Samsung is not what it used to be

Terrible service from a Samsung service centre...

My Galaxy S20 FE, contrary to other people's reviews of this phone, was a brilliant phone. I had no issues whatsoever until the screen went black in September... the phone was just 4 months old.

I then proceeded to send the phone back to MTN where it was bought on contract for a warranty repair. It then ends up at the Samsung service center in Riverhorse Valley, Durban... and that is where the nightmare begins.

About 7 weeks went on since I sent the phone in, and I did not get any feedback whatsoever. I then had to call and find out, that's when I heard it's with the Samsung service center and that there's a quote for the repair. I then called the store directly to finally get the quote sent to me which was around R3300. The technician says there was a crack on the screen, yet when I sent the phone in, it was literally in mint condition. There were no cracks or dings, it never fell and was always in a case with a screen protector.

So they charged me for a screen repair yet the phone was in mint condition, the screen just went black/blank. Even when I connected it with the HDMI cable it would display on the TV and I could control the phone... hence I believe there was a loose contact on the screen or something.

Nevertheless, he advises that there will be an assessment fee of R350 should I not accept the quote, and that the device will be s****ped soon to defray their expenses.

Being forced and in fear that they might s**** my phone, I proceed to pay the quoted amount. I then had to pay another R207 for courier fees.

The device gets back last week, and it's not the same. There is dust under the camera lens, causing a black spot on the picture in the camera app. There is a gap on one side of the back cover, as well as a kink in the back cover, making me question if the phone was properly sealed and if it is still IP68 compliant. The sim card tray has a small ding which was never there. The phone was heating up and losing a lot of battery life making me also question whether they changed the battery like they said they would.

This is terrible service, and just problem after problem.

I have emailed the guys at the store on Saturday and have not yet received a reply. When I called in on Monday, the technician was not in and the other guy was apparently on another call.

I really don't know what to do next. I feel **********, like they took over R3500 from me, but ruined my phone in the process. Yet it was supposed to be a normal warranty repair.