Samsung Mobile Disappointment

<p>I renewed my contract in July this year and received my Samsung Galaxy A5 2016. In October I was using my phone, put it down on the counter to do something and five minutes later went to use my phone again and it would not unlock. I took it to Telkom (throuh who I took out the contract) and they could not help me and advised me to take it to SMART LAB in Milnerton. I did so and they informed me that my screen was cracked in 2 places and it would cost R1800.00 to fix. I handed it in to them and requested a formal quotation which they emailed me. The quotation was for R2093.00. I accepted this and was told to pay a deposit of R1569.75 before they would commence with repairing my phone. I paid this deposit on 10th November 2016 and was told it would take 7 to 10 working days for my phone to be repaired. On the 10th working day (25th November) I received a mail from Smart Lab stating and I quote "Unfortunately we will not be able to repair your device" and requesting me to send my bank details so they could refund my deposit. I then phoned Samsung Head Office in Johannesburg on 25th November 2016 at 8h30 and was put through to one of their technicians (ref no ********** 305). The technician informed me that he was putting my request through to another department and someone would phone me to advise what I should do. To date no-one has phoned me back. I went to collect my unrepaired device from Smart Lab today and they told me to try Samsung in Century City. I went there and before they would even book the phone in they wanted to charge me R288.00 assessment fee. I told them that the screen was cracked and needed replacement and I wanted to give them the report from Smart Lab which they did not even want to look at. I was not prepared to pay an additional R288 to be told AGAIN that the screen was cracked.</p> <p>I now have an almost brand new Samsung device which I cannot use, I cannot get repaired and am still paying for under my contract. I never dropped the phone or put pressure on the screen as was imp**** by Smart Lab. I had a protective screen and a rubber casing on the phone. I was never told that there was no warranty on the screen for this phone. I have been a Samsung user for the last 10 years but am very dissapointed with the service I have now received from Samsung. Under the circumstances I feel that the phone should be replaced with a new one. Perhaps there is a problem with this model Samsung's screen? If this is the case then I would like my phone to be replaced with a different model. </p>