HAMPTON ROADS, Va. - Ice makers not working, food spoiling and people desperate to get help about their refrigerators that they call problematic.
A News 3 investigation looked into complaints about Samsung refrigerators after getting these reports.
We met up with a Virginia Beach couple who said their the ice makers hasn’t worked properly in years.
“We have to completely take the ice out and defrost it. It’s so bad that we have ice cube trays or have bags of ice, so it’s just frustrating that we just spent that this much on this,” said Eileen.
The couple, Patrick and Eileen, asked us not to disclose their last name for privacy reasons.
They said they spent almost $3,000 in 2014 on their refrigerator and said the troubles with the ice machine started several months after buying it. The couple called to try and have it fixed but were told it would cost several hundred dollars, they told News 3.
While googling for solutions, they came across the Facebook page Samsung Refrigerator Recall USA Now, which is a group that has more than 94,000 members.
Tom O’Shea is a moderator of the group and got a refund for his problematic refrigerator.
Now, he said his mission is to help other people. He has created videos and instructions on how the public can get refunds and how to deal with customer service.
O’Shea said he worked in customer service for years and disagrees with how the company is handling complaints.
“It is so wrong what they're doing,” said O’Shea.
He said that Samsung has been in touch with him and is speaking to him about how they could improve their customer service.
Samsung Refrigerator Recall USA has hundreds of posts from people complaining of leakage issues, problems with ice makers and temperature control that has caused food to spoil.
“People have been eating foods, getting sick, then realize it was the refrigerator. After they got rid of the refrigerator, their stomach problems go away,” said O’Shea. “It became principle for me - seeing elderly getting taken advantage of; military people being taken advantage of; breast milk going bad.”
He said people had complained about medicines going bad as well, along with a few fires.
O’Shea wants to help people because he knows the whole process can be extremely frustrating. He said people want to quit and throw their hands up after long waits on the phone and other road blocks in trying to get help.
“We are there as cheerleaders. You will not quit. You're in this. It's your money - fight for what is yours,” said O’Shea.
He said the group has helped get $8.8 million in refunds to people over the last 31 months and that he was part of a class action lawsuit against Samsung that was just settled. O’Shea said he will not be taking the money from the lawsuit because he already got his refund.
He said he is passionate about getting the word out and trying to help people deal with issues, as he believes this is the right thing to do.
“What's even worse - big box stores selling these are fully aware that there's issues,” said O’Shea.
Patrick and Eileen, the family in Virginia Beach, said it’s daunting to read how long it took other people to get refunds or issues fixed on the Facebook page.
“They need to step up to the plate and take responsibility for the product that they issued,” said Patrick.
He said he can’t believe that refrigerators with known problems would be sold to the public.
There have been no recalls made on any of these refrigerators.
News 3 has repeatedly reached out to Samsung about this matter. Samsung requested the information about the people we interviewed in our story. We provided them with the names of the people who gave us permission to pass along their information.
Samsung said, "Our customers are a top priority, so we appreciate any information you’re able to share."
We have repeatedly asked them to respond to the story, but we have not heard back from them yet.
