“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.]
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