That all makes sense. Thanks for your very grounded and clear thoughts (unlike my own by now! lol).
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Try writing a letter to the Prime Minister - in most cases you will get a response from their department (if you are writing about political issues, it will be from their office). Same with your state/territory politicians - most responses will be ‘on behalf of’ the person to whom you addressed the letter.
Of course, you could try finding the CEO’s direct phone number online - but that would be creepy, and may not endear you to them.
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From Website: This is money.com
“Go to the CEO: If the matter is serious or you are not happy with the response from customer services then complain to the CEO.
…It is unlikely that the CEO will personally respond (a few do though).
But the CEO, particularly of big companies, has a dedicated team to deal with CEO correspondence, which has more responsibility and power to resolve issues.”
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Thanks Gaby. It was definitely worth a try, so I appreciate your encouragement. From what you’ve described it sometimes pays dividends, even if it hasn’t in this instance. 
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That often works a treat in many companies, but some have a team that refers complaints directly back to ‘customer service’ with no value added.
Samsung possibly follows a culture where the CEO’s office is impenetrable by a consumer and the complaint got to that team and was promptly re-directed back to the office they expect should deal with it - eg the one that is not helpful.
I have read anecdotal stories about unhappy customers buying a few shares in a company so they could try to bring their case at the AGM. Short of a class action or proxy fight it doesn’t work, but it does raise the problem to higher level while the company refuses to add it to the agenda.
For a $modest TV? Even with many customers making the same error because Samsung declines to make their ‘paperwork’ clear? With the reported similar complaints on the internet? It is a bad look on Samsung but it seems not to have hit their bottom line or they would be spending a few $ to add a ‘do not remove the film’ tag.
It should and could be so simple, yet because of what could be considered corporate arrogance it seems intractable.
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Writing to Samsung’s Chairman in South Korea and or the President of the Company there may also bear fruit. Not always do the Australian arm reflect what the parent company that is overseas will do. It is important to be polite, accurate in the description of the problem, explain why you are contacting the head office and clear about what remedy you would like without being too wordy. It will probably be translated there so I reinforce be clear about the problem as sometimes translations can mess up the meanings.
Chairman of the Samsung Electronics I believe is still Bahk Jae-wan but this may not be correct.
President and CEO of Consumer Electronics is Kim Hyun-seok
Corporate address is
129, Samseong-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do 16677
Republic of Korea
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A perfectly summarised wrap-up of where this case has landed, Phil. The “all profits and no accountability” philosophy actually underscores a lot of things these days, unfortunately. Hopefully at the very least, there’s an online trail for those considering buying TV’s that are predisposed to potential setup disasters, sold by companies that distance themselves from the consequences. Buyer beware!
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Could be worth a go, at least to raise awareness, if not to secure a personal outcome. Thanks for the tip.
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I experienced the exact same issue this morning. There was no warnings and the antiglare film which appeared to be a thin screen protector was slightly raised on the top right hand corner of the screen. Intuitively I began peeling it off and quickly noticed that the screen was now completely ruined.
Have you since had any luck with follow up to ACCC, retailer or Samsung?
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As a PS the film referenced on a Panasonic microwave was applied with such precision it was not discernibly there, at least until it started to bubble months on. The hint to use a bit of sticky tape to get a grip to remove it reflects how nicely it was applied.
Not much wonder consumers get confused. Panasonic is to be commended for referencing it can be removed even though it is not obviously there (IME), yet Samsung seems disinclined to state ‘Do not take it off or you will ruin the screen!’ front and centre so as not to be missed.
Reasons or excuses and blame aside, it seems a problem with consumers and their Samsung TVs.
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Oh no! Oh TJ, I’m so sorry to hear this. Unfortunately the ACCC was unable to help other than providing all the various bits of advice you can read in this thread. After months of back and forth with Samsung, I’ve thus far got nowhere at all and had to end up replacing the screen at great expense. I wish I had better news for you. As you’ll see when you search around online there are many of us in the same position!
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But clearly this film on the screen IS structural when its removal renders the screen unviewable.
Another interesting update for those who are following this saga. I’ve been in communication with someone on the Samsung forum. He owns a Samsung TV that is around 2 years old (mine was a 2020 model) but a different model to mine. He recently noticed it still has some film over the screen and removed it with no detrimental effect as it seems to have been a screen protector. Although Samsung told me that their tv’s should only have the film removed when there is a sticker saying to do so, neither this other fellow nor I had stickers on the screens, but the outcomes were very different. Samsung would not honour my warranty because I removed the film without being told to do so.
Seems there is considerable variability between the purpose of the films they apply to their tv’s and inconsistency between the labeling and instructions affixed (but mostly not) to the film. So it’s a bit of a lucky dip for buyers with Samsung adopting a “buyer beware” attitude and continuing to offer no instructions or warnings despite being well aware of customer confusion.
They have not offered comment on the thread on their forum at this stage, nor do I expect they will.
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