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Sears and other retailers large and small are fond of selling extended warranties and maintenance agreements on appliances, lawn and garden equipment, home electronics and other big-ticket items.
The common view is that these amount to little more than additional profit for the retailer. The complaints we receive from Sears customers tend to support this view but, to be fair, there may be many others who have had a good experience with their Sears maintenance agreement.
Pro and Con
Don't take our word for it. Read the comments of two Sears employes, one current and one former, arguing the pros and cons of maintenance agreements:
And the customers? Well, here's what they think ...
Huey of Jasper AL (07/19/08)
I am a personal friend and of and representing.... Bro. Bert is 87 years old. He purchased a window air conditioner from Sears and also purchased a 3 year extended warranty - the warranty is active until 2010. This unit stopped working. A repairman came to their house and determined it was a starter capacitor and would have to be ordered. It has been 3 weeks since the repairman ordered the part. Bro. Bert and his wife called the repair service number provided to them a total of 6 times and were told each time that the part had been back ordered.
oday, I called the same number on their behalf. I spoke with a Jason, who spoke broken English. I asked if he was in India and he said he was not to give out that information. I explained the situation and told him that Bro. Bert was 87 years old, had asthma and needed the air conditioner, especially when he had an asthma attack. Jason told me that the part was on back order. I told Jason that the Wests had made 6 phone calls during the past 3 weeks and were told the same thing each time. I also told Jason that this was not acceptable. Jason could not get beyond repeating that the part was on back order. I asked to speak with his supervisor - he refused. I insisted - he refused. I threatened his manhood and he relented and said for me to hold. I was disconnected. I called back. This time I spoke with another person-Kendall-also with a heavy accent. I repeated the facts to Kendall and received the same back order response. I asked to speak with his supervisor. I received the same response - not able to do so. I insisted until he placed me on hold for 5 minutes.
Victor came on the line-also speaking broken English-and said he was Kendall's supervisor. I explained the same facts for the 3rd. time. The supervisor gave me the same back order response. I explained that the Wests had received that response 6 times during the past three weeks and something must be done to expedite this situation due to a very precarious health challenge. Temperatures in Jasper, Alabama average 90-95 degrees farenheit and Bro. Bert was in destress. Victor continued to give me the same response. I asked to speak with his supervisor. He said I could not do so. I insisted. After much heated discussion, he eventually said to hold.
After two minutes Kendall came back on the phone and said that his supervisor told him to tell me that the part had been back ordered and would be shipped on July 21, to be delivered to Bro. Bert's home on July 22. I asked what will happen next and Kendall told me that Bro. Bert should then call again for the repairman to schedule a repair. It was obvious at that point that there was no concern for our situation, no effort to assist, and I was hitting a firewall that prevented me from any further recourse.
This is not service, it is not acceptable, it is reprehensible, it is irresponsible. It is also apparent that Sears either knows abour and condones this type of service or the firewall keeps this kind of situation from getting to someone at Sears who should be responsible for correcting it. In either situation, it shows unacceptable behavior on the part of Sears. I refuse to believe that a company as old and as large as Sears cannot find an air conditioner starter capacitor for a one year old unit in a more timely manner - if the part is shipped as promised, it will be four weeks. Also, I refuse to accept this kind of service from a company as old and as large as Sears.
Brother Bert is 87 years old, has recently had a pacemaker installed, has had pneumonia a few weeks ago, and suffers from asthma. He is in poor health. He needs air conditioning. It is possible that another asthma attack could have dire consequences. If anything happens to Bro. Bert, God forbid, I will personally commit my life savings to sue Sears and everybody related, for everything possible. This will be my total focus until accomplished. Furthermore, I will never purchase anything else from Sears - period. I feel a personal responsible to inform my family, friends and business associates of this situation so they will not be exposed to such reprehensible behavior.
