Samsung Samsung Galaxy S3 USB port broken by Samsung tech, but will not honor warranty, blames user Plano Texas

 Yet another case of the great Samsung Galaxy S3 with a failing USB port.  Purchased in March 2013, started to fail by June 2013.  It would charge fine, but would not connect to the PC as a media or storage device.  I took it into Sprint and they quoted me $50 to repair it.  I asked about the 1-year warranty, and Sprint informed me that I would have to send it in directly to Samsung to have it repaired under warranty.  Sprint opened it up and saw no apparent damage, water or otherwise, and suggested I send it to Samsung so I wouldn't have to pay any money out of pocket for a manufacture defective device.  When I sent the phone, it would charge but would not connect to the PC, again, it would charge properly it just would not connect to the PC.

I sent the phone to Samsung.  They did the standard softward loading tests and it checked out fine.  Here is what they logged on the service tracker:

*09/11/2013//17:17:58//0001773863//Telephone//ASC*
9/11/2013 4:17 PM-Selene Herrera: The unit is shipped.
*09/10/2013//14:38:00//0001773863//Telephone//ASC*
9/10/2013 1:36 PM-PBA Inspection: The unit has left the technician. SOLUTION: BER
*09/10/2013//14:36:58//0001773863//Telephone//ASC*
Pad lifted on I/F connector
*09/10/2013//14:35:24//0001773863//Telephone//ASC*
9/10/2013 1:35 PM-PBA Inspection: The Unit did not pass Quality Assurance Check.
*09/07/2013//15:56:23//0001773863//Telephone//ASC*
phone passed testing functions and passed software update.
*09/07/2013//15:56:23//0001773863//Telephone//ASC*
9/7/2013 2:55 PM-Joe Salazar: The unit has left the technician. SOLUTION: S/W Updated
*09/06/2013//09:21:36//0001773863//Telephone//ASC*
9/6/2013 8:20 AM-Artis Starks: The unit has been received. Pack Condition: Fair Packaging (Box & Cushion)

 The unit was sent back to me in worse condition than I sent to them.  This has situation has been reported in other instances as well.  When I received the phone, it would not charge at all!  Obviously it won't connect to the PC either.  Problem is now, I can't even charge the stupid phone due to whatever the Samsung tech did.  I noticed the repair tech did not log his name when he did his "repair."  I called Samsung and was quickly escalated to "Executive Level" of service.  The "Executive I talked to was Jene, employee number 5384002481.  She was extremely condescending and patronizing.  She all but blamed me for the damage, saying "sometimes if you push the charger in too hard, you will damage the IF pad."  I asked her if she is saying that the damaged area is accessible to the user.  She said "yes."  I then asked her if the IF pad was on the inside where it connects to the motherboard.  She said "yes, it was completely lifted off the motherboard."  So I replied "so you mean to tell me that the inside of the motherboard is completely accessible to me where I can damage it?"  She replied "umm, well, it's all connected together, so if you push it too hard, you can damage the inside."  I laughed at that, and said "so you mean to tell me that when the tech opened upthe phone, the connector just fell out of place, unattached?"  She replied "yes it did."  I said "then your tech broke it, because it's a flat out lie.  The port was perfectly fine when Sprint looked at it, I was right there and saw it."  She then said "Well we have photographic proof that it was damaged, I see that 3 of the 6 pins are lifted, that's why it's not working."  I explained to her how the plastic case and the molding of the USB connector prevents it from being pushed in too far, and she said "no it doesn't, you can still push it in too far."  She then said "we have a lot of customers that will send in clearly broken items and expect us to fix it for free."  That is the type of response that an "Executive" level manager is trained to give, accuse paying customers of being cheats?  I told her, I can understand if I broke the buttons or cracked the screen, but this is INTERNAL damage, parts I cannot even get to.  I asked for the "photographic proof" and she denied the request saying it's "confidential."  In either case, she misrepresented the facts.  She stated the USB port was completely disengaged from the motherboard, only to rescind and say 3 pins were lifted.  The "photographic proof" didn't show what she first stated and she had to back off.  I also told her "the tech could have also dumped water on the phone and claimed prior water damage.  It essentially becomes their word against mine."  She sarcastically replied "well we don't allow water in our facility."  So basically, the company's policy is to attempt to repair the damages and when their techs aren't capable of fixing it, they blame the user for pushing the charger in too hard and voids the warranty!  Funny how it would at least charge, and after the tech attempt to repair it, nothing works now.  The tech obviously tried to fix it, and made it worse and washed his hands of it and Samsung expects the customers to just buy a new product because the cost of repair will exceed the price of a new item! 

There are many instances of the S3 having bad USB ports, and is obviously a manufacturing flaw, Samsung just doesn't want to warranty their items.  If external damage isn't covered under warranty (which I agree with), but now they now claim internal damage is not covered either?  What is actually covered under their pathetic warranty?  Why don't they just flat out say "item is being sold brand new, as-is, no warranty expressed nor implied."  That is essentially what they are doing here.  Unless they fix this issue, is the very last Samsung item I will ever buy and will be the last item any of my entire family will buy.  I will not recommend their products in my line of work, and if I see anyone at a store asking for feedback, I will be sharing my story of Samsung's stellar customer service.