I wish I could give these ****mers a 0 star rating.

On 2024-12-30 I went to the Samsung store at Sandton mall to look for a tablet to purchase. I was helped by a sales person named Thokozani Mo***eng. I was shown a few options and to purchased a Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 11 inch with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage along with a Galaxy Tab S9 Outdoor Cover and a Panzerglass screen protector (which was app**** by Samsung staff in the store). When I got home I took the tablet out of the box and put the new cover on it.

The Galaxy Tab S9 tablet cost: R23599.99 including VAT The outdoor cover for the tablet cost: R1199.99 including VAT The screen protector cost: R599.99 including VAT

Total cost: R25399.97

The tablet worked perfectly for 5 weeks. On the morning of 2025-02-03 (around 6:00 - 7:00) I played some YouTube videos on the tablet before putting the tablet to sleep and leaving for work. Everything was fine at the time. Around 16:15 I got home and I clicked the power button once on the tablet and when the screen came on there were multiple vertical and horizontal colored lines on the screen. I clicked the power button switch the screen off, then clicked it again to switch the screen back on and the lines were still there. I then held the power button down to turn the tablet off. The usual popup for shutdown and restart options showed and I tapped to switch the tablet off.

I left the tablet off for roughly 30 minutes. Then I switched the tablet back on. The colored lines were still there. I took out my phone to take a photo of the screen and before I managed to take a picture the entire screen went black except for a couple of red and blue dots near where the lines had previously converged.

That night I sent a Whatsapp message to the sales person who had helped me (Thokozani Mo***eng) letting him know that the screen was dead after barely a month from the purchase date and that I would be bringing it in for a refund.

The next day (2024-02-04) I went back to the Samsung store at Sandton mall to return the tablet to get my refund. Thokozani Mo***eng was not there at the time. I'll admit that I was angry when I went to the store and I was rude when demanding a refund. I was told that the tablet would have to be sent to another location to be inspected before I could get my refund.

I took the cover off of the tablet to remove the SD Card that I'd put in it, then I handed over the tablet and boxes and case over and I received a printed paper with my personal details and the details of the refund request On the 'Details of job' section of this paper it says: "screen had a line and then completely blank. customer doesn't want the unit anymore"

I then left the store. Shortly afterwards one of the store employees flagged me down to ask about the S-Pen that comes with the tablet. I suggested that it might be attached to the cover and went back to the store to look. We did not find it. I had forgotten it at home. I asked about how the refund process would work and if I could bring the S-Pen with when I came to get the refund. The employees confirmed that I could do this. The employees also noted that the refund might get denied because the metal pin used to open the SIM card slot was not in the packaging. I gave them the one that I got with my phone.

When I got home I found the S-Pen and sent a message to Thokozani Mo***eng letting him know that I had returned the tablet to the store and that I had forgotten the S-Pen when I went there, but I'd found it and would bring it when coming back for the refund. He rep**** that he had arrived at the store and had been briefed by management.

The next day (2025-02-05) at 16:42 I received the following SMS: "This is an automated update from Samsung. In order to continue with your repair registration, Please confirm your acceptance for estimated repair cost."

I phoned Thokozani Mo***eng through Whatsapp to ask about this SMS. In this call I asked why I was getting and SMS about repair costs when I specifically said I want a refund. I told him that it is ****my and that it seems like they are trying to trick me into agreeing to a repair instead of a refund. He told me that I did not have to respond to the SMS. I did not respond to the SMS.

The next morning at 08:33 I sent Thokozani Mo***eng this message: "Please let me know ASAP what's going on with the SMS that I got from Samsung yesterday asking me to confirm the repairs and acceptance of estimated cost of repairs.

I am putting it in writing here that I explicitly do not want a repair. I expect a refund. Not repairs.

That SMS seems like I am being asked to confirm something that I did not request and do not want in writing."

Shortly after Thokozani Mo***eng said he would let me know.

I then waited until 2025-02-11 before sending my next message where I asked for any updates. Thokozani Mo***eng said that he would have an update the next day (2025-02-12). I did not get an update.

The day after that (2025-02-13) I again requested an update and got no response that day.

Then on 2025-02-14 I got the following message with a PDF attached: "Morning. This is the report we received from the technical team. Therefore we can not refund the tablet because of the damage"

The PDF that was attached is a quote for repairs. There is a line that is labelled 'Technical report' with the description: "Impact damage. LCD has internal cracked"

The other lines in there are costs including a new screen and labour totalling R6573.98 inluding VAT.

How is internal damage possible when the tablet has been babied as if it is my first born child.

My interactions with Samsung so far feel like attempted ****s.

First is the attempt to get me to agree to repairs and payment of the costs in writing when I specifically requested a refund. And **** is the attempt to get me to pay for repairs on a device well within the warranty period (5ish weeks since purchase) when there was no external damage to the tablet at all. It wroked fine in the morning and stayed in the exact same position for the duration of the day until I got home and discovered the screen problems. There are no pets or other people in the house that could've touched the tablet in that timeframe. It still had the screen protector that was app**** in the store. It had a rugged outdoor case that had never been removed once it had been put on (except to take out the SD card at the store when returning the tablet)

And most importantly there is no evidence that I damaged the tablet. No external damage of any sort. I've found plenty of complaints about screen issues on Samsung tablets and plenty of complaints and the 'technical team': MM All Electronics which has a 2.7 trust rating and -100 NPS rating here on HelloPeter.

Do not trust Samsung products. Do not buy Samsung products. They might break after 5 weeks out of nowhere and then they try charge you for the repairs.