Never buy LG

Life is not so good when you buy their $2500 wall oven and it breaks under 2 years under very light usage; 3 hours on phone with their customers service and their "authorized repair" here called Shaugnessey Appliance, I am convinced never to buy LG ever again in my life. This is my web chat session from LG recently.

Christie: Hello, nayyer iqbal. Can I help you with anything today?

iqbal: hi i need to to order these parts... 6930W1A003X and EBG51439301

Christie: I would be happy to help you with that.

Christie: These are internal parts, only authorized technicians can order them, I can provide you with a service center information for you to get in touch with them is that ok?

iqbal: yes but i do not want them to install it

Christie: It can only be ordered through them, but they will also install.

iqbal: yes and they'll charge me a lot of money to do so

iqbal: its just a thermostat and i can do it myself

Christie: I am sorry for the inconvenience this must have caused

iqbal: yes t shouldn't happen on an oven thats less than 2 years old

iqbal: it*

Christie: We have a special promotion called Flat Rate, by making a single payment of 175.00 + taxes we can repair any issue the unit may be having including parts labor and diagnose, it will grant you 90 days warranty on that repair.

iqbal: comeone are you kidding

iqbal: its a $20 part that takes an hour at most to repair

iqbal: how can you justify charging $2000

iqbal: $200*

Christie: That will cover diagnose, parts and labor. LG does not sell parts separately, only authorized technicians can order them. normal service call would cost around 95.00 for the diagnose only.

iqbal: i don't need diagnosis i know the problem. i need someone to repair.

Christie: We can send a technician wither with the Flat Rate or the regular rate.

iqbal: basically you are ripping me off.

Christie: I am sorry for the inconvenience this must have caused

iqbal: you are kidding right. i want a simple part and you can't give it to me. what is your reason.

iqbal: i bought your oven and paid over $2500 for it. less than 2 years it breaks and i cna tell you i am not the only one with the problem on this oven.

Christie: Please understand that it is not me not wanting to sell the part, there is no reason for me to do that. This is how the LG policies work, LG does not sell internal nor functional parts separately, only authorized technicians can order these as well as install them.

iqbal: yes but the oven is mine. i paid for it. it breaks so i should be able to buy the part and fix it myself.

Christie: i wish that I was able to do more, regretfully this is not in my hands.

iqbal: well let me tell you i will never buy LG again in my life.

iqbal: I'd be grateful if your supervisor could call me on +1 306 881 8601 and explain to me as a lg customer who have spect thousands on their prodct why they can't sell me a $20 part so i can fix an oven that shoudn't break within first 2 years of very light use.

Christie: For supervisor assistance, please contact us at 1-888-542-2623, they can only be reached over the phone.

Basically, if you are out of warranty for LG you are made to pay ridiculous amounts of money for repair (unfairly charged). They won't do anything and you can only get it repaired from their "authorized dealer". They will not sell you the part and be prepared to sell your kidneys for next repair which could happen very soon and on a recurring basis. I am going to give that number a call and demand why they can't sell the parts.

In the meantime I called Sears Parts in Canada (18004MYHOME) and ordered the replacement thermostat and fuse for $40 inc. shipping. Planning to get my Family Handyman to change it which will cost me $40 in labour (2 hours). Costing me $80 and they quoted me $200 flat rate (which is not covered where I live) and if i go with Shaugnessey $100 just to diagnose problem.

Get Your Money Back from Payment Protector Premium Insurance

This is a story on how i got 75% of my refund for paying for this service for the last 21 months. And this is only because I DIDN'T PAY MY BALANCE IN FULL FOR THAT AMOUNT OF TIME and THAT I DIDN'T NOTICE THIS CHARGE FOR THAT LONG which can be argued that it is totally my fault for signing up for the product and that I hadn't notice a charge so i should just suck it up. My total that I paid after I had put all the data into an excel sheet was $1080 CAD.

13-08-03
13-09-03 11.70
13-10-03 15.88
13-11-03 21.00
13-12-03 33.95
14-01-03 35.80
14-02-03 6.18
14-03-03 23.37
14-04-03 89.09
14-05-03 60.37
14-06-03 85.27
14-07-03 61.37
14-08-03 71.38
14-09-03 52.19
14-10-03 47.93
14-11-03 61.50
14-12-03 55.21
15-01-03 76.53
15-02-03 73.87
15-03-03 55.12
15-04-03 71.22
15-05-03 71.18
$1080.11

YES I HAVE BEEN A VERY CARELESS CREDIT CARD USER but that is not the point. Most people feel that because of their spending habits or bad credit history they should just ignore this charge and cancel it for future charges and not ask for any refund. I would say a BIG VERY HUGE NO to this. You are entitled to this money back and if you are already paying extremely high interest on the unpaid amount why should you be subject to this extra charge.

