[Galaxy S I9000 General] exstarosta:
Hi Guys,

My story is quite long, but I wanted to include many of the details so you could imagine the situation I am in. I don’t have the intention of rooting the phone. I paid £440 of my hard earned money and expected good quality product and prompt, helpful customer care and service in case of any problems. I would appreciate any help which will enable me to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.

I'm in the UK. I purchased the Samsung Galaxy S (I9000) from an online shop on 4th June and received it on 19th. After a while I noticed there is a problem with the accelerometer. It manifested itself especially in Layar app and other applications using accelerometer to relate the phone to the ground, plus Asphalt 5, Krazy Kart Racing and other games using Accelerometer. When I hold the phone level in the horizontal position it was clearly pulling to the left side. To achieve the perfect level I had to rotate the phone slightly clockwise.

Unfortunately the 28 day return period expired as I was on holiday for over 3 weeks before I noticed the fault. I decided to contact Samsung directly and not go through the online shop as it would be much longer way. I was advised to go to one of the service locations near me and show them the fault.

I did exactly that on 14th Aug. Went to ECT, they said they cannot repair it and will send the phone on 16th Aug to Samsung Repair Centre and it will take up to 10 working days to get the phone back.

14th Sep – ECT rang me they received the phone but it is still faulty (after 1 month!). I rang Samsung Customer Services (SCS) and raised a complaint, which was given high priority. I was told someone from Complaints Dept will get back to me on this within 24-48 hrs; I get no response.

16th Sep – Contacted SCS, spoke with Person1 who arranged new repair with SBE Service Centre and promised it will be treated as top priority and will be repaired the same day SBE received the phone.

17th Sep - ECT sent the phone to SBE as agreed day before.

18th Sep – Person2 from SCS wrote to ensure my case has been escalated and is treated as top priority.

23rd Sep – Spoke with Person3 to get the update on the phone, they promised to get back to me.

24th Sep – Email from Person3 confirming SBE received the phone on 22nd.

25th Sep – Person2 wrote saying it is treated as a usual repair and will be processed as any other case (denying her words from 18th)

29th Sep – Received email from SCS who raised a complaint for me, and again I should hear back within 24-48hrs; I get no response.

1st Oct – Collected phone from ECT – fault still not fixed (after 7 weeks!)

2nd Oct - Call from Person4. Asked me to send the phone for the third (last) repair attempt in compliance with Samsung Policy.

4th Oct – Sent the phone to Regenersis.

Contacted Regenersis, they confirmed they received the phone and will repair within 5-7 working days.

22nd Oct – After a delay, I received the phone. Original fault fixed, but the phone arrived in worst state then I left it, which was pristine condition, as I really care about all my electronic devices.

-	Frame wasn’t fit properly and creaks on both sides of the screen

-	Slightly damaged under the cover – sign of unskilful stripping attempt.

3rd Nov – Spoke with SCS – advised to send the phone again or go to the Service Centre to try to fix the creaking frame.

4th Nov – Tried to upgrade the Firmware to Froyo with Kies; upgrade failed; unable to access recovery mode as per Kies instructions. Phone unusuable. 3-button access to Download or Recovery Mode not working on device.

5th Nov – Went to ECT – Engineer told me he won’t be able to do anything with the device as he is unable to access Download or Recovery mode. Gave me details of another Service Centre.

Later that day I managed to restore the firmware on my own using ADB tool to reboot into download mode. 3-button access still not working.

6th Nov – Went to Samsung Service in London. They couldn’t find the reason for the creaking frame. Engineer confirmed there is a clear fault as the phone is unable to access Download/Recovery mode using 3 button combo, although all buttons work fine. They were unable to repair the phone on the premises and would need to take it and send elsewhere to fix the fault. For me this is out of question as I have no guarantee the phone will be fixed quickly, if at all. I simply don’t trust their Repair Centres and I can’t afford another 10 weeks without the phone.

10th Nov – Spoke with person in Escalation Dept. who didn't really pay much attention to my story and said the only thing they can do is to authorise another repair, and was repeating this is their policy and can't authorise exchange unless they fail to repair the single fault three times.

To summarise, the phone was being repaired 3 timed for 10 weeks. Original fault was eventually repaired but it came back in worst state then when I handed it over. Now frame creaks badly and the phone is slightly damaged due to unskilful opening attempt. During the latest official Froyo upgrade it turned out it’s impossible to access Download or Recovery mode, which was confirmed by Samsung engineer. I can’t see the point of further repair attempts as the total costs will be much higher than a cost of a new device, which I was trying to explain to Escalation Dept today. Plus, I cannot afford more time without the phone, which is essential tool in my everyday life.

It is expensive, Samsung’s flagship phone, so one would expect superb quality, but mine appears to be very unreliable and faulty. I also had problems with battery and alarm clock.

I love this phone to bits, but my handset is simply disappointing and on top of all this, the creaking sound makes the phone feel cheap and unreliable. I bought the phone and I even can’t use it as it is being repaired all the time.

I simply expecting from Samsung to step up and admit there is something wrong with my handset and to replace it or at give the refund. I just want the phone which is in pristine condition, just as I handed it over, as the one I had at the moment feels and looks like it is 5 years old.

I am really desperate at the moment and would appreciate any help and advice as to what would be the best and quickest way to resolve this matter and get a brand new replacement from Samsung.

Thank you guys for reading!