Hundreds of Galaxy Note 7 smartphone users in South Korean are preparing to file a lawsuit against Samsung Electronics for recalling the device, which is prone to catch fire.
Over 520 people want Samsung to compensate them for psychological harm from using the hazardous phone, the costs and the time they took to exchange their devices, attorney Peter Young-Yeel Ko, head of the Harvest Law Firm said on Monday.
The South Korean tech giant was forced to recall its most advanced phone ever after reports of the handset catching fire spread in early September. The company stopped producing or selling the phone as well.
The costumers complained that as a result of the botched recall, they had to visit mobile shops first to get the battery checked and later change the phone. They spent hours in shops while changing the phone and transferring data, the attorney said.
Kim Chae Yong, who joined the lawsuit, said he spent almost $100 on gas and highway fees to return a Note 7 phone after the first recall.
“I feel betrayed,” he said. “I am angry and I don’t ever want to use it again.”
The company started pre-sales of the smartphone on August 2, but had to start recalling 2.5 million phones on early September.
Samsung’s mobile chief D.J. Koh said at a news conference on September 2 that the company had identified the problem with one of its suppliers and it would shift production to another supplier, without providing names.
“We recognized that we did not correctly identify the issue the first time and remain committed to finding the root cause,” she said. “Our top priority remains the safety of our customers and retrieving 100% of the Galaxy Note 7 devices in the market.”
Struggling to save its credibility, Samsung is now expected to launch its next smartphone, likely to be called the Galaxy S8, in February.
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