Gevork of North Hollywood CA (07/12/08)
I purchased a fedders air conditioner from Genie air conditioners, but purchased an maintenance agreement from sears, I told them the brand and model and they agreed to sell me the agreement for parts and labor 2 years. a year later my wall unit A/C goes bad , So I call sears and they send out a tech , he goes out and opens the system and changes a valve on the unit. and is unsuccessful to fix , he then leaves telling us to call the maintenance department . to see what they want to do , I cant find parts for this unit to fix. I call the maintenance department and they tell me that sears policy is to change a unit if they cant fix it. so they tell me to wait until they can file the request .
so I call the following they and they still have no answer. the day after I call again and sears rep from maintenance tells me that they are cancelling my service agreement because I they dont service these machines and they should have never sold me the agreement . I make several attempts to talk to a supervisor and are never transferred saying that the person I am talking to has the highest authority to make the decisions. I made over 15 calls all with no success, I even asked for documentation on the work that they had done on my machine and they said that since they did not charge for the service they will not provide documentation, I was sold an agreement that was not honored by sears and to make things worse, they had already tempered with my machine making all warranties void
Time I spent during work dealing with sears, making my work days unproductive, several long hours on cell phone using minutes, tenant that lives in that apartment was unable to stay in unit due to there medical condition , During unbearable hot days in second floor unit , Tenant had to stay with other people which I had to reimburse for.
Legrand of West Palm Beach FL (07/08/08)
On June 10th, I contacted Sears Repair Center for warranty service on my 65 inch Mistsubishi HD TV. The first service call was scheduled on June 23rd. One June 23rd a service technician was unable to repair the TV and ordered a replacement part. The next appointment was scheduled for July 7. I contacted Sears complaint department to try and schedule an appointment within 1 week. I also offered to pay for express shipping to get the part in sooner. Sears refused.
On July 7th the morning of the follow-up appointment, I received a call from Sears to cancel the 2nd appointment. According to Sears customer service the first technician made a mistake. He should have removed the part from the TV and send it in to the manufacturer for repair. They will have to cancel the 2nd appointment and schedule a 3rd appointment on July 21. After several discussions with Sears complaint departments.
They agreed to send a technician today (July 7th). I waited for the technician between 8:00am and 7:00pm and no technician came by. Call Sears complaint department again. After several discussions a new appointment was created for Wednesday July 9th. At this point, I'm frustrated and need assistance. Please call me. I would like to know my options. Thank you,
I've made sears thousands of dollars for warranty service on all my appliances. I'm a little conscern that I may end up loosing the money.
Mark of Bel Air MD (07/07/08)
I had purchased a Sears water heater in 2004. The heater is under warranty for 12 years.The heater leaked on the basement floor on July 3rd 2008.I turned off the heater and drained it to prevent futher damage to the carpeted basement. I called the Sears repair center on July 4th,but they were closed.I called again on July 5th and was given an appointment for service from 1pm-5pm for that day.
No repairman showed up for that appointment.I called back and was told that there were no repairmen available that day.I have called back several times to reschedule and the earliest time they had was a week later on July 14th.I have three childern in the house and this quiet an inconvence to say the least.
My carpet may need to be replaced. My family has to travel to my sister-in-laws house daily to use her shower for hot showers. We have to heat up water to properly wash our dishes.
Mary of Las Vegas NV (07/06/08)
I purchased a Sears Carrier furnace-a/c unit in Febuary of 2006. I also purchased the 5 year Master Protection Agreement from Sears. This states that all maintenance is covered by Sears for 5 years. If they are out more than 4 times for service, the Lemon Law kicks in & they have to replace the unit. June 28, 2008 - In the heat of the day, my a/c goes out. I call Sears. They give me an appointment of 6/26/08. (Five days later). I ask if I can get another company sooner & they can reimburse me. They said, No, we don't do that. I ask if I get another company & pay them myself, will they still honor the rest of the warranty. The reply from Sabrina, the operator, No, that will void the warranty. I was pretty much at the mercy of Sears to come out when they could.
Thursday, (Appointment day) Sears calls in the morning at 11 am. (They were scheduled to arrive between 8 am & Noon). Steve from Sears tells me he will be out later in the afternoon. I say fine. 3:18 pm, Sears 800# calls. They say unfortunately, they can't get to my broken a/c until Saturday. (Now it will be a week that I' ve waited for service.) They do arrive Saturday. Late. Of course, now my unit is working. The technician checks the freon & leaves.
