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Samsung customers not happy after phones catch fire
Weeks following Samsung’s launch of the Galaxy Notebook 7, a global recall was issued after customers experienced the phone catching fire and blowing up.
It began in early September when a total of 35 complaints surfaced about the device catching fire while charging.
The South Korean company initially responded with the decision to stop sales and offer replacements to those who experienced the phone exploding. The company identified the problem as an issue with the battery unit.
“While there have been only a small number of reported incidents, Samsung is taking great care to provide customers with the support they need. Samsung has identified the affected inventory and stopped sales and shipments of those devices,” the company stated on Sept. 2.
Sales promptly stopped nationally at cellular retailers including Verizon, Best Buy, Amazon and Target.
The chairman of the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, Eliot F. Kaye, is concerned the problems aren't over.
"The Galaxy Note7 recall has proven to be a real challenge for Samsung. I am very concerned that consumers who exchanged their phones for replacement Galaxy Note 7s are now at risk again,” wrote Kaye in a statement on Sept. 9.
“We at CPSC (The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission) have worked diligently under difficult circumstances to protect consumers and bring this matter to an appropriate close. CPSC will continue to hold Samsung and other companies accountable when consumer safety is put at risk."
Jonathan Strobel from Florida filed a lawsuit against the company for severe burns on his right leg after the phone caught fire in his pocket on Sept 16. The lawsuit is the first of its kind against the company.
In another case, a man in Perth, Australia, woke up to the phone burning through his hotel comforter sheets. Samsung agreed to pay damages of $1,330.
The replacements that were distributed by the company also were reported to have incineration issues. Samsung sent out fireproof packaging and protective gloves to the customers to return the devices.
By Oct. 10, of the 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7s sold in the United States, the number of explosion incidents had tripled in the weeks that followed the initial complaints.
Samsung acknowledged 92 different cases in the United States alone, 26 of which resulted in burns and 52 cases that caused property damage according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The U.S. Department of Transportation issued an emergency order on Oct. 15 to ban the carrying of the Galaxy Note 7 on all flights. As a result the device may not be transported on planes in any way—in cargo or with passengers.
“We recognize that banning these phones from airlines is an inconvenience for some passengers, but the safety of all those aboard an aircraft must take priority,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx stated. “We are taking this additional step because even one fire incident inflight poses a high risk of severe personal injury and puts many lives at risk.”
Though the debacle has become a financial problem for the tech company--its stock dropped 7 percent--the exploding phone has become the subject of online jokes. Indeed Samsung has some work to do to get its reputation to where it was before early September.
By Matt Manfredi