Shady Warranty Practices & Held refund
Shady Warranty Practices & Held Assets: My Nightmare with Samsung Executive Escalations I recently ordered a brand-new Galaxy Watch8 Classic (46mm) directly from Samsung, utilizing their trade-in program to send back my functional Watch5 Pro. The new watch arrived defective out of the box, draining its battery completely in 19 to 21 hours instead of the advertised 40 hours. When I contacted customer service for a simple product exchange under warranty, they refused, claiming they "do not have a replacement process" for this type of case. Instead, they forced me into a return-and-refund model. To make matters worse, their Executive Support team engaged in a complete bait-and-switch regarding my trade-in. I was promised in writing that my $250 trade-in credit would process within 24–48 hours of inspection. Once they had my physical watch in their warehouse, they altered the terms, stating they would withhold my trade-in credit for up to 14 business days until the entire defective order was completely closed. They also forced a painful 15-to-17 business day window just to process the cash refund on the broken watch they sent me. They ultimately refunded my money according to their rigid, anti-consumer procedures, but the entire experience was completely unsatisfactory. Samsung does not care about its brand, its product quality, or its customers. If you trade your device in with them, be prepared for them to hold your money and your property hostage if the new unit they send you is broken. Save yourself the headache and look for other brands. I bought a Google Pixel watch, the technology is superior and the battery last 3.5 days!