Samsung Galaxy Watch Heart Rate Issues

My wife and I ordered 2 Galaxy Watches (1 each) through FNB late last year. The combination of a smart watch and fitness tracker was very appealing as we both work out a lot and rely on our fitness trackers to link to Discovery for Vitality points.

It became apparent after a few days that there was an issue with the Heart Rate monitors on the devices. They work fine when you're at rest but when you do an intense workout they stop monitoring periodically and become very erratic. After doing some research I found a few potential fixes online which I tried but nothing worked. By the time I contacted FNB been referred to Digital Planet and received our proof of purchase documents the cool-down period had expired.

I took the devices to a Samsung repair centre where they performed a software reset but the problem persisted.

More research led me to discover that this is a known issue with the device and is acknowledged by Samsung with no plans to rectify it. I tried many different 3rd party heart rate applications to try get it working but nothing worked.

Eventually, I contacted FNB and requested a refund on the devices as they do not work as advertised (s56 (read with s55) of the consumer protection act).

After much back and forth regarding 100% cancellation fees I managed to make it clear that I wasn't cancelling, I was requesting a refund.

I'm now dealing with Marilda Reed who told me they would send someone to collect the devices and they would be assessed and then they would get back to me. I explained in an email to her what the issue is and stressed that the technician would need to ensure he assesses the device under the correct conditions to find the issue. I also included several Samsung Support Forum links regarding the issue for her reference.

The devices were collected on Friday the 8th of March. Marilda responded yesterday saying the devices had been assessed and no issues were discovered. I requested an assessment report so I can be sure the technician assessed the issue correctly and also asked for the contact details of the technician so I can liaise directly with him/her.

Marilda responded this morning with a baffling email stating that the devices would need to be re-assessed by a 3rd party and that we have to pay for it, also stating that any physical damage to the device would void the warranty. In short she did not address the questions I raised in my email at all.

I responded asking her for clarification on the questions I raised and her response was that the devices haven't actually been assessed yet.

I find this kind of service unacceptable in the extreme. The devices have been with Samsung for almost 2 weeks and they haven't even looked at them yet?

Here are the links I initially sent Marilda detailing the issue.

https://eu.community.samsung.com/t5/Smartphones-Tablets-Wearables/Galaxy-Watch-not-measuring-Heart-rate/td-p/671104

https://eu.community.samsung.com/t5/Smartphones-Tablets-Wearables/Gear-Sport-Not-Tracking-Heart-Rate-When-Exercising/m-p/623956#M22693