1. Payment Protector Premium is an insurance product that you sign up for and is only offered on credit cards (according to lady on the phone). This is either done at the bank when you are applying for your credit card or someone phones you after for this product and you sign up over the phone.
2. Once you've wrapped this idea around your head ask yourself why on earth would you sign up for something that's ridiculously expensive unless someone MISSOLD YOU THE PRODUCT or you are really dumb. If you want your money back i would stick with the former.
3. BE POLITE AND CONTENT in your phone call. Although you are livid that you have paid so much and your heart is thumping and adrenaline is rushing through your body make sure NOT TO BECOME LOUD AND RUDE.
This is how my experience with Payment Protector Premium went recently.

i phoned the number mentioned on the bill and chose options to speak to someone regarding cancelling the policy.

Me: Hi I called to speak to someone regarding this charge that has been recurring on my bill every month.
Agent: Yes. I'd just like to confirm some things for security purposes. SECURITY CHECK. Now How Can I help you.
Me: So I don't know why I am being charged this.
Agent: It is insurance that you must have signed up for. It covers payment of your bill if you lose your job upto $10,000.
Me: I don't know why I would need that because i have a insurnace policy with Great West Life that i have had for the last 5 years and that covers me for all incidental, critical illness. And when i signed up for this I didn't have a job anyway because I was a student so i don't know why i would sign up for something that is not relevant to me.
Agent: It also gives you health coverage upto $2000.
Me: but i already have had health insurance through Great West Life for the past 5 years. I am unhappy about this charge because i have been a loyal CIBC customer and I don't think this is a fair charge.
Agent: You must have signed up for this in the bank or on the phone?
Me: I don't remember signing up for this service and it wouldn't make sense for me to sign up in the first place since I already have coverage through Great West Life.
Agent: What i can do is cancel this coverage and give you refund for the last 3 months as a gesture of good will?
Me: I have paid for quite a long period of time for some charge i didn't even know about and I don't think 3 months refund is fair?
Agent: OK let me speak to my supervisor if you can hold on a few minutes?
MUSIC
OK So I spoke to my supervisor and we can give you refund for the last 6 months as a gesture of good will?
Me: I guess 6 months is better but still.
Agent: There is nothing else i can do. I can only do last 6 months as a gesture of good will?
Me: Yes but still you understand where i am coming from right. I just feel a bit like I have been charged for something i shouldn't have. it doesn't seem something I would ever sign up for.
Agent: But last 6 months is all that I can do.
Me: What is the amount coming to.
Agent: Ok let me calculate....... long pause... it is coming to $400?
Me: I gues you can cancel the insurance policy from further charges and issue me that refund for the last 6 months but I am stll not happy though with these charges.
Agent: ok I will do that. if you like I can get someone from CIBC to give you a call back sometime.
Me: Ye thank you "Agent". You have been very good but i am still unhappy though because i feel like i shouldn't have been charged for this in the first place. I'd be grateful if you could get someone to give me a call back.
Agent: yes. is there anything else i could help you with.
Me: No, that'll be all "Agent".

Next Day I get a call back from CIBC headoffice from one of their executive supervisors. I couldn't asnwer the phone because i was on another call. So I phoned that specific person back but she wasn't in office so I was put through to someone else.

Agent: He asked if he could be of any help. Did SECURITY CHECK.
Me: I explained to him my situation.
Agent: I am sorry i can not do anything but "executive supervisor" is dealing with your file. if you can phone back before 4PM EST tommorrow she'll be able to help you.
Me: (Almost felt like he tried to avoid my situation) Yes I can do that but i am very busy tommorrow. i was wondering if you could leave a note for the "executive supervisor" to let her know that i did call back and if she could call back tommorrow if she gets time but I'll try to call her aswell.
Agent: ok i will leave a note for her. is there anything I could help you with.
Me: No that was it really, thanks very much.

