Just received from Spark:

 

Following further advice from Samsung early this afternoon, Spark has announced that it will stop replacements of the Samsung Galaxy Note7, and is urging customers to return their Note 7 devices to a Spark store. The move progresses from a suspension of the replacement programme by Spark on Monday evening. 

 

Spark's CEO of Home, Mobile and Business, Jason Paris, said the company was making its customers’ safety a top priority: “We strongly urge anyone with a Note7 to immediately back up, turn off, remove their SD and SIM cards and return their replacement Note7 devices to any Spark store,” said Paris. “For their safety, it is very important that our customers do this as soon as possible.” 

 

Paris said the company became aware this afternoon of one incident involving a Spark customer’s Note7 device. The customer has reported to Spark that the device overheated and subsequently caught fire. “The phone was brought in-store this afternoon and we immediately arranged for it to be sent to Samsung. We’ve been talking with the customer and have confirmation that he is safe, unharmed and that there has been no damage to any physical property,” said Paris. 

 

Spark is continuing to investigate the incident with Samsung.

 

All Spark customers who purchased a Samsung Galaxy Note7 from Spark at launch, or who currently hold a replacement Note7 from Spark are entitled to a full refund of the amount they have paid for their Note7. This includes the following options:

 

• Swapping the Note7 for an alternative Samsung device, with the difference refunded.
• Receiving a full refund of anything paid for the device and any Note7 accessories purchased from Spark, which can then be used to purchase another device.

All affected customers have received an SMS urging them to stop use of their Note7 phone and return it to a Spark store.