The next day, once again in the heat of the day, the unit starts blowing hot air again. I call the Sears technician who gave me his cell #. I leave him a message, as he doesn't answer. I also call the 800 # for Sears. They set me up with an appointment for Tuesday. I told them I want to speak with a supervisor. A supervisor did call me the next day, Monday. She sent the same guy to my house, who once again, didn't fix the problem. My a/c quit working again on 7/5/2008. Once again, I call the service technician's cell phone. He answers & says he will ask his boss about it on Monday. I told him it would be nice if they could come out while the a/c is broke, in the heat of the day, to see why. He says they can't.
I call the Sears 800# & make an appointment for Tuesday. 7/8/2008. I think there could have been a little more trouble shooting by Sears during the first two appointments. This $8,000.00 unit is only two years old! I was forced to go out & buy a $537.00, one room a/c unit just to try & sleep in the heat, as my TWO year old, $8,000.00 Sears Carrier Unit is unreliable. I am not happy with Sears at this time.
The technician told me that Sears, by law, has to reimburse for a hotel room if they can't get to you in the heat of the summer, after 72 hours. That's all fine, but I have a cat that is sweletering at home. I've been trying to sleep while listening to the Jet engine like sound of the $537.00 one room air conditioner unit I had to buy, just to survive this deadly heat. I have spent many hours sitting & waiting for Sears to show up, only to have them call & put me off for two more days, or show up late.
Josephine of Dedham MA (07/03/08)
I have a warranty insurance on my drier. It was making a long noise, so I put in for a repair. The repair man told me he would be leaving the call before me in the next fifteen minutes. I waited and left work on my lunch hour to go home for the repair man. Needless to say I waited two hours for him to show up. Not so much as a phone call. I tried calling the cell number that he called me from. No answer.
Finally he shows up, five minutes later he say: you're all set I asked waht was wrong with it. He said it needed to be lubricated. I look on my floor there is oil on the floor. I turn the drier on and the noise the same. I told him that it was not fixed. He proceeds to open up the top of the drier and shut it. Without doing anything to it, he tells me I need a new motor. Two minutes ago he told me the drier was all set! He said he had to order the motor and it wouldnt be delivered until July 15th, then I would have to call and make another appointment. I have had so many problems with Sear products, they should be put out of business!!
I left work at 1:44 and could not go back because I end work at 4:30. I was not paid for this inconvenience.
Elizabeth of Oakland CA (06/23/08)
We tried to book two preventive maintainance visits on line, one for our dishwasher, and one for our side by side refrigerator. We got an email saying that we did not have a service contract on our side by side refrigerator, so we phoned. The problem was they did not have both names on the contract (husbands and my last names are different). I supposedly had this corrected, and was then able to make an appointment on the same time slot.
The dishwasher service agent came on time and finished early. The refrigerator service agent never came. I called, and told that we had no appointment scheduled. After much talk I was told that we had already had an appointment within the year cycle (ie not one appointment per year but no appointment in the last 12 months), and that was why my appointment was canceled. I asked why I had not been called about this cancelation. Again I was asked to call the Waranty department.
Called the waranty department and was told to call the service department (again). Asked to speak to a supervisor, after 15 minutes he came on the line and while I was telling him the history and what I wanted corrected, he hung up. I have spent over 90 minutes on this issue. We never had this problem in previous years ( this is the 3th year of a seven year coverage). Has the service become worse since the new ownership.
The only consequences, which in my mind are huge, is the colossal waste of my time.
Sybil of Yaphank NY (06/19/08)
Had service appointment scheduled for 6/18/08 between the hours of 1pm-5pm. Recieved a call from technician Julio Ceasar at 3:06pm. Explained to him to come around the house and to the downstairs apartment and what was wrong with the refridgerator. Told him not to go to the residence upstairs as we do no live there and noone was home. A family member was here waiting for him to arrive. I came in from work at 8pm and no service repairman ever came.
I called the service center and they said the tech called and got no answer. Not true. All of my phone calls are logged via my home computer and there was no call. The tech lied. I then called the technician and asked him why he lied, this being after the service center hung up on me and told me I had to wait until the 26th for another appointment. He cussed at me. I then called service, was put on hold, told that there was no manager I could speak with.
I called in the morning of 6/19 starting at 8am and was repeatidly told there is nothing they can do, noone to speak to. I waited for my appointment a week, I waited my hourly window for the technician to come. My refridgerator is still broken and spoiling food. I paid for a service contract/extended warranty to recieve service. I have been told there is nothing they can do.
