Liquid damage legal recourse?

[mihelog]

Folks,

Would anyone be interested in investigating whether we have a case for class action lawsuit for Samsung's policy on liquid damage? Samsung markets the S7 as IP68 and says 5 feet no more than 30 minutes. They also have TV ads that show people swimming with their phones. But when our phones fail to meet those specs and get water damage, they refuse to do anything about it because their warranty excludes all kinds of liquid damage. I don't know the applicable laws about this, but it feels false advertising and not right.

Obviously this happened to me and my interaction with Samsung has been frustrating because of their policies (the people were pretty nice).

 

[Aquila]

No. There isn't a legal recourse. The warranty is very clear, as are the specs (IP68) and it's also normally understood that water damage that occurs in spite of IP68 is due to conditions it doesn't describe resistance to or due to other factors, such as other damage.

 

[D_Blumen]

No. There isn't a legal recourse. The warranty is very clear, as are the specs (IP68) and it's also normally understood that water damage that occurs in spite of IP68 is due to conditions it doesn't describe resistance to or due to other factors, such as other damage.

Legal recourse = $$$. (at my personal attorney's $450/hour consultation fee... or $2700/hour for court apperances)

It may be MUCH cheaper to just buy the carrier's phone insurance. ($9 x 24 months = $216, less than what my lawyer charges for half an hour of consultation with her)

Or start class action suit to get back $50 per person... as well as new 75-foot yachts for some very happy attorneys.


Having said that... I think when manufacturers are very careful and always say water resistant. Waterproof is something else... even my watch's manufacturer, does not really say WATERPROOF on my Seiko diver watch that's rated to 1000 meters. Bought it a long time ago for almost $3000, but the closet I've ever taken it was the beach.. 2 meters of water at the most? Someday I'll take it down to 1000 meters and report back. (most likely when I die in 2078 and they bury me at sea)

SEIKO Marine Master Professional 1000m Automatic Diver SBDX013 JAPAN M – seiyajapan.com

 

[LineKill]

Someday I'll take it down to 1000 meters and report back. (most likely when I die in 2078 and they bury me at sea)

2078?

 

[D_Blumen]

2078?

Wednesday, July 27, 2078. (but I left the morning open)
I do everything on a tightly-controlled schedule.

(probably doesn't explain my obsession with
600M or 1000M dive watches... and having
never taken any of the 6 watches to more
than the beach)

 

[mihelog]

Understood on all. I guess I am viewing this from a consumer's point of view. They market a device being able to do something but if it fails to deliver they won't cover it. This isn't related to damage because even if a brand new device gets liquid damage from a splash they still won't do anything about it. Their warranty terms are clear but are they sufficient? I always thought that warranty means that the product will function as spec'ed, but I can look into warranty law more.

 

[D_Blumen]

Understood on all. I guess I am viewing this from a consumer's point of view. They market a device being able to do something but if it fails to deliver they won't cover it. This isn't related to damage because even if a brand new device gets liquid damage from a splash they still won't do anything about it. Their warranty terms are clear but are they sufficient? I always thought that warranty means that the product will function as spec'ed, but I can look into warranty law more.

Today's cars come with lots of airbags. My most recent car comes with 12 airbags. TWELVE!!! I thought it was a joke until the service manager pointed out all 12 to me. 1 in the steering wheel, 1 under the steering wheel, 4 in the dashboard, 2 in the front seats, 4 in all the doors.

Of course, having so many airbags does not guarantee 100% safety. The car manufacturer makes no such guarantees, I think...

My point is that phone manufacturers cannot be expected to honor liquid damage via warranty. I doubt any of them used the word "waterproof" in the fine print somewhere. Also, they have no way of verifying if the consumer took the phone to 1 meters of water or 1000 meters.

 

[Ry]

Today's cars come with lots of airbags. My most recent car comes with 12 airbags. TWELVE!!! I thought it was a joke until the service manager pointed out all 12 to me. 1 in the steering wheel, 1 under the steering wheel, 4 in the dashboard, 2 in the front seats, 4 in all the doors.

Of course, having so many airbags does not guarantee 100% safety. The car manufacturer makes no such guarantees, I think...

My point is that phone manufacturers cannot be expected to honor liquid damage via warranty. I doubt any of them used the word "waterproof" in the fine print somewhere. Also, they have no way of verifying if the consumer took the phone to 1 meters of water or 1000 meters.

I like this post so much.

 

[B. Diddy]

It should be emphasized more that the water resistance (not waterproofing) is really meant to reduce the chance of damage in case of accidental exposure, not guarantee 100% protection against it. These phones are not intended to be underwater devices. I agree that ads showing people swimming with them (on purpose) are pretty misleading, but I would also suspect that those ads have fine print on the bottom saying something like "Don't do this."

 

[Aquila]

Long story short, there's as close to zero legal recourse as makes all odds.

 

[D_Blumen]

I like this post so much.

I must have neglected to mention that when I was a kid, my biggest fears were sharks and exploding balloons. Having 12 airbags in my current car is not a very comforting thought. Yes, I know it's for my safety, but they are still essentially just balloons.

 

[D_Blumen]

It should be emphasized more that the water resistance (not waterproofing) is really meant to reduce the chance of damage in case of accidental exposure, not guarantee 100% protection against it. These phones are not intended to be underwater devices. I agree that ads showing people swimming with them (on purpose) are pretty misleading, but I would also suspect that those ads have fine print on the bottom saying something like "Don't do this."

One day... Apple will "invent" a waterproof iPhone rated to at least 100 meters and a few months after that, Samsung will have one as well... (or vice versa)

 

[B. Diddy]

I must have neglected to mention that when I was a kid, my biggest fears were sharks and exploding balloons. Having 12 airbags in my current car is not a very comforting thought. Yes, I know it's for my safety, but they are still essentially just balloons.

You'd better hope you never get into an accident in the middle of a Sharknado.

 

[D_Blumen]

You'd better hope you never get into an accident in the middle of a Sharknado.

will my Samsung S7 suffer water damage in the event of a Sharknado?

 

[B. Diddy]

Nothing can survive THE SHARKNADO.

Brought to you by Syfy and Batman's Shark Repellent Bat-Spray.

 

[D_Blumen]

Nothing can survive THE SHARKNADO.

Brought to you by Syfy and Batman's Shark Repellent Bat-Spray.

Thanks! I'm sending my therapist's bills to you...

back to the water resistant issue: even an American Airlines Boeing 737 was not immune to water damage when a flight attendant spilled a soda... causing the plane to make an emergency landing... Can American Airlines sue Boeing?
http://jacksonville.com/news/public...flight-diverted-jacksonville-after-soda-spill

 

[LineKill]

What was the question again?

 

[D_Blumen]

What was the question again?

I wonder if the OP may have been this Canadian couple?
Video captures couple crashing through Lake Winnipeg ice in truck - Indigenous - CBC

 

[B. Diddy]

eek

 

[Ben496]

I must have neglected to mention that when I was a kid, my biggest fears were sharks and exploding balloons. Having 12 airbags in my current car is not a very comforting thought. Yes, I know it's for my safety, but they are still essentially just balloons.

Agreed. Sharks will go right through airbags.