Fonemenders / Samsung Ireland

tdmci

I sent a Samsung Galaxy Note 2014 to be repaired under warranty in a prepaid envelope sent to me by Samsung - it went to FONEMENDERS in Limerick. They have received my tablet as it was signed for but have now ceased trading. I am having awful trouble trying to get it back they won't answer the phones and Samsung aren't giving me any answers either - although I hold them fully accountable as that is where they had it sent to! I have been on the phone to Samsung Support for the past 3 days and they said they are trying to get it resolved - not good enough after 3 weeks waiting and I presume it hasn't even been fixed if I did manage to get it back! Is anyone else caught out like me and what are you doing / what answers are Samsung giving you? Thanks T

Sonics2k

Samsung isn't the issue here, Fonemenders has gone into receivership and has effectively shut down.

Hundreds of people are having their phones withheld by Fonemenders because there simply seems to be no one there to send them back.

tdmci

Sonics2k wrote: »

Samsung isn't the issue here, Fonemenders has gone into receivership and has effectively shut down.

Hundreds of people are having their phones withheld by Fonemenders because there simply seems to be no one there to send them back.

I realise fonemenders are at fault. But Samsung are still fully accountable for my tablet which under warranty they have sent to fonemenders for repair. It is up to them to meet the receiver and get the goods of them - I am sure there must be lots of other Samsung customers caught out and left without their devices.

dawnbyrnes007

I am waiting on my iPhone 5 that was fixed in the store!no answers nothing!it's disgraceful!!

dawnbyrnes007

I dropped my iPhone into fonemenders in limerick and have STILL heard nothing!it was fixed in the store and there wasn't even a sign to tell me it had seized trading!im appalled at the fact nobody is even giving me the slightest bit of information on whether I'm going to get it back or not.has anyone information for me?

Grab All Association

Samsung will have to replace your phone

dudara

Threads merged - please do not create new threads on existing topics.

dudara

Sleeper12

I can't say anything about any other phones but Samsung are responsible for OPs note 4 but it may take time. If they have to they will give you a new one but they have to wait to find out whats happening with the one in phonemenders

skelligs

you're not going to get an answer to a phone, cos they are closed. No staff there to answer.

a 2 sec check on google gives you this from their FB page

"For any collections please email info@fonemenders.ie"

Now here's a bit of advice cos my guess is some of tose waiting are young and angry (based on the above posts) - Send A NICE email with specific details - reference number (assuming there was one), store, date it was left in, make & model. Possibly add your postal address too.

Kepp it short and to the point - sending someone a BS email ranting off for the sake of ranting off and the reader will get to line 2 and delete it.

dawnbyrnes007

No matter what way the message is they should read it it's illegal to hold on to someone's property!I am not young and angry and I have sent plenty of emails to that email address thanks for the smart answer back

dudara

A search on Solocheck shows Fonemenders registered address as

Occ Chartered Accountants,
11 Saint Patrick's Quay,
Cork

There is a creditors' meeting scheduled for June 10th. I'd write a registered letter to the above address asking for return of your property.

Sleeper12

dawnbyrnes007 wrote: »

No matter what way the message is they should read it it's illegal to hold on to someone's property!I am not young and angry and I have sent plenty of emails to that email address thanks for the smart answer back

If a receiver is called in I believe (I may be wrong) it is illegal for the shop to give it back. His job is to make sure the revenue commission get all tax, paye, vat etc get their money first. Then the banks (I hear everyone screaming) landlord, county council rates etc.
Unfortunately the customer is usually the last one to get paid if there any money left.
The OP will be sorted by Samsung if all else fails. Every one else will have to wait & sees what happens in the next few days.

tdmci

Thanks for the advice. I have of course googled it and sent two NICE POLITE Emails simply giving my reference number and asking if they still have my tablet, was it repaired, would it be returned or sent elsewhere to be fixed? As you mentioned they are not answering their phones , they are not returning email either. That is why some of us are getting "angry" as we are left without a device worth over €500. I also feel that Samsung are coming around to the idea that they will not get the device back (certainly not in the near future). I just need to get them to agree that they will now have to replace it for me.

tdmci

I get the impression from Samsung reading between the lines that they are not able to get it back - probably because there is no one to contact and the goods for repair cannot be released!

TheDriver

Sleeper12 wrote: »

If a receiver is called in I believe (I may be wrong) it is illegal for the shop to give it back. His job is to make sure the revenue commission get all tax, paye, vat etc get their money first. Then the banks (I hear everyone screaming) landlord, county council rates etc.
Unfortunately the customer is usually the last one to get paid if there any money left.
The OP will be sorted by Samsung if all else fails. Every one else will have to wait & sees what happens in the next few days.

As a side point but surely its not phonemenders property to sell or use otherwise. Its the OPs property and the most that can be demanded is value of the repair or goods used on it??
What if my car was being serviced and garage shut down at lunchtime. Do they have a "right" to hold onto my car or use it for creditors?? Dare I say it but can you call gardai because your property is being withheld?

dawnbyrnes007

I went to the guards to see if they could give me advice and they said they can't do anything it's more down a solicitors route.I don't have the money to even get one.I have come to terms with the fact I won't get it back it's just disgraceful to be quite honest

slimjimmc

TheDriver wrote: »

As a side point but surely its not phonemenders property to sell or use otherwise. Its the OPs property and the most that can be demanded is value of the repair or goods used on it??
What if my car was being serviced and garage shut down at lunchtime. Do they have a "right" to hold onto my car or use it for creditors?? Dare I say it but can you call gardai because your property is being withheld?

