Consumer Reports is calling for an official recall of Samsung's Galaxy Note7 smartphone following reports of some phones exploding while charging. The South Korean company may spend as much as $1 billion, after deciding to replace all of the 2.5 million Note7 phones that were shipped since they went on sale two weeks ago, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Samsung said on Friday it had stopped selling the Note7, and would replace models that consumers had already purchased. But the company’s action was not an official recall, which would have involved the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and would have made it illegal to sell the phones. Consumer Reports shoppers checked multiple retailers Friday morning, and found the phone for sale at some of them.
If Samsung was initiating the recall process, its first step would be to immediately report any issues to the CPSC. According to the Consumer Product Safety Act, two of the criteria for reporting are if the product "contains a defect which could create a substantial product hazard," or "creates an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death." The CPSC would then evaluate these reports and determine if corrective action is required. The agency also works with companies to determine the scope, hazard, and remedy, and makes recommendations.
In addition, the CPSC has the ability to pursue a recall with a company after it investigates reports of problems received from consumers or other stakeholders such as safety advocates.
Samsung issued a written statement saying it is: “committed to producing the highest quality products and we take every incident report from our valued customers very seriously. In response to recently reported cases of the new Galaxy Note7, we conducted a thorough investigation and found a battery cell issue.
“As of September 1 there have been 35 cases that have been reported globally and we are currently conducting a thorough inspection with our suppliers to identify possible affected batteries in the market. However, because our customers’ safety is an absolute priority at Samsung, we have stopped sales of the Galaxy Note7.
“For customers who already have Galaxy Note7 devices, we will voluntarily replace their current device with a new one over the coming weeks.
“We acknowledge the inconvenience this may cause in the market but this is to ensure that Samsung continues to deliver the highest quality products to our customers. We are working closely with our partners to ensure the replacement experience is as convenient and efficient as possible.â€
