Back in June when I got my S7 Edge, I decided to save some money by getting it from Amhaz in Bir El Abed because the price they provide for smartphones and accessories are usually the lowest in the market ($630 back then) *cough no VAT and no tax cough*. However, for selling at such prices, Amhaz does not give you a receipt and the warranty you get only covers factory defects which seemed fair enough for me.
I previously got some phones for my friends and family from there and luckily never had any problem with the handsets so I never resorted to the warranty. But fast forward to last week, my phone’s screen suddenly started to show a pink and green tint then continuously flashing, so I immediately took it to Amhaz to have it checked.
I got a phone call the next day that the screen is defected and I can have it replaced for $350 (Edge screens are expensive), so I went to the shop and started arguing with a technician about the origin of the problem as he insisted the screen was damaged due to some shock, knowing that the phone was unscratched and I never dropped it during the last days of using it.
Long story short, I couldn’t convince him of having it replaced under the warranty so I sold him the phone as it is for $160 and got an S7 instead.
I’m not sharing my story with you to bitch about Amhaz customer service, but to rather shed light on the importance of buying gadgets and electronics from authorized dealers. Such dealers have direct contact with the manufacturers and can help you easily replace a handset if it proved to be factory defective. On the other hand, other shops get their stuff imported through alternative channels and should go through a hassle to send a defective item to its origin, which explains why the warranty they give you is very limited.
I will never know what was wrong with my screen, maybe it was factory defected or maybe I could have damaged it myself, but what I’m sure of is that I had a higher chance of repairing it for free had I opted to originally get it from CTC because I heard of so many stories where people were able to get their phones repaired at no cost. Needless to say, with dealers like CTC and others the cases where a service is provided for free are clearly defined and do not depend on the technician’s mood.
At a time when tech companies are always challenged to keep innovating and releasing new models, shit can happen with their new designs and you never know when you might end up purchasing a messed up device like the Note 7 and regret not having a valid warranty with it. I learned my lesson the hard way, but I urge you to learn from my mistake! I now believe a genuine warranty is worth a few tens of bucks when buying such expensive devices, and no don’t settle for “kafeilit ma7all”. When it comes to mobile phones, make sure you a warranty from CTC for Samsung phones, and from Gomobile for Sony, Alcatel, HTC, and Lenovo.
Phonefinity.net is one of the shops I recommend for smartphones with genuine warranty at a really good price.
Sorry to hear about your troubles.
Can you please let us know how much you bought the Edge for from Amhaz back then and how much was CTC selling it for? How much did you basically save back then?
Sure, I got it for $630 from Amhaz in June, I don’t recall how much it was exactly at CTC, but definitely more than $700 (for some reason they are always the most expensive). Other shops were selling it for ~$660 with CTC warranty.
Right now it costs $580 at Amhaz, while CTC is offering it for $710.
Hey Rami,
I’ll sound smug here but there’s a bigger reason why you should not buy things from Amhaz: it’s because the guy is a thief… He’s obviously paying off people to smuggle in the devices and evading taxes, so buying phones from him is just as bad as stealing electricity or illegal cable…
He’s also killing jobs of the real tax paying dealers of the phone brands (Samsung, HTC, etc). I was once at the technician of Nokia (RIP) and they told me that when Butros Harb removed the law that Nicolas Sehnaoui put (registering phones that enter the country bla bla) Amhaz was able to start selling all his illegal devices again, and due to that many companies had to let go of a lot of staff cause people were resorting to buy his cheaper phones instead.
I wonder how no one has arrested this guy yet.
Hey Rami,
It seems you should have bought a lottery ticket! 😀
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2016/Nov-16/381467-prominent-mobile-phone-dealer-arrested-for-smuggling.ashx
Hahahaha right!!
Isn’t funny though how such people never get arrested until their political cover is removed?
I mean the authorities themselves claimed he has been operating since 2000 and they definitely knew where his shops were located during the past 16 years, yet for some reason they decided to wait until yesterday!
This is the case in Lebanon with almost everything related to the authorities: port, airport, land registry, etc…
Back in Novembef 2014 when I bought my LG G3 for $540 with an original warranty, he was selling it for $430! Go figure!
Hi Rami,
Sorry to hear about your trouble and sorry that only now did this this article come to my attention.
I appreciate your good word about my website. your trust and testimonial is highly appreciated. Personally, I’d honor my warranty promise and commitment to a customer even if that would make me loose some money, and it happens sometimes, but customer satisfaction remains my priority; and I’m not saying this to advertise my business, it’s just my duty.
Get the most affordable Mobile Phones prices in Lebanon provided by 3GLEBANON
http://www.3glebanon.com
I also had the same issue with my s7 edge, but unlike you I bought it from CTC with the warranty. They too told me that the screen issue is because of a damaged screen likely from dropping the phone, even after I asserted that this is not the case because I never dropped or even lightly scratched the phone.
So I assure you Ramy your problem wouldn’t have been solved even if you had bought it from CTC, as I like you sold my phone for 100 something dollars and ended up switching to an iPhone 6 instead.