If you have a Samsung SCD23 Camcorder (or any other camcorder from around the same years of production), and have experienced a distorted picture, or no picture at all in camera mode, yet you get video when you play back footage taped prior to this problem, this class-action lawsuit pertains to you. From everything I've researched, the problem stems from a CCD failure, for which, the fault lies with the manufacturer, and is an industry-wide issue. Canon, Fujifilm, Konica Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, Ricoh, and Sony have already agreed to repair the problem free of charge, including shipping, regardless of warranty status. Samsung is the ONLY remaining major camcorder manufacturer who has not yet issued a recall/free repair offer. Therefore, I am looking into putting a class-action lawsuit together against Samsung. Please read on for info.



Ok, so here's the deal. I just got off the phone with Samsung, and as expected, didn't get much out of them. The first number I called (1-800-SAMSUNG) got me absolutely no where, as all that happened is I got a tech support guy who repeatedly kept informing me that my camera is out of warranty, and that there's no recall for it at this time, so servicing the unit will cost $150. He was purposely ignoring what I was telling him (which was I'd like to speak with someone who can give me a legitimate answer as to why a recall hasn't been issued, not keep parroting that a recall hasn't been issued). He couldn't even give me another number for a generic customer service center. So after fencing with this guy and his cookie cutter company lines, I asked him to make a note in the transaction file of the fact that I'm aware of the industry-wide CCD issue, and that I will be launching a class-action lawsuit for it. That ended that conversation.

I dug around on the net for a customer care number, and finally came across 1-800-522-2946. I gave that a try, and got through to someone who first kept delivering the message of my situation to a supervisor, and than finally just put me through to the sup himself. More company lines, like "I understand you being upset, but the parts being recalled by the other manufacturers are not used in our cameras (*remember that he said this for later)". I again went over how it is not coincidence that the camera was manufactured between the dates effected, and both I, my friend who bought the same exact camera on the same exact day, and countless others on line have had the same exact symptoms as the cameras being issued the service bulletins from other manufacturers. He asked me again exactly what it was that was happening internally to cause this. Hmmmm…. shouldn’t you already know all this, since you “know” that you don’t use the faulty parts in question? Why would you need me to “explain the details” again? I relayed the info again to him, and could hear him typing it in. After about 10 minutes of going over detailed facts, names of companies complying with repairs, the exact internal issues at hand, and having him fence back and fourth with me, the bottom line is as follows:

He took down everything I said, forwarded it to “someone else who needs to see this” (higher up, I assume; he only did this after he realized I wasn't your average, know nothing, complaining customer; I had facts up the a$$ to back up what I was saying, thus making the threat of a class-action lawsuit dead serious), and that was the end of the conversation. They have all my contact info (name, address, phone number, e-mail), so if whomever he forwarded it to comes to his senses, he'll take care of this issue before the lawsuit gets under way.

IN THE MEANTIME, I'm not holding my breath, and I'm going to move forward with the class-action lawsuit. I think we have MORE than enough grounds to fit. Let's look at the facts:

• Late last year (2005), complaints started accumulating about either a distorted picture, or no picture at all showing in the LCD or viewfinder of certain cameras. Video in playback was still functional for pre-existing footage (footage recorded prior to this malfunction).

• Amidst the onslaught of complaints, it was finally discovered that an industry wide problem was occurring. The CCD image sensor was disconnecting from the circuit board due to erosion of the packaging and glue holding the sensor. This was primarily caused by the use of cheap, epoxy like plastic packaging, instead of ceramic.

• The cameras effected by this were manufactured between October of 2002, and March of 2004 (which the Samsung SCD23 falls right into).

• Since this discovery, and all the complaints, just about every major manufacturer of cameras has issued a service bulletin, offering free repair and shipping through October of 2007, regardless of warranty status. Canon, Fujifilm, Konica Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, Ricoh and Sony are all on the list of companies issuing these types of bulletins.

• Samsung remains the only major manufacturer not complying with this offer, in spite of certain models displaying the same, EXACT problems, and being manufactured within the dates in question.

And so, there we are. I will be contacting lawyers shortly (my lawyers are literally a free benefit from my work place, as in 2 weeks vacation, 6 sick days…..free lawyers). I’ll plot out a course of action from there, and will keep you all informed. I just wanted to let as many people know as possible that this was going on, and I’m trying to do something about it. I don’t know what’s sadder; the fact that I had to pick the one company that’s going to be a jerk about this, or the fact that Samsung prefers their name be dragged through the mud, instead of handling this issue with some dignity. Please post if you are interested in participating. *I also encourage you/need you all to call the numbers I listed above, to let Samsung know this problem is real, it's widespread and it isn't going away.