we had a problem with our TV when we got it (not a Samsung though) there was a black spot inside the screen…they claimed that it wasn’t there when it left the warehouse and therefore its our problem…after numerous complains and phone calls which got us nowhere my husband had enough, he contacted the ombudsman and we got a refund… don’t give up, especially that you are not the only one with that problem… good luck
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But the film on the screen is not structural. If you were saying it is important then so are other components that can be removed with a suitable screwdriver or by other means. It is clearly impossible to make such an appliance proof against all attempts to mess with it.
If one had followed the unpacking directions accurately one would not make this mistake as it doesn’t say pull off the film. I find the logic a little weird that it is expected that not only should you follow the instructions about what to do that you ought to have a list of things included there that you should not do. The number of things that one ought not do when unpacking an appliance is enormous. Do the instructions say “Do not set up the TV in the bath”? If not why not put it in the bath?
There is a tendency in this forum to assume that anything that goes wrong is the manufacturer’s or vendor’s fault and that the user bears no responsibility.
I really sympathize with you though sadly am unable to offer a solution.
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Not sure if anyone has already suggested but can you go into the shops and see if you can take a photo of a display model and see if those are similar ie, easy to peel off.
Silly response. I’m simply saying that if I purchased a quality product, I wouldn’t expect to be able to wreck the screen, and if by some action of mine the screen was wrecked, I would expect warranty to apply.
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Unfortunately such is outside the Australian Consumer Law as it would be classed as misuse.
An analogy to use is a set of drinking glasses. Looking at a packaging for drinking glasses we have here, it is silent on saying not to drop them as they will break. If they are dropped accidentally when being used and they break, one can’t expect the broken glass to be replaced under warranty/consumer guarantee.
If the glass say had say your favourite football team emblem adhered (permanent waterproof sticker) to the glass, and after washing by hand the dish water caused the emblem sticker to lift/detach (washing glasses is a reasonable expectation of the use), then this would be covered by a warranty/consumer guarantee. If one used a scourer on the emblem or tried to pick it off with a fingernail and it caused damage to the emblem and glass, then this would be misuse and not covered. The only way scouring the glass would be covered is if the packaging/instructions said it was scour proof or scouring is a recommended method of cleaning - in such, this is a misleading claim under the Australian Consumer Law.
A retailer/manufacturer may be chose to respond outside the ACL as goodwill, but they have no obligation to to so and one shouldn’t expect they should or have some legal responsibility to do so.
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Wow! My main go-to with this kind of response is Facebook and Instagram. Companies do not like bad publicity. You could frame it as a Public Service Announcement, eg a warning to consumers that this has happened. Especially the part that there is no warning or advice to NOT remove the film which sounds like it was loose at the edges. That doesn’t even sound attractive. Good luck!
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Well that is where we differ. I don’t expect others to pay for my foolish mistakes.
I cannot see how that is possible.
Thanks for raising this @BrisLin, I will pass on the details you have shared to my colleagues. If anyone else has a similar experience regardless of make, model or device, please share it with us hear. Any photos would also be appreciated.
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Thanks very much, Brendan. Certainly an interesting debate with much to reflect on. 
Photo is attached in the next post.
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Mind bending lack of ‘ownership’… how simple would it be to have a simple ‘DO NOT REMOVE’ sticker rather than ‘if there is no barcode on the screen…’, this from a Samsung community posting (in the EU!)
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I see this as a product fail. I didn’t see any mention in the user instructions about a protective film to be removed before use, vs a polarising film that must not be removed.
From the picture posted it looks just like shipping protective films that peel off as they are supposed to.
I hope Choice takes this issue up with Samsung on behalf of all potential buyers of these TVs.
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The film looks ĺke it is hard up against the screen border…(there isn’t any white line between the border and film edge) rather than starting a few millimetres from the border (indicating a gap). How did you start the peel…as the peeling corner looks damaged? Did you use something to start the peel and was there much resistance to get it started (the damage tends to indicate some effort was needed to start it).
How do you watch the TV with a sticker on it. While most may remove a sticker, many will leave it on like a ‘void if removed’ sticker. Would removing a sticker potentially damage the polarising film?
It appears some Samsungs have removable protective films (possibly with instructions to remove it and a starting tab). This is possibly no different to phones where some have lense protectors preinstalled at the factory while other models don’t. Our own Vivo phone is an example.
It appears Samsung advise when there is a protective film to remove, and silent when there is none.
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I would also go to the Product Review website https://www.productreview.com.au/ . I did that once with an unrelated dispute I had with an organisation where they were clearly in the wrong. I wrote a stinking product review and then, when I wrote again to the company concerned I included the full wording of what I’d written. I also posted at the time to this forum and included a hyperlink in my letter. It brought some very quick action!
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Awesome! I posted to that site around the time I started this thread. Hadn’t thought to send links to Samsung but in light of your experience maybe I will!
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If you don’t frequent social media, Choice is highlighting ‘unboxing disasters’, so thanks so much for raising your experience and being a catayst.
From FB
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Hey thanks Phil! That’s fantastic that it’s being highlighted on social media! You guys rock. 
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Looking at the comments on the facebook post from Choice, you are not alone in the screen issue with Samsung TVs.
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A better design might be to have the edges of the film tucked out of harm’s way under the frame. Perhaps Samsung chooses to save 50 cents in the manufacturing process doing it this way.
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