“A., a resident of central Israel, had a nasty surprise recently, when his new Samsung Galaxy S4 caught fire as it was charging,” Tsach Shpitsen and Yisrael Wolman report for Ynetnews. “‘The phone was on charge, and a friend was in the room,’ he recalls. ‘I was in the kitchen when I heard a noise. I thought that maybe something had fallen in the next room. I went in and the whole room was filled with black smoke. One sheet was completely alight, the walls were black. Luckily my friend was unharmed.'”
“A’s story is one that has been repeated, with slight variations, at least 20 times around the country in recent months: Galaxy S4 owners complain about their phones bursting into flames, and a short time later they are paid a visit by an agent from Scailex Corp., which is the official Samsung provider in Israel,” Shpitsen and Wolman report. “They are given generous compensation packages and sign a contract pledging not to sue the company for damages, a contract that also includes a confidentiality agreement.”
“Yedioth Ahronoth has learned that this policy also applies to customers who purchased devices imported to Israel in ways other than through the official importer – a directive that came from Samsung itself,” Shpitsen and Wolman report. “The battery controversy came to light in recent days, following a dispute between Samsung and Scailex, a subsiduary of Suny Electronics Ltd., over Samsung’s demand to change its exclusive distribution agreement. Samsung claims that Scailex didn’t meet the sales targets set out in the agreement.
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Igal Nevo” for the heads up.]
Related article:
Tax evasion, bribery and price-fixing: How Samsung became the giant that ate South Korea – April 22, 2013
Samsung; Androids #1 manufacturer. The beginning of the end. (5 quarters of missed earnings.)
it really does feels that way. the s ship is starting to sink
Well, ship my pants!
Doesn’t karma just suck when you screw your customers.
This is only going to accelerate Apple’s sales.
Why only in Israel is this happening? Odd isn’t it?
This battery burning, men-in-black, ‘have some money but STFU’ is NOT new for Samsung. This is just the latest wave. There’s another story about same somewhere back in the MDN archives.
Paying hush money to suppress bad publicity. Sound business logic, but soulless
I’m sorry to differ dear goddess, but there’s nothing ‘sound business logic’ about hiding the truth. When it comes out, and it always does, it makes the company look deceitful and ruins its reputation. Of course, in this case, bad reputation is entirely deserved.
Logic is to swiftly attack the problem and stop it and show full public compassion to the customers who have suffered. I think we all appreciate those who take responsibility for their lives and business. Samsung doesn’t.
Of course you’re right.
I should have said ‘sound business logic TO THEM.’ They must have calculated the costs of each possible solution, and concluded that the least costly was to try for a coverup. One cost they overlooked, as you imply, was damage to their reputation — believing, as Nixon and Haldeman did during Watergate, that money and stonewalling could suppress the story from breaking.
Samsung’s sales were already declining, and they made a desperate move to prevent losing even more sales to consumer fear. Maybe they get away with this stuff in S. Korea, but in Israel? Uh-uh.
Lithium batteries are known to be dangerous if not manufactured properly or if they or the devices in which they are used don’t contain adequate overcharge and overdepletion protection circuitry. Not pointing fingers, but Samsung has been known to cut corners whenever and wherever it was possible (hence the IP lawsuits) and cutting costs on battery technology would be of no surprise.
Déjà vu:
They are given generous compensation packages and sign a contract pledging not to sue the company for damages, a contract that also includes a confidentiality agreement.
But DARN! It went public anyway. F*k you and your ‘confidentiality agreements’ ScamScum. Truth always makes an appearance, like it or not. What a rotting clod of a company. 😛
Good luck with any warranty. This happened to my Samsung Omnia. 38 returns and they still refused to replace it. I was told 112 degrees CELCIUS is normal operating temperature. That’s right. CELCIUS!! It melted phone cases, car brackets and even it’s own plastic bezel.
Déjà vu again! We have a trend.
38 returns!!! Man, you’re determined!
I trust you have an iPhone now?
Here’s the money quote from the article:
“At this stage, Scailex turned to Prof. Yair Ein-Eli, a world-renowned expert on battery technology from the Technion. He examined the Samsung batteries, and determined that they posed a mortal danger. Ein-Eli even met with the Korean engineers, and told them that the battery issue “was a real crime”.”
I just returned from a visit to the Technion. It’s considered “Israel’s MIT” (and they have close working relations with the original MIT). So if Ein-Eli says there are problems with the battery design, I’d take his warnings seriously.
Just imagine if someone decides to recharge that phone while driving and it goes off.
Just imagine that someone decides to recharge their phone while on a commercial airliner and it goes off.
Just imagine if someone decides to not recharge the phone and then it goes off… and stays off.
I think that would solve the problem.
I have no problem with compensation for defective products, injury, or even just risk of injury. But “hush money” should be illegal, especially when people’s lives are at stake. “Hush money” is certainly immoral. Bring on the truth.
Quote from the article; “Samsung claims that Scailex didn’t meet the sales targets set out in the agreement.” So does this mean Samsung’s mobile phone sales is not doing well?
I picked up 30 S4s at a fire sale.. I have them all charging on 1 wall plug.. Hoping for the best.
Hopefully someone will give me a nice compensation package when my garage burns down.. And torches my new 918.
😉
“The Galaxy S4 – the choice of arsonists everywhere.”
Who needs the Hamas when you have Samsung?
“Galaxy S4! It’s da bomb!”
(To all you haters out there. Admit it, you would have posted it if you had thought of it first.)