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SPRINGVILLE — It was like a wake-up call out of a war movie for Starla Briggs and her husband.
" It blew up like a bomb," Briggs says.
Her battle with Samsung started on June 23, 2015, the day she says her husband's Samsung Galaxy S3 suddenly exploded on their bed-side table. Her conflict with Samsung has lasted five months. Wednesday, she learned the company wasn't going to pay for any damages.
Briggs described the night the phone exploded as "pretty typical," pointing to her nightstand. "We plugged the phone in right here by our bed."
Briggs says all parts of the phone were original, the charger was Samsung's brand, there were no aftermarket batteries attached to the phone, and no obstructions on the table.
Around 5:30 a.m., she said, "it was like a torch of fire," when her husband's cellphone ignited.
"Just an explosion like, 'bam,'" causing flames high in her bedroom, she says, "All the smoke alarms in the house went off."
Briggs said her husband jumped up and grabbed some dirty laundry to smother the flames and stop them from spreading. They put the fire out themselves, Briggs said, and she didn't see the need to call the local fire department.
"We immediately got on the phone that day and tried to call Samsung," Briggs said.
Briggs described it like a full-time job trying to contact the company. "Message after message after message," she said, call after call. She said she even sent letters.
"We got no response," Briggs said.
After nearly five months, Briggs finally received a reply from Samsung via email.
"Samsung said they would not do anything," she said.
Briggs said her homeowners insurance adjusters estimate the physical damage to her home at about $2,500, something Briggs believes Samsung should pay for.
The reply email from Samsung reads in part: "(Samsung) is requesting to inspect/test the device in question to determine the cause of the fire. Please forward the device to the following party (address)."
Briggs said after seeking legal advice, her attorney told her not to send the phone back to the company for inspection, for it is her only piece of "evidence."
Shocked, angry and fed up, Briggs said Samsung should step up and do the right thing for its customers, no questions asked. "It's so frustrating, why should I have to pay because (Samsung's) product was faulty?"
Briggs said she has been in contact with an attorney and is "looking into" filing a lawsuit against Samsung.