At least $500 in spoiled food, which continues. Cannot keep a gallon of milk from spoiling and I have a seven year old child.
Jacquie of Cottonport LA (06/19/08)
I have had two riding mowers and purchased extended warranties on both and have had repairs done timely. I also purchased all my kitchen appliances, including a under the counter ice machine( had previously had one from another company and nothing but trouble), everything has been great and hate to hear that so many people have had problems with Sears in the past. Grew up with Sears and will keep working with them for a long, long time. Thanks
Michael of Gurnee IL (06/17/08)
My first complaint pertains to the Maytag Refrigerator Model MFI2568AES (Ice2O French Door Bottom Freezer) purchased on July 19, 2006 for $2961.47
On June 11, 2008 (4:30am), the unit suffered from a very common failure- the electronic control board. Additionally the cooling fan failed as well, rendering the unit unusable. With the high amount of failures documented, this seems like a prime candidate for a lawsuit. Especially since Maytag has done nothing to rectify the problem- at least none that I know of.
The second complaint has to do with the extended warranty I purchased from Sears for the Maytag refrigerator. I called the Sears repair 800 number on June 11th and was told the soonest a person could come look at it would be June 17th! Their suggestion was to pack dry ice in the refrigerator to keep the food from spoiling until a tech could visit. This certainly would have damaged the unit further- not to mention that you can't just run down to the corner store and buy the stuff. Being extremely frustrated with that information, I went to the Sears store that morning to discuss my situation with one of the sales people. He made a phone call and got me set up for a visit the next day- the drawback being that I'd have to take a day off of work because they could only give me a window from 8am-5pm.
On June 12th the tech did come out and it took him 10 minutes to diagnose the problem and order the parts for emergency delivery. The parts arrived at my home around 4:30pm on Friday, June 13th via UPS. Before the tech left on the 12th, he assured me that we'd be on the schedule for Monday June 16th. I took the morning of the 12th off of work and no tech showed up. At 8:30am I called Sears One Source and was told that I was scheduled for service on the 18th. The person I spoke with could only move my appointment up to the 17th, and with the stipulation that I'd need to be home between 8am-5pm because this would be considered an emergency visit and he (Ken) could not give me a more exact time frame.
This is completely unacceptable. When a refrigerator doesn't work, it should immediately be considered an emergency. This is the one appliance that has no easy work-around when it fails. I've lost three work days (two full days, two 1/2 days) and approximately $125-$150 worth of food. Clearly more expensive for me than the cost of the warranty and repair costs had I payed for them myself.
Donna of Seguin TX (06/16/08)
I requested my aircondition be repaired as it wasn't cooling properly last year. So happened the day the repairman came it was cooling. He said he could not diagnose the proplem. This year the same problem only more constant. Finally go a repairman back out, was told it would be a master tech. Gentleman that arrived said they did not have master techs. He stuck a wire in the unit and said it was cooling. I explained that on occassion it worked but the majority it did not. That I felt there was a problem with the unit. He felt that it was because I had to connect usting an heavy duty ext cord. He didn't clean the unit, stayed about 20 minutes and left. I left for the store, when I returned, unit was not working.
I called his cell #, did not answer. I called customer srv requestin g if he was still in the area to send him back. The man was rude, when I ask for a superv. he transfered me to a phone that no one picked up. I was told I would be contacted the next morning before he sent me to a bogus phone. Did not hear from anyone, called again, and again was passed around from one worker to the next even though I had requested to speak with a supv. I was on the phone for most of the morning trying to find someone that could help me get the repairman back. I was finally told that I was scheduled for an appt. for the 26th, that I wasn't even aware of. I explained that wasn't acceptable as I was to be out of town then and since I wasn't aware of it, meant that I would have missed it and it would now be a month before they returned.
Now by this time I have spoken to over half a dozen people and had to give my name, address, phone # and zip code each time. They finally managed to move the appt up 2 days witch is still unacceptable as I had an appt and the man failed to fix the problem, so I should be put back down at the bottom of the list but placed on top. I was so fustrated from the fact that no one in the sears cust dept has a superv.they were rude, uncaring, just there to put in their time. I do have to say there was one young lady that was helpful in trying to get me to a person that could get the appt. moved up, but then after she transfered me I was met with more rude uncaring people.
