint with the consumer forum:ON September 20, 08 I had logged in a similar complaint about water leakage. A service engineer came to my residence on Monday September 22, 08 and tweaked the fridge such that it stopped cooling!! He was to come back on September 23, 08 to fit a washer to the door. I got a call from them on Sept 23, 08 morning and when I informed them of the cooling issue the phone was cut. I placed repeated requests at 3:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. at the call centre - 30308282 and even informed them of raising this with the consumer forum. I was given false assurances of somebody calling me within 30 minutes. On Wednesday September 24, 08 morning I registered another complaint at 9:10 a.m. and while I was demanding an assured time frame the lady disconnected my call. I am tired of living with a faulty product and pathetic service. Hencei have logged in a complaint with the consumer forum to help the company realize that consumers must not be taken for a ride. I have given them lots of room but its now beyond me. The trauma is way too much for me and my family to bear especially having paid a huge sum.The current closure: Mr. Suresh the Service Head (I am assuming) ensured that a service engineer came to work on this on Sunday @ 8:30 p.m. to resolve the problem. I paid the service charges of INR 338. I was informed that this problem is because of sudden humidity change. The vegetables will decay because thats the life they enjoy!!This has been a very demoralizing experience! They ensured that I literally cry and pour my worst in front of all the people. I am not going to rest at this.What next: I will mail this review to the HQ folks and keep on pestering till I get a proper resolution. Do watch this space!!

Update on June 1, 08: I called the call centre @ 9:00 a.m. sharp to inquire about the status of my complaint as the service engineer had not called me as assured by the head of installation Mr. Gopal on Saturday May 31, 08. I was aghast to hear that the service centre folks had updated in their system that they had called me and had confirmed an appointment for Monday June 2, 08. After holding onto the call centre fellow for 20 minutes I got the phone number of the service executive in Bangalore. He informed me that his service engineer would connect with us and confirm the time of arrival at my place. The service engineer promised to be at my place between 2 and 4. Its 5 as I pen this update and I am yet to hope that this person picks up the phone.This is a long fight!

RT40MAMS1/XTL 20060705The agony started 2 years ago when we purchased the Samsung refrigerator with the Bio fresh features on July 5, 06. It was a well researched and referred decision. But the product we got failed to live up to any of the expectations and even basic functionalities.

The issues cannot be mentioned as I am falling short of space with the latest update. Drop in a note to me, for the complete history.