The receiver will check what is owned by the company and what is not, The stuff not owned by the company will be released but until that check is done nothing moves.

tdmci

Samsung still giving no answers and despite been told they would replace it last week - I am now been told they are trying to track it down. They may as well have NO CUSTOMER care. They never call back when they promise to, they will tell you a complete lie just to get you off the phone. I have been told:
(a) it is awaiting a part
(b) it is fixed and on its way back (After fonemenders had been shut 10 days)
(c) it never reached fonemenders in Limerick ( I was able to prove the tracking with AN POST and provide the name and date for it being delivered).
(d) it was now being sent to SBE for repair
(e) last Wednesday - it was agreed to replace it - they took all details of model etc. and said to allow 3 days for it to be delivered (Although I was still dubious and rightly so)
(f) today - the person who said it was being replaced and took my details had no authority to say this (even though he had been told by his Liaison Officer they would replace it) - now they are refusing to replace it and are still trying to track down where it is.
A month in and still no sign of a tablet, a repair or a resolution! I love Samsung products but would never buy another one purely on their level of care if something does go wrong! I will continue to update on the case!

dudara

slimjimmc wrote: »

The receiver will check what is owned by the company and what is not, The stuff not owned by the company will be released but until that check is done nothing moves.

^^ This.

The receiver is now in charge and you will have to deal with them to get your property returned. It can take a while to work out the receivership process, issue final payslips, redundancy payments etc. There's a lot to get through.

Registered letter to the receiver asking for return of your property is the way forward.

tdmci

Surely it is up to Samsung to sort out this mess and get it off the receiver - they are the ones who used fonemenders as their repair centre, they obviously had a contract with them and they were the one paying the bill for repair. I put my device in a special envelope provided by Samsung with a reference number attached. I don't even know if the receiver would deal with me directly as it was technically Samsung who got them to repair the tablet! I am going down the route of pushing Samsung to follow up and give me answers.

Grab All Association

tdmci wrote: »

Surely it is up to Samsung to sort out this mess and get it off the receiver - they are the ones who used fonemenders as their repair centre, they obviously had a contract with them and they were the one paying the bill for repair. I put my device in a special envelope provided by Samsung with a reference number attached. I don't even know if the receiver would deal with me directly as it was technically Samsung who got them to repair the tablet! I am going down the route of pushing Samsung to follow up and give me answers.

Don't worry about it you will get a new tablet from them but you will have to be more aggressive with them. It's like what I went through with Sony. HDMI ports stopped working on my TV and it took them a whole month to come get my TV and fix it. They only did it because I lost my cool with them. Crowd in Cork (who were excellent) sent up courier collected it then returned it.

Keep posting on their Facebook page. It will be bad press for them and they will want to get sorted as quickly as possible. If not small claims court

tdmci

Hi I took your advice and posted on facebook. Result - got a call today from head office in Dublin saying they saw my facebook comment and would replace my tablet. I was given a direct number to contact them if needed - no more call centres! Will see how long it takes to arrive now.

Sleeper12

tdmci wrote: »

Hi I took your advice and posted on facebook. Result - got a call today from head office in Dublin saying they saw my facebook comment and would replace my tablet. I was given a direct number to contact them if needed - no more call centres! Will see how long it takes to arrive now.

Great news!

dudara

tdmci wrote: »

Surely it is up to Samsung to sort out this mess and get it off the receiver - they are the ones who used fonemenders as their repair centre, they obviously had a contract with them and they were the one paying the bill for repair. I put my device in a special envelope provided by Samsung with a reference number attached. I don't even know if the receiver would deal with me directly as it was technically Samsung who got them to repair the tablet! I am going down the route of pushing Samsung to follow up and give me answers.

I was referring to the case where individuals might have dropped in their items for repair. If you sent your phone/tablet via a manufacturer or retailer then you should deal with them.

tdmci

Samsung Executive Team in Ireland are still no better than UK Support team - was told on the 11th June 2014 that a replacement tablet was being sent out -now over a fortnight later and 3 messages left on their voicemail I received a call today letting me know it still hadn't been processed and has not been sent out.
Fonemenders have gone bust and that was beyond Samsungs control. But surely dispatching a new product as agreed within a fortnight is not unreasonable. This has dragged on since 9th May. I am trying to just get my money back now if they can't send out a replacement. My advice AVOID SAMSUNG - they have great products but when things go wrong they don't want to know and just give every excuse / broken promise or lie they can to get you off the phone!

Sleeper12

Sorry to hear you are still having problems. Hopefully you'll be sorted soon.

tdmci

Still waiting -they have agreed a refund over a week ago but am still waiting for money in the bank. They don't seem to care if you are out of pocket and are left without the product you paid for. A nightmare to deal with!

Stinicker

Where did you buy the Tablet, did you buy it from Samsung Directly or 3rd Party?

I had a nightmare with Fonemenders and Three before where they gave me back a faulty Apple iPhone, I subsequently sued Three in the Small Claims Court and was released from Contract and Apple replaced my iPhone after Fonemenders had substituted it for a faulty one. I also got monetary compensation from Three as a result.

Do not lie down on this and I suggest you take Samsung to the Small Claims Court.

http://www.boards.ie/ttfthread/2056415717/1

tdmci

I got the refund from Samsung yesterday after 2 months the money was finally paid into my account. If have never dealt with customer so awful - I have gone out and bought an ipad and would never go near Samsung again - not because of their products but because of t heir aftersales team. It is amazing what daily complaints publicly posted on their webpage can achieve but it shouldn't take that to get a level of service to be expected. Thanks Chris for your advice it definitely got the result for me.