The Following day I recieved a call from the "executive supervisor". And this is how our conversation went.
Executive Supervisor: Hi. This is "executive supervisor" from CIBC calling you regarding the insurance on your credit card.
Me: Hi "executive supervisor". Yes.
Executive Supervisor: SECURITY CHECK. We have been going through your file and we can give you a total refund of $750.
Me: But I feel like I should get full money back because it is an unfair charge. I don't know why I would sign up for this. Almost seems like it was mis represented if I did sign up for it.
Executive Supervisor: At the moment we can give you $750. But if you'd like the full refund we'll have to gather evidence to prove this this was missold to you. that's going to take more time and if it goes against you, you will not be liable for any refund.

Now at this point I had to consider my option. I know that there is no audible evidence they would have for me signing up to this policy since it was done at the bank. The only thing they'd be able to dig up is my credit card file with my signature on it for this policy. But then again they can not prove that this was mis sold to me because of my circumstances. But I thought to myself whether it is worth it for me to take on all that hassle for $300 more. So I agreed to a refund of $750. A 75% win for me i guess :)

What I Plan To Do in My Nissan Altima

Considering the great price I got on the Altima, financially it gives me room to put some upgrades on it without "wasting" money on it. Here is what I plan to do.

LED Light Upgrade

1. Headlights - $700


2. Tail Lights - $700

3. LED DRL - $103.60


Total = $1700

For The Winter

4. Tires & Wheels

1x 235/45R18 Nokian Hakkapellittas 8 98T XL - $302

1x 215/55R17 Nokian Hakkapellittas 8 - $

4x TPMS Sensors - $

4x 17" Rims - $

5. Husky All-Season Rubber Mats - $180

6. Husky Rubber Trunk Liner - $150

Total = $1600-$2400

Cosmetics

7. Rear Spoiler - $172.67


10. Illuminated Red Nissan Logo for Back (Activated by Brake) - $14.90

11. Chrome Insert for Upper Grille - $74.01
12. Chrome Insert for Bottom Grille - $101.68


13. Window tinting - $242.50 DONE

Total = $605.76

Technology

14. Rear Parking Sensors in Brown Color - $47.60

Total = $47.60

My Review of the 2013 Nissan Altima 3.5 SL

Price I paid: 20,900 + Tax + Admin + Licensing

What I got: 2013 Nissan Altima 3.5SL with Tech Package with 24,200 kilometers.



Pros

- Stylish Look

- 3.5L engine provides plenty of power with 0-60 in 5.2 seconds.

- Decent fuel economy considering the powerful 3.5 engine.

- Blind Spot detection and Lane Departure Warning included with Tech Package. (Tech Package standard on 3.5 SL models from 2015)

- Reversing Camera has MOD sensors which detects movement and warns if moving object is detected (but no front or rear parkiong sensors)

- A very nice amount of leg room and head room for the rear passenger. (only car in its class with slightly more leg room is the 2014+ impala)

- Very nice instrument cluster with a lot of information.

- Heated Steering Wheel. Great for places with really cold winters. I.e., Canada

- Comes with factory remote starter that can detect outside temperature and can set climate inside car accordingly.

- 9 Speaker Bose Sound system is nice but not great.

- 18" Alloy Wheels on the 3.5SL model.

- Cheap maintenance.



Cons

- No LED lights (can be upgraded though with LED DRL, Tail and Headlight but will cost around $1500)

- No memory seating.

- Passenger seat is manually adjusted.

- No Parking sensors (atleast until second half of 2015 and only in USA at the moment)

- Leather of the seat is not high quality. My 2 year old with only 24k on it i find cracking already.

- CVT engine has had a lot of bad reviews and lots of people with their transmissions failing.

No heated seats for rear passengers.

- The navigation systems seems a bit slow when putting in data.

- Poor quality reversing camera.



Good value for what you get as long as transmission doesn't go it's an awesome car.

Negotiating a Car Deal

I am all about saving money wherever I can. I have been involved in purchasing a vehicle countless number of times and I just thought I should share some of my experiences. One thing you must know is that no one is going to force you into buying something and you have plenty of options available in the market when you are deciding to purchase a vehicle. So don't feel tied down and as if you have no options or nowhere to go to get a good deal. You can buy a vehicle from:

1. Private Sale.
2. New from dealer of car manufacturer.
3. Used from dealer that is affiliated with the car manufacturer.
4. Used from dealer that is not affiliated with the car manufacturer.

