Samsung not providing warranty for a brand new soundbar Q950A

[mgdelhi]

I bought a Samsung Soundbar Q950A from Croma (Retail Store) on 29th April, 2022 and it was delivered to me next day (30th April).

On 1st May, the assigned installation person did not come but another person came very late when I was about to leave for some work. He unboxed and installed it in 10-15 minutes and left, I didn’t have time to check it that day.

Next day, I checked it and while calibrating, I got to know that “Tune Auto EQ” fails at every attempt. Auto EQ feature analyzes surrounding spaces with a built-in microphone mounted on the subwoofer. This offers optimized sound by calibrating excessively amplified low frequencies and sounds that are offset by other audio.




Samsung claims:

“Auto EQ

The included subwoofer automatically fills the room with surround sound and powerful bass calibrated for you.

* This function is not exclusive to Samsung TV models and can be used with any TV brand's models.”

I tried various locations for subwoofer placement in a quite room. I tried different mobile phones but no luck. I even tried it in a different room. It seems it is a known hardware issue with defective microphone in the subwoofer in some units and Samsung has replaced subwoofer in some countries.

So, after trying everything suggested in various forums, I registered a complaint on 3rd May, 2022 (Complaint SR No.4346647822), I was assured that it will be attended same day before 8:00PM but it was not attended on 3rd, 4th and 5th May.

On 6th May, an engineer (Mr. Anil Sharma) came but he tried 10-15 times through my phone but could not solve it. He assured me that he will discuss it with his seniors and provide me a solution next day.

Then there was no action 7th, 8th and 9th May.

On the 10th May, another engineer (Mr. Bhushan Mishra) came but he reloaded the same version firmware from USB pen drive and tried many 10-15 times through my phone and his phone the Auto EQ failed every single time. He also assured me that he will discuss it with his seniors and get back to me shortly but no calls/solution after that.

In the meantime, I raised the issue with Samsung India on twitter on 5th May. I got a call from Samsung corporate office on 7th May and the person assured that he will surely provide me a solution by 9th May but no solution so far. I am reminding them on twitter almost daily but I guess they have abounded their product and it’s warranty.

This is the summary:

Day 1 (29/April) - Bought Samsung Soundbar Q950A from Croma Store.

Day 2 (30/April) - Soundbar delivered.

Day 3 (1/May) – Assigned engineer (Mr. Sudhir Kumar Arya) did not come for installation. Later, another engineer (Mr. Sangeet Yadav) came and unboxed and installed.

Day 5 (3/May) - Complaint registered (SR No.4346647822).

Day 6 (4/May) - Assigned engineer (Mr. Sandeep) called and said that he does not know how to fix it so he send a senior engineer.

Day 7 (5/May) - Assigned engineer (Mr. Bhushan Mishra) didn’t come.

Day 8 (6/May) - Assigned engineer (Mr. Anil Sharma) came but could not fix.

Day 9 (7/May) - No action.

Day 10 (8/May) - No action.

Day 11 (9/May) - No action.

Day 12 (10/May) - Assigned engineer (Mr. Bhushan Mishra) came but could not fix the problem.

Day 13 (11/May) - No action.

Day 14 (12/May) - No action.

Today is the 15th day and there is nothing from Samsung. Q950A is one of the most premium soundbars from Samsung and they are not giving warranty/replacement support for a brand new unit. They are behaving as if I bought a cheap chinese unbranded product without warranty.

Please suggest me how should I take it further with Samsung to get the issue fix.

 

[Kannan]

wow, it is pricey stuff. I suggest you keep pushing them and try and escalate the issue to higher authorities in Samsung.
Also check if you have a Samsung service center in your location and visit them in person to put pressure.

 

[sdk]

If you bought it on a credit card, then write a complaint to croma and Samsung via registered post AD, then complain to your credit card company and ask to reverse charges due to defective goods, they will ask you for a copy of the correspondence. If they are satisfied then charges will be reversed and croma will come asking for the unit and you can wash your hands off the mess

 

[gopichandpai]

Have you tried resetting your soundbar? Please reset your soundbar and see if it helps. Also, after the reset, connect your rear speakers and sub first and then turn on the soundbar. You could try this while you are awaiting the response from Samsung.

 

[mgdelhi]

Day-16

Thank you everyone for your valuable suggestions.

After sending few emails yesterday, I got a couple of calls from Samsung followed by a visit today.

It was the same person who visited earlier. He tried a couple of things but could not fix the problem. He called his senior and as asked by his senior, I sent purchase invoice on his senior's email id.

Then I spoke to his senior, and he confirmed that he got the invoice and assured me that they are raising the issue for replacement or refund, they will let me know the outcome on Monday most probably.

Does anyone know how refund works in such cases? Do they pay at the time of product pick-up? How do they pay? Is it checque/IMPS/neft?

PS: I am not impressed with knowledge of service engineer. He tried same basic things again and again. His seniors sent him a PDF on whatsapp with steps to fix the problem. He was not confident of following those instructions and forwarded the PDF to me to help him with those instructions. The document was internal document and first line of the document read "CONFIDENTIAL". I thought Samsung would employ better engineers. Not mentioning his name purposely in this post.

