A spokesperson for JD, which sold one of the faulty phones in question, said it had passed the matter to Samsung for investigation.
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“We don’t comment on pending litigation”, Samsung spokeswoman Danielle Meister Cohen said in an email.
Earlier this month, Samsung Electronics announced a massive recall of its latest Galaxy Note 7 phablet, following its launch in 10 nations on August 17, after dozens of consumers reported battery fires.
Samsung Electronics said that it plans to complete the Galaxy Note 7 exchange program by offering news devices required in Korea and the US until the end of this month.
Last week, Samsung recalled 1,858 Note 7 phones in China from a different batch that had been distributed before general sales began.
In its initial announcement on September 2, Samsung did not say whether consumers could continue to use the phones without danger.
Samsung attributed the fire to “external heating” rather than battery problems after testing the broken models, the company said in a statement.
Separately, Samsung yesterday rolled out replacements for Galaxy Note 7s plagued by exploding batteries in South Korea, but only a handful of customers appeared to have taken the opportunity to swap their handsets.
US Samsung Galaxy Note 7 owners are not returning the potentially faulty devices as expected, despite the risks.
The e-retailer says it believes the phone was indeed purchased by a customer in China through its online platform, according to the report.
The company has begun to roll out a software patch to reduce the likelihood of the phone catching fire, leaving some users wondering whether they would still need to send back their phone after downloading the update.
Some analysts say the recall may cost Samsung up to $5 billion in revenue this year and will damage the company’s reputation. The recalled Note 7 devices were sold through Samsung’s official website before the 1 September launch as part of a test experience. Monday is the deadline for consumers in South Korea to get a full refund.
Samsung is backtracking after coming under criticism for not adding China to its list of countries involved in a global recall of certain Galaxy 7 phones.
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McDonald reported from Beijing.
