After the flaming disaster of the defective Galaxy Note 7, which earlier this week drove Samsung to nix production of the device for good, the South Korean electronics giant is upping its damage limitation strategy by offering a larger credit note for consumers who do not abandon its brand.
In a note about the expansion of its U.S. refund and exchange program for the Note 7, which as of 3pm ET today applies to all owners, including those with new replacement phones (which have been bursting into flames too), Samsung is offering those choosing to exchange the phablet for any other Samsung device up to a $100 total bill credit.
U.S. consumers opting to exchange a Note 7 for a full refund or for any other brand of smartphone are offered a smaller $25 bill credit — as a goodwill gesture for the hassle of dealing with the multiple recalls affecting the device. But the goodwill is greater if consumers are willing to stay loyal to Samsung.
It does not appear that Note 7 owners in markets outside the U.S. are being offered goodwill credit at this stage — we’ve asked Samsung to clarify whether it is providing similar incentives elsewhere and will update this post with any response.
This week Samsung expanded its refund program to Australia and parts of Asia. While a UK refund and exchange program for the Note 7 only notes that consumers who choose to exchange will be refunded the difference in price.
Commenting in a statement on the U.S. refund and exchange program, Tim Baxter, president and COO of Samsung Electronics America, said: “We appreciate the patience of our consumers, carrier and retail partners for carrying the burden during these challenging times. We are committed to doing everything we can to make this right.”
In further comments he flagged “customer safety” as a priority for the company, and urged all Note 7 owners to “power down and take advantage of the remedies available”.
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For more information on how to exchange a Note 7, U.S. consumers are asked to visit samsung.com/us/note7recall to get carrier and retailer specific instructions on how and where to exchange the phablet.
At this stage it is unclear why some Note 7 devices have been exploding. After the first recall Samsung replaced the battery unit in replacement Note 7s but evidently that did not fix the problem, with consumers continuing to report problems with replacements.