 

[mgdelhi]

Day-18

Today, I called their service head (outsourced) to whom I had sent invoice on 14th May. He told me that they don't have a replacement and they will process the refund and asked me for a copy of my cancelled cheque and a copy of any identity document. I have emailed him both with a CC to Samsung India mail ids I had.

They don't have a system of online transfer. They will make a cheque/DD and send it to me by courier and the whole process can take a week.

Later, got a call from Samsung CEO office that they are processing refund and she will call me tomorrow for the update. I confirmed that refund will be of full invoice and they are not going to deduct any GST or something. She confirmed that it will be full invoice amount.

Let's see how it goes.

 

[lingamkrishnan]

do you have any update on the issue you were facing on this samsung soundbar? I was planning to buy this soundbar but stopped my plan due to the issue you are facing and wanted to know about how samsung handles this issue..

 

[Chulbulee]

I am not impressed with knowledge of service engineer. He tried same basic things again and again. His seniors sent him a PDF on whatsapp with steps to fix the problem. He was not confident of following those instructions and forwarded the PDF to me to help him with those instructions. The document was internal document and first line of the document read "CONFIDENTIAL". I thought Samsung would employ better engineers. Not mentioning his name purposely in this post.

Though soundbars are sold, very few people know about it, and the so-called person is basically an installer, know only connecting the equipment, hdmi etc. It is expensive to hire "engineers" so ...

 

[mgdelhi]

do you have any update on the issue you were facing on this samsung soundbar? I was planning to buy this soundbar but stopped my plan due to the issue you are facing and wanted to know about how samsung handles this issue..

Day-19 (17/May)

Got a call from Samsung CEO office that the refund has been processed and I will get the DD in next 7-10 days. She asked me to send an email to CEO office if I don't get DD in a 7-10 days.

Day-20 to Day-25

No action.

Day-26 (24/May)

Sent an email to CEO office and got a call from a different person. He told me that the refund has been approved and it will take 20-25 days to actually get the DD. I asked him the reason for delay and he said it is a norm in Samsung India.

I asked him to send me an email because so far, I had just verbal assurance about refund but nothing in writing. He was reluctant to send me such mail but he assured me that he will talk to his seniors and get back to me.

After an hour or so, he sent me this email:

Sub: Refund Approved confirmation from CEO Desk Samsung India Pvt Ltd

Dear Mr. XXXXXX XXXX,

I am XXX from Customer experience ,

As discussed the Refund is approved and it will be dispatched by tomorrow as per my confirmation.

You can call me on 01243630xxx-extn. if you have any Enquiry.

Warm regards,

After this mail, he called me and told that they will send the DD to service center and service center people will collect the defective unit and deliver the DD. AND THIS PROCESS WILL TAKE A WEEK.

Samsung head office / CEO office is in Gurgaon, I am in Gurgaon, service center is in Gurgaon, then it is taking so long. Imagine what happens to customers who are not in Gurgaon or even worse if they are in small town.

Also, Croma people were also following it up at their and I got regular updates from them. Today, someone from Croma called and told me that they have confirmed from Samsung India that I will get the DD by 30th May so they are closing this complaint at their end (I had not told them DD from my end).

 

[lingamkrishnan]

Thanks for sharing the update. I got an offer of 78k from Croma Bengaluru for q950a soundbar. lets see if i can test the soundbar and take it!

 

[mgdelhi]

Thanks for sharing the update. I got an offer of 78k from Croma Bengaluru for q950a soundbar. lets see if i can test the soundbar and take it!

It sounds great to my ears.

Some of the drawbacks:

1. Display on top - You don't know the source, volume level, media type, audio, etc. unless you stand up and go to soundbar.
2. Dust magnet.
3. It shows Dolby Atmos, DTS:X but does not show Dolby True HD, DTS-HD-MA, DD, DD+, DTS on it's display.

 

[saurabhgamer]

It sounds great to my ears.

Some of the drawbacks:

1. Display on top - You don't know the source, volume level, media type, audio, etc. unless you stand up and go to soundbar.
2. Dust magnet.
3. It shows Dolby Atmos, DTS:X but does not show Dolby True HD, DTS-HD-MA, DD, DD+, DTS on it's display.

Hi
Can you guide me regrading :
1. To purchase q950a at 70k at croma
or
2. Wait and purchase new q990b around diwali time for discounted price of may be 75-80k

 

[mgdelhi]

Hi
Can you guide me regrading :
1. To purchase q950a at 70k at croma
or
2. Wait and purchase new q990b around diwali time for discounted price of may be 75-80k

I think waiting for q990b is a better idea.

At least first two drawbacks I have mentioned have been solved in Q990B.

 

[mgdelhi]

Day-30 (28/May)

After regular follow up with Samsung India CEO office and Samsung service (outsourced, they deal with customer including pickup of defective products and handing over cheque), finally soundbar picked up and refund DD/cheque received.

 

[BLASTO]

Title is misleading.