When considering to buy a car you should first consider your options of whether you should buy a brand new car, or a demo car, or a slightly used one or a used one that is more older. I will discuss all the options that you have. You really need to consider your pros and cons of buying a new car vs demo vs used but still good vs old. In my experience of purchasing cars I would only buy a new car if there is a very good incentive, like this one time the British government was giving a £2000 incentive if you trade in your vehicle that is more than 10 years old and that was on top of dealer incentives. The car I had was worth a few hundred pounds so i traded it in and cashed in on two of my older cars for 2 brand new cars. Apart from that i haven't found it profitable to purchase a new car because of all the extra charges you have to pay. I have found that demo cars or executive demo cars have a really good value as compared with new cars and you can end up saving quite a lot of money. Advantage of demo cars is that they have really low mileage and you don't pay those extra charges you pay on new cars. For example, recently on our Altima purchase, we had offer of a brand new demo loaded model that would be close to $40000 brand new the dealership was selling for $32000 all in. That's $8000 dollar saving and the car only had 2500 kilometers on it. Another good option is to buy a car that has low kilometers and 2-3 years old. This is because car depreciates the most in the first 2 years. But when you go to this option make sure that you get a Carproof/Carfax of the car to make sure it hasn't been in any accidents or it doesn't have any lien/finance on it. The same goes for if you want to buy older cars as well. One thing you don't want is to buy a car then have to spend extra money fixing things in it. Also if the car has a rebuilt status or history of accident, it lowers its value and resale value. When deciding a car, see what your family/friends have and look on the manufacturer's website and if you like something, try to find reviews on edmunds and various other auto websites. See videos on youtube and see features on manufacturer's website so you know about the vehicle before you go to see it. This will give you more power to negotiate as you will already know about the product. Also keep in mind when the new shape of that model will be coming out. You don't want to buy something that has a new shape coming out the following year.

LESSON 1: Do your research

Once you have done your research, you will have a fairly good idea of what you want and how much you should pay for it and what vehicles are available in your area. Make a list of all the dealers that offer the vehicle of your choice and phone them one by one and ask information that you need on the car, like confirm owner history, accident history, features and options of car, take down name of person you spoke to. Considering everything turns out ok on the car, and if you really like the car it wouldn't hurt to throw a reasonable offer on the car. But before throwing an offer you must be experienced enough. If not then you can always go on the next step. When giving an offer you want to be careful to not make an offer that is too low. In my experience make an offer somewhere between $500-$2000 below asking price. Anything beyond $2000 the dealer might find offensive and feel you are just a waste of time. Anyhow be polite, serious and firm in your offer.

LESSON 2: Make enquiry on vehicle beforehand and if you are a pro thrown an offer.

When you walk into a dealership or into a private sale the first thing you should do is look around and talk to the person selling to you. Talk to them about general stuff and be friendly and polite. Do not jump into test driving and turn down the offer to your salesman because you will become more obliged to buy if you test drive. This gives you more negotiating power and lets the sales person know that you know about cars and you are not there to waste time.

LESSON 3: Build Rapport with the person selling to you.

Regardless of what you buy all you should consider is that final number that you will pay to take the car home which includes, the cost of car, all admin/licensing fees, taxes etc. The dealership will try and negotiate with you on car price or a lot of times and then when you sit down the final number will be a few grand above what you negotiated and then the dealer would say they can't do anything about those fees because it is out of their control. So make sure you make it clear to them you want the final number of what it costs you that includes all taxes and everything. You can say to the dealer like ok I will pay the asking price as long as they can take care of taxes and admin fees. Something to think about when negotiating.

LESSON 4: Always keep the final number in mind

Now consider your financing options. If you have cash to buy, great. But if you don't then you need to look at financing. When considering financing you need to have a good credit rating unless you want to pay extremely high interest rates which again is not good value for money. You have two options, either go to a financing bank or credit union before you go to the dealer or apply for financing at the dealer. Obviously if you want to buy a vehicle privately the seller will most likely want cash and option one is your only way. When financing, there's a few things you should consider.

1. Who's offering the lowest interest rate.
2. Sometimes the dealer offers cash incentives if you go for really high interest rate. This is slightly more complicated to understand. So what you can do is ask them the minimum amount you can finance. If you have cash, pay whatever the amount they are asking minus the minimum amount you can finance. If you don't have cash, you could apply for financing outside the dealership for that amount and again minus the minimum financing amount at dealership. Or you could just opt for the highest interest rate on the full amount at the dealership. keep in mind every time you apply for financing your credit score will lower. Let me give you example. For the Altima above the dealer offered me $32,000 only if i chose their financing option of 4.99 percent over 5 years or else it would be $33,500, so i was getting $1500 off the car if i chose financing through dealer. The minimum amount that Nissan finances is $7,500 dollars. So I would have to pay $25000 cash and finance $7,500 at a really high interest rate. Also Nissan offered that I could pay off that $7,500 at any time without penalty.
3. When financing at the dealership, they charge most of the interest in the first months of your financing so your principal payment initially will be really low and you'll mostly be paying interest. This is really cheeky of financing companies because just incase you do want to pay your financing early they have already taken most of the interest amount anyway, so keep that in mind when financing through dealer. It is different how they charge you interest in the bank.
4. Ask wherever you are getting financing from whether there is any early payment fee and accommodate that into cost as well.

