Phone is smelling burnt and Battery is dying fast including phone getting to hot

Unhappy service from vodacom

On the 9th of January 2025 I received a new phone from Malvern vodacom. I didnt even use it that much ,as I was still using my old phone for my work and I didnt hsve the time to transfer everything as my old phone is a Huawei Y9s.

On the 10th of January I notice the phone is getting hot at the back as I was using it abit ,I didnt think much as it was a known thing amongst Samsungs. As the day went on I see the battery level dropping very fast aswell ,so I set the phone aside.

On the 11th January morning I put it back on as my nephew came home and he likes the S pen from the phone as he uses it to draw on app of the phone.soonest I took the S PEN out from the insert ,I smelt a burning smell ,in shocked i left the phone down ,and waited abit then I took the pen and smelt it ,it was smelling very bad of a burnt smell .

Immediately I called vodacom Malvern spoke to lungi she advise me that please bring the phone in we will need to send it in for repairs. That made me frustrated as its a 2 days old phone aswell a R27000 phone why will it need to go for repairs ,I requested a replacement device ,she said unfortunately thats not possible, she then advise me to go to zenith drive umhlanga vodacom which is the repair center and there's a on-site technician to inspect it.

The next day 12th January 2025 I went over and I spoke to a guy name Lionel, very helpful ,I explained my scenario and he checked it ,soonest he took the pen out he said ," No man something is burning here,its very bad " he advise me that the phone need to be inspected again by a technician and I will get feedback with in 1 day or so. I did explain to him ,I did show him I paid R4500 excess for that phone and its a 3 days old phone and I dont need to to be repaired ,I need a replacement phone. He said np sir he will book it in .

The phone was booked in ,I kept on calling the branch for feedback , my repair query was handed over to Ryes, its a female that works there .she explained to me that the technician found out that its the circuit board that is faulty and the part has been ordered. I was furious as no one called me to explain the procedure and what was wrong. I had to call in . I explained to her what happen and I need a replacement device as its a brand new phone pnly 3 days ,the invoice was attached to the job card.she was surprised that the phone was booked in correctly. The phone supposed to be booked in as a out of box failure which it wasnt booked in.she took my statement and attached it to a new job card and sent in in for a HIGHER LEVEL inspection. She also cancel the order of the part for the phone.

I called yesterday 19Th January 2026 to find out whats going on.shes off but Lionel advise me that phone is ready for collection and there's nothing wrong with this phone.

I just messed my Monday mood up but calling in ,how can they find nothing wrong with it where 2 technicians of vodacom found out that the circuit board is damage.

I explained I stay 50km away from the branch I cant keep on checking and bringing the phone back after a while This phone was 3 days old phone.i didnt want the money I wanted a new device .

This totally uncalled for. I had the utmost respect talking to every consultant of the branch ,but now im so furious about the service I am receiving.

I also requested to speak to the manager of the branch he said he will call me its being 6 days he didnt .

I got a call back from Vodacom umhlanga 22nd January stating that phone came back from higher above technician and there's nothing wrong with the phone battery and its normal for the S pen to smell burnt ,apparently thats how its manufactured. Which I found so funny and disgusted as I have another S25ultra and there's not even a scene of burning smell on the S PEN.

Because of the disgusting services this complaint will be address to Hello Peter and ombudsman as this after sales service is very bad .