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I bought a SAMSUNG flagship Android device from the world's largest retailer (Walmart).

The SAMSUNG device is now failing in multiple ways.

I have repeatedly contacted SAMSUNG, and SAMSUNG refuses to honor their warranty because Walmart does not print the IMEI on their receipts. Instead of honoring the date on the receipt, SAMSUNG is calculating the end of the warranty based on the original manufacture date at the overseas factory.

The purchase was conducted in the United States at a Walmart retail store. I have the original receipt from the cash register.

SAMSUNG does not dispute that I bought a SAMSUNG device with the exact model number of the device I have. They claim that I have no way to prove that the device in my hand is the device I purchased less than a year ago, because Walmart does not print the IMEI on the receipt.

Does anyone know the best way to proceed?

UPDATE

I spoke with the manager at Walmart, and she insisted they have no way to print me a receipt or document with the IMEI number on it. I even asked her to write a special letter for me, and she refused.

I also spoke with SAMSUNG again, and once again, they refused to honor their warranty without an IMEI printed on a receipt.

So, legally, how do I proceed?

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    If Samsung tells retailers that this is a necessity and they didn't do it, then your beef is with Walmart and not Samsung. See if you can get records from them that prove your receipt was connected to the phone you have. I can't imagine they wouldn't have that in their system somewhere. And if they don't, that's a serious issue with how they're processing phone sales.
    – animuson ♦
    Apr 8, 2018 at 23:56
  • @animuson Do you know of a way to find out if Samsung requires this of retailers? Samsung never stated that they do. Samsung only stated that since I can't absolutely prove that my receipt is for my device, Samsung will not honor their warranty.
    – RockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket
    Apr 9, 2018 at 1:39
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    Does it matter? Your time is probably better spent trying to get better proof of purchase from Walmart, even if Samsung didn't make this clear. Not printing the IMEI of your purchase on the receipt is the equivalent of cutting the serial number off a product box before selling it to you. It is the responsibility of the retailer to explain warranties and ensure you have all the documentation required to use them.
    – animuson ♦
    Apr 9, 2018 at 2:01
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    @Tim Integrity?
    – RockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket
    Apr 9, 2018 at 13:53
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    In extreme cases (nontransferable warranty) you might not even be eligible for warranty measured from the manufacture date -- if your dealer isn't authorized, then you aren't considered the original purchaser, the first time the product left the authorized supply chain would count as the original purchase. However Walmart is listed by Samsung as an Authorized Reseller
    – Ben Voigt
    Apr 10, 2018 at 4:20

2 Answers 2

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So their story is that there is evidence you bought a Samsung device with serial number ABCDEF, and you have in your hands a broken Samsung device with the serial number ABCDEF, but they claim there is no evidence that your broken device is the one that was purchased. In other words, they claim that you somehow managed to lay your hands on two Samsung devices with identical serial numbers, and you are trying to trick them into repairing the wrong device for free.

That's ridiculous.

Go to a small claims court.

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    The question says it is the same model number, not "serial number" i.e. the IMEI. It is not a unique identifier at all. You could buy a dozen phones with the same model number at a dozen places in a dozen months, so this is not a helpful answer.
    – user4657
    Apr 10, 2018 at 7:52
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    I read it as their story being you have no evidence that you bought device serial number ABCDEF on date X, i.e. you have no evidence that the warranty for that specific device started on that date. So absent proof of a date we'll assume you bought it on the day we manufactured it, and that means you're out of warranty.
    – Rup
    Apr 11, 2018 at 18:40
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If Samsung won't fix it, return it to the store. The store can't sell you faulty goods just like Samsung isn't supposed to.

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  • Why downvote this?
    – Putvi
    Apr 9, 2019 at 20:34

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