9 Investigates: Class action lawsuit settlement could affect...

CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — A class action lawsuit settlement could affect millions of people who own television sets.

That lawsuit says one of the biggest manufacturers used parts that made TVs stop working after just a couple of years.

John Goodman's Samsung TV is less than two years old and already, he's had to have it repaired.

After just one year, Goodman said it started taking longer and longer to turn on.

"Twenty-second pause, thirty-second pause, then it might be two minutes, five minutes," Goodman said.

Goodman took his TV to Wide Screen TV in west Charlotte where Matt Yager told Channel 9 it's a problem they now see all the time.

"Starts to click, it wants to come on, then it finally comes on. Two minutes turns into 30 minutes, turns into an hour, and then it just won't come on," Yager said.

Yager said that very problem makes up nearly 40 percent of his business.

Yager said the problem is that the power supply, called a capacitor, is failing.

Yager now overstocks the part because they go out so quickly on so many sets.

"So how old are these TVs?" asked Action 9 reporter Don Griffin.

"We're looking at, most of them I would say three years would be the average," Yager said. "Two to three years old. Something that new you shouldn't have to put money in that soon."

The same thing is happening with TV sets all over the country.

In fact, it's happening so often with Samsung TV sets that the company has been hit with numerous lawsuits claiming it's using faulty parts.

The class action suit, filed in California, says Samsung used "capacitors that prematurely fail."

It goes on to say that the company "has failed to recall the televisions" and that it has "refused to pay for any part of the costs of repairing the televisions."

The repair cost can be around $200 depending on the size of the TV set.

For Goodman, it was all out of pocket because his set was no longer under warranty.

"The price you pay for TVs these days, you shouldn't have these kinds of issues," Goodman said.

But now, in a move that could affect millions of customers, Samsung has settled one of those lawsuits.

It involves more than two dozen models and offers, among other things:

A free service visit to determine if your television has a problem covered by the settlement and, if it does, to fix the problem.
A refund of up to $300 if you already paid for repairs, depending on what the problem was.
Or a $300 debit card if you no longer own the TV but can prove that you did, and report the problem to Samsung before March 2.

The lawsuit that was settled was filed in Oklahoma, but it applies to customers all over the United States.

Customers who believe they have an affected TV should call 1- 888-899-7602 to speak with a customer service representative or go to www.samsung.com/capacitorsettlement.

It involves 27 different TV models:

LCDs: LN-T******/XAA; LN**A******XZA; LNS4041DX/XAA; LNS4051DX/XAA; LNS4052DX/XAA; LNS5296DX/XAA

Plasma TVs: HPT5034X/XAA; HPT5044X/XAA; HPT5054X/XAA; HPT5064X/XAA; PN42A410C1DXZA; PN42A450P1DXZA; PN50A410C1DXZA; PN50A450P1DXZA; PN50A460S4DXZA

DLP TVs: HLT5087SAX/XAA; HLT5087SX/XAA; HLT5089SAX/XAA; HLT5089SX/XAA; HLT5687SAX/XAA; HLT5687SX/XAA; HLT5689SAX/XAA; HLT5689SX/XAA; HLT6187SAX/XAA; HLT6187SX/XAA; HLT6189SAX/XAA; HLT6189SX/XAA

Samsung's full statement reads:

"Approximately 1% of Samsung televisions sold in the U.S. from 2006 to 2008 have experienced some performance issues caused by a component called a capacitor. "Since originally confirming this issue in early 2010, Samsung has voluntarily provided free repairs for U.S. customers with affected televisions. Recently, a nationwide class settlement covering all affected televisions in the U.S. was reached in Russell, et al. v. Samsung Electronics America, Inc., a lawsuit filed in the District Court of Oklahoma County in the U.S. "Customers who believe they have an affected TV should call 1- 888-899-7602 to speak with a customer service representative or go to www.samsung.com/capacitorsettlement. As the leading supplier of televisions, Samsung remains committed to delivering superior technology and excellent service to our loyal customers."

WSOC