LESSON 5: Make sure that you are fully aware of what you are getting into. Normally when you financing the person selling you the finance should explain everything and clear any doubts you have.

One final thing I want to touch upon is the extra protection packages offered at the dealership like paint protection, rust protection, leather/fabric protection, upholstery protection, tire protection and mechanical protection. To be honest, I will never opt for any of these. I'd rather save money and if something goes wrong use that money towards fxing the problem.

Adding Garage Heater

I have a double car garage which is around 22ftx22ft. The garage is insulated with basic insulation and drywalled so it made things a bit easier but living in Canada it is still too cold to work in. So had to add a garage heater. Here are some of the options I considered.

1. Portable Electric heater from CanadianTire the Mastercraft brand - $50 on sale.

First of all I didn't have a 240Volt connection in garage so when we were getting our kitchen done i got the electrician to put in a 240Volt connection in garage. I went with a 40Amp 2Pole Breaker and 8/3wire so that there is a neutral aswell if i need. This means I can run upto (0.8)(40x240)= 7680Watts on this line. Was very excited until i tried the Mastercraft Garage Heater rated at 4800Watts. This is a piece of junk. Didn't provide any hot air what so ever. I got very disappointed and ended up selling it on kijiji for $10.

2. I got a bit disappointed by electric heaters and the fact that I just wasted $300 putting a 240volt line in garage. So I thought I'd try going the natural gas route. Problem was I didn't have a gas line in garage and neither a vent. So i called in a few plumbers and got quoted for $2,200 for a new gas line, heater and vent. After I received the quote I dropped the idea.

3. So off kijiji I managed to find a good deal on a portable mr. Heater Propane Fan Forced Heater rated at 35,000 BTU for only $50. Only problem is I had to get a propane tank (another $70) which I'd have to keep refilling ($20 each time roughly). Works well but to be honest in winter with 2 cars in garage and a full garage with no ventilation i didn't find this solution very attractive. I'd have to leave the garage door open just a little bit if i am running this heater. I did not find this option very convenient and it was too much of a bother everytime.

4. So feeling disappointed I came across some ceiling electric heaters that are hardwired. In particular Comfort zone 5,000 watt construction heater. they had it on sale in Princess Autos for $99.99 and in Peavymart for $119.99. I read reviews and everyone praised the heater a lot. So i thought i'd give it a try.

Which Smartphone to get

Smartphones are almost like a necessity now with so many features and so many options. There are so many different companies which have released so many devices. I have shortlisted which phone you should buy. Please keep in mind this is purely from a usability perspective of a daily user.

These are the things that I've considered when considering which phone to buy are:

Cost, Hardware Features, Software Features

First thing is first, let's shorten down which brand of phone you should buy.

      

Took me a long time to get these logo off the internet but seriously, there is only two options. Samsung or Apple. Forget the rest and I'll tell you why. These two companies are dominant by far in the world. Hence, you will get good technical support, warranty and everything better with these two companies as compared with the rest. Now I am not talking about little things but overall and generally these two are the companies you want to stick with. They offer the best hardware/software combination also.

Note: You may ask as to why I just don't change the title to Samsung vs Apple instead of Smartphones in general. This is because I want to make a point to not buy phones from other companies as their phones are the same price but you will just not be happy with the usability of it.

1. Cost of Phone

When considering cost of phone and what you are getting. Samsung definitely wins over Apple. It is cheaper in every way. Basic Apple iPhone (6 which is the latest), 16gb starts at $749 which is $200 more expensive than a brand new 16gb Galaxy S5, We will talk about storage and expansion after in Hardware.

