“From Phone to Fish: How a £1,500 Refund Became a Sardine Saga!”

In the world of tech returns, there’s always the potential for a mix-up, but this one takes the cake—or should I say, the sardines? Picture this: you shell out a hefty £1,500 for the latest Samsung phone, only to find yourself battling with customer service over a package that allegedly contained three tins of fish instead! Alina Damian-Cretu’s story is as perplexing as it is amusing, raising the question: how do you go from a sleek smartphone to a seafood surprise in the blink of an eye? After nabbing a deal on a Samsung S25 Ultra for her husband, Alina soon found herself wanting to return it—only to be met with what Samsung dubbed a “fishy” situation. With her dignity and wallet on the line, this Cambridgeshire mum’s quest for a refund reveals much more than just a shipping error; it opens a can of proverbial worms on customer service protocols. Curious to see how this unfolds? Dive in and discover the full tale! LEARN MORE.

A woman was refused a mega refund by Samsung after they claimed there was something fishy about her parcel – and I mean that pretty literally.

The tech company say that what was supposed to be the return of a £1,500 phone was actually a box of three tins of sardines.

Alina Damian-Cretu had splashed out on a Samsung S25 Ultra for her husband’s birthday last month, trading in his old phone to get the new device at a discounted £800.

However, the Cambridgeshire mum realised afterwards that she’d missed out on a tech deal, as there was a new offer up to claim a free pair of Samsung Galaxy buds (worth £219).

So, she decided she would return the phone when it arrived and put a new order in.

Alina says she only opened the outer box of the new device before returning it at a DPD drop-off point.

Alina ordered the device for her husband. (Kennedy News and Media)

When she then contacted Samsung after to check-in on the return, she was told it hadn’t received the phone, but three tins of sardines instead.

The customer obviously couldn’t believe this, saying she rarely eats fish and ‘it’s not even in the house’.

“I said ‘no that’s not possible.’ I asked to speak to the manager and they passed me onto them and I explained the situation,” Alina said.

“Everyone was shocked, I raised a complaint on that day. They never gave me the impression that they believed me, I was gobsmacked.”

The mum was quick to file a complaint with Samsung and DPD as well as reporting it to Cambridgeshire Police.

Alina says the tech company are ‘bluntly accusing me of theft’ as she added: “This is a £1,500 phone without the trade-in. You can’t be accusing a customer of this, especially when you can see I placed another order for the same phone the next day.”

The shocked mum says Samsung asked for proof she actually packaged the phone but she didn’t take any photos of the boxed device, that she says she didn’t even open up.

There’s something fishy about this. (Kennedy News and Media)

Alina added: “Samsung told me they’ve done a full investigation with DPD and their warehouse and no evidence of tampering has been discovered.

“They told me my claim was rejected and my refund would not be processed and asked me to return the Samsung S25 Ultra for us to process the refund.

“To me that’s accusing me of something I haven’t done. I already did send it.”

Saying she just wants her money back and slamming it as ‘so unprofessional’, Alina said that she’s had Samsung her ‘whole life’ but ‘just wants to turn to Apple now’.

A spokesperson for Samsung said: “We pride ourselves on a high standard of customer experience.

“We are still investigating to determine the full facts of this issue with our third-party delivery partner, and will take the appropriate action once this investigation is completed to ensure this does not happen again.

“We are in direct contact with the customer to offer her a full refund on her order.”

And a Cambridgeshire Police spokesperson added: “I can confirm that we have raised a crime for theft.

“The investigation has been filed pending any new evidence coming to light.

“Anyone with information is asked to contact police quoting reference 35/13852/25.”

DPD told LADbible they were unable to comment at this time as the ‘investigation is still ongoing.’