It looks like it will be a while until the fallout from the Note 7 debacle calms down, with Samsung facing an ongoing struggle to regain consumer confidence as well as deal with the financial hit it’s taken.
And now, the lawsuits have started, with Motherboard reporting that the company is facing a class action lawsuit in New Jersey.
The suit, brought by three initial plaintiffs, is aimed at recovering cell phone contract fees, which the customers say they had to pay while being asked to wait for replacements handsets to be delivered.
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Samsung was forced to recall Note 7 handsets after widespread reports of the phones overheating, and in some cases exploding, before halting production altogether.
The plaintiffs allege they were asked to wait several weeks between when Samsung and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission originally issued a recall, with an unusable phone, while still paying device contract fees.
The initial recall from the Safety Commission was issued on September 9 and asked users to power down handsets, with Samsung offering replacement handsets as of September 21.
As Motherboard reports, the suit states the following: “Samsung informed consumers they would have to wait several days, and even weeks in many cases, before receiving a replacement smartphone.
“During this time, and as a result of Defendant failing to provide consumers with an adequate replacement, consumers continued to incur monthly device and plan charges from their cellular carriers for phones they could not safely use.”
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Samsung originally recalled the devices following the overheating reports, before issuing replacement handsets – only to recall these once it became clear the supposedly safe new devices were also overheating.
Analysts have suggested the company will bring forward the release of its upcoming Galaxy S8 handset to help make up for the financial loss it will take due to the Note 7 problems.
If you are still using the handset, Samsung has advised all Note 7 owners to immediately power down the devices and return them as soon as possible.
TrustedReviews has contacted Samsung for comment.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.