South Korean Note 7 users to sue Samsung

HUNDREDS of South Korean Galaxy Note 7 smartphone owners were yesterday preparing to file a lawsuit against Samsung Electronics over the fire-prone device.

Attorney Peter Young-Yeel Ko, the head of the Harvest Law Firm, said 527 consumers wanted Samsung to compensate them for the costs to visit shops to exchange their phones, for hours they waited while transferring data and for psychological harm from using a hazardous product.

His clients included a consumer who claims to have lost thousands of pictures from a family vacation and another who drove eight hours roundtrip to return the phone.

Samsung recalled the Galaxy Note 7 phone because it tends to overheat. It recalled replacement Note 7s after finding they also were prone to catch fire and stopped making or selling them. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Ko, a long-time Samsung phone user, said he had to visit a mobile shop three times after buying the Note 7 in August, first to get the battery checked when reports of the devices catching fire first surfaced. He went back to get a replacement phone after Samsung’s first recall and again after the company’s second Note 7 recall.

Apparently in response to criticism over its handling of the recalls, Samsung announced yesterday that Note 7 owners who switched to Samsung Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge could get 50 percent discounts on upgrades to Galaxy S8 or Note 8 phones next year if they returned the S7 or S7 Edges.

‘I feel betrayed. I am angry and I don’t ever want to use it again.’

Samsung earlier offered 30 000 won (R360) worth of coupons for the Samsung mobile shopping mall to all Note 7 users. Those switching to other Samsung phones were offered 70 000 won worth of coupons.

Kim Chae Yong, who joined the lawsuit, said he spent almost $100 (R1 396) on gas and highway fees to return a Note 7 phone after the first recall. Kim drove about 300km from his home to where he had bought the Note 7.

“I feel betrayed,” the 26-yearold plant engineer said. “I am angry and I don’t ever want to use it again.” – AP