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Samsung and Ohio Attorney General's Office respond to latest cell phone explosion

Posted at 8:53 PM, Apr 24, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-24 21:00:20-04

A woman from Lorain is now talking with Samsung, after her cell phone exploded, over the weekend. Her phone was not the model that was on the recall list last year.

Samsung’s headquarters in America are located in New Jersey, so News 5 looked into the number of complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau in New Jersey to see if more devices had similar issues, which were not on the recall list.

The report from the BBB Serving New Jersey showed only three Samsung devices exploded this year that did not include the Galaxy Note 7 or the washers, which were recalled.

RELATED: Lorain woman's Samsung cell phone explodes and sets fire to her pocket

However, the BBB said this may just be the tip of the iceberg, since some people may not have reported the issue to BBB.

Dorthiea Preston of Lorain had quite the scare over the weekend. She said her phone exploded in her pocket and burned through her pants. She just purchased the phone last month. You can read the original story here.

She said she knew about the recall for other products, but thought her flip phone, the Samsung Gusto-3 Phone was safe.

"The noise was just horrendous, it was really loud, just like a big explosion. I can't even imagine a phone making that kind of a bang, but it did,” said Preston.

After reaching out directly to Samsung, the company responded with this statement:

"We stand behind the quality and safety of the many Gusto 3 phones in the U.S., and there are no known issues with these devices. We have reached out to Ms. Preston to learn more about what happened and offer our support. Mobile phones are complex devices and there are many factors that could contribute to their malfunction. Until we examine the device it is impossible to tie this to overheating. Any customer who has questions or experiences an issue with a Samsung product should contact us directly at 1-800-SAMSUNG."

News 5 also reached out to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. The spokesperson said consumers should always try to work with the company to reach an agreement. If they are not able to reach a resolution, they can then file a complaint though the A.G.’s office.

If you have concerns about a device or project and are unable to reach the manufacturers, you can visit this website: OHIOPROTECTS.ORG, or call 1-800-282-0515.