However, resale value of Apple is also better than Samsung. However, if you want to unlock your Apple iPhone, specially in Canada you have to go through Carrier (with which you have to have an account) that you got it from unless you want to pay a ridiculous price to a third party to unlock it. Currently as of October 2014, it is $35 at Telus/Koodoo while the rest charge $50, And also most carriers do not unlock within 90 Days of a contract which is also annoying no matter what reason they use to justify it. Samsung phones can be more easily unlocked. Older Samsung phones can be unlocked via Software if you know a bit about rooting etc. You can buy codes for around $20 from third party companies and sometimes even cheaper for the newer Samsung phones.

Winner: Samsung

2. Hardware

Without getting much into the nitty gritty of hardware, the internal specs of both phones are pretty similar. Apple sine the 5s though has introduced a 64-bit processor which we won't see until 2015 for android devices in general. However, apple have been stingy with only 2gb RAM. It has been criticized that they should have used at least 4gb RAM to utilize the 64-bit processor properly, despite that they didn't increase the RAM in iphone 6.

Display

Samsung offers a higher screen resolution than apple, has a bigger screen also, better battery life as well (specially the note and from s5). The 5.1" screen though is not accessible with one hand, definitely not of an average person. The 4.7" is almost perfect size for a phone.

Build quality

However, 99% of Samsung phones are plasticy whereas iPhone always feels more premium while in the hand. Samsung is changing though from their new Galaxy Note Edge that is now offering an aluminum body. Samsung does have a slight edge in the Galaxy S5 where they have made it water/dust resistant. This means you can take your phone to the bathroom and leave it in there before taking a shower without risking moisture getting to the inside and messing around the tiny electrical components inside your phone. This is a godsend feature when compared with the Note 3 and the S4 where without doing anything the proximity sensors got covered by dust and you have to use a compressed air can and blow into headphone port to clear dust from it. However, iPhone doesn't have that problem and has that premium looking aluminum body, and a slim lightweight phone that just feels amazing but you won't be able to shower with it unfortunately. Samsung has started to put nice leather-looking back on their phones aswell starting from the Note 3. But iPhone 6 is slimmest smartphone in the world and i must say it definitely looks seksy and premium.

Other features

Samsung has a removable battery and a place for microsd card. Apple has neither so it is annoying when your iPhone battery starts to play up you have to take it to one of their genius and pay for a replacement phone. With Samsung you just buy a cheap battery or even the genuine one you can get for around $20. Also, with external storage which you can get for so cheap now a days, you have the option to add a microsd card into your phone to store pictures etc which iPhone doesn't offer. Apple argues that it is not safe to have external storage but it definitely helps to add 64gb extra memory for a mere $40 as compared to $110 that apple charges.

Battery Life

Samsung are just getting better with their batter life. Its just amazing for a smartphone what you can achieve. But newer iPhone is so slim its hard to fit a battery big enough to give it better battery life. iPhone is ok on battery not as good as Samsung.

Winner: Draw

3. Software

This is the deciding thing for me and I feel apple have an edge over Samsung or any android device. Connectivity of Apple Phones with other devices in terms of air playing, connecting with car I have experienced is easier and better. The iOS although quite rigid on how you can arrange icons etc is actually quite easy to use and in practice faster than Android.

Touchwiz vs iOS

Touchwiz is a very good software indeed. But I have always found iOS to be more user friendly. Things are more easily accessible on the iPhone. Some people might differ with me but on day to day use iOS wins every time.

Backup

iCloud wins. Easiest I have used ever. Just press one button and so easy to restore and it restores everything as is including call logs, contacts, messages, and data of all your apps. Can't tell you how many times I have completed temple run on android because I couldn't backup data of my progress. You can do that with android also but it is no way as easy as pressing a button.

Security

Apple is definitely more secure than Samsung but with centralized security through their own servers, the danger is if it gets hacked they risk every iPhone user. But however, I have really enjoyed using Apple with their iCloud lock and Find iPhone feature and the peace of mind that if someone steals, i can track it and they won't be able to use it at all (if I have set a pin and kept Find My iPhone on). Samsung does not offer that and even if you can secure all your data on phone and use third party apps to encrypt etc, it can be bypassed easily by going into download mode and restoring firmware or going into recovery mode and doing a Factory Data reset. And if you have extSD card you have to make sure you Encrypt stuff on it or else if you lose your phone you lose all data and other person can steal it. You can also go to http://supportprofile.apple.com and register your apple device and view all your warranty data, supoport information etc which is another feature Samsung doesn't have (or maybe I don't know of it).

Winner: Apple

Conclusion

If you can afford it get an iPhone. Samsung is good also but get the galaxy S5 or above because the former phones have a couple of really annoying hardware issues.