All my major appliances are from Sears. I have extended warranties on several of them, including the air conditioner. Sears does not want to take responsibilty, nor does their warranty department. I went out and purchased a new unit, not from Sears I might add, as I will not purchase from them again unless they do something with these departments.
Marcella of Rockaway NJ (06/15/08)
I was offered a maintenance agreement on my 9 year old dishwasher. It cost me I believe over $250 since it is such on old machine. I had been having problems with hard water stains on the dishes. Someone came out to do a maintence on the machine and said that it is not fixable due to hard water in our area. He said we would need a new machine. He said that if I contacted the local service center that they would write me up for a voucher for $500 to get a new machine.
I have called so many times and either they do not answer the phone or when they do they give me the runaround. They say that they will send an email to the tech manager (Dan) and that I will be hearing from them. That's been since February and this mysterious manager has not gotten back to me. I believe this is a scam on Sears part to make us part with our hard earned money.
Theresia of Torrance CA (06/12/08)
I made an appointment to service my washer, and it is scheduled on the 6/12/08, between 1-4 PM. I asked the order taker to please tall me at least 15 minutes before the technician come. He said that he will do that and he will note that. Today, the service man came. He did not call me before he came, and I was still in my office, and wandering why no one called me. So I rushed home and talked to the service guy to wait for me. When I got home, around 15 minutes later, he left, without telling me or leave a note or information. This is unacceptable, because I had to leave from work and no one is in the house. I know you can't guaranteed the time, but I am willing to wait and just ask them to call before the come, so I could rushed home and not missing work.
I called the service center and they can't get the technician back again, so I have to wait and reschedule for another day. Is this what I am suppose to accept? If do not agreed with SEARS, my washer can't be fixed and I have to miss work again, and the story will repeat. This is not for the first time happened, I have service agreements for my other appliances for different locations, should I pull all the service agreements and give it to someone else that more reliable and could offer me a better service? I am tired of having this problem all the time whenever I need service. Maybe service agreement is not a good idea, it is only benefit SEARS but doe not benefit the consumer.
I have to get off work and end-up that the technician is not at the property, because I did not have a phone call that I requested before he come.
Jacqueline of Stewartsville NJ (06/12/08)
My air conditioner was making a loud noise so i called sears since we have an extended warrentee on it. I calle on 6/4/08 and was told they would be out on 6/5/08 that was true the man came and said he had to order a part and he would be back on 6/10/08 meanwhile we had a heat wave for 5 days and still no part or no man to fix it so i called sears parts dept. i was told the part was on backorder and would not be shipping until 6/13/08 then i called back and was upset so i was told they would ship it emergency for me and it would be at my house by 6/11
i waited all day and it was 6pm so i decided to call sears again and was told that the part was never shipped it was still on back order and maybe i would be getting it by 6/19 or 6/20. i don't think this is right i have small children and an elderly mom and they are suffering because of these lies, i don't know what if anything i can do about it. Can i get my $2000.00 extended warrentee back since i could have took that money and called another air conditioner man. please let me know if there is anything i can do.
Steven of Bayonne NJ (06/07/08)
I received a coffee maker in December for Christmas. As of June 7th it is no longer working. I look in the owners manual and it states that it is under warranty for two years from the date of purchase, return it to any Sears store or other Kenmore outlet in the United States. I took it to the Sears store from which it was purchased and the manger said he can't take it back even though I have a receipt because Kenmore is not their company. I show him the written warranty that says take it to any Sears store. The owners manual also states that they are a Sears company.
He still will not take it back saying that they are now owned by Kmart and the rules have changed. Which I tell him Kmart bought Sears two years ago how does this affect a purchase I made 6 months ago. The best he could do was to give me a 1800 number to Sears. I called the number and they said that I had to call Kenmore and they never heard of Kenmore. I go back to the manager and tell him that Sears has never heard of Kenmore as we are surrounded by Kenmore appliances and Kenmore is written in big letters on the wall behind us.
So I went home and dialed 1888-Kenmore and they gave me the runaround and patched me through to Sears. I informed Sears that a company called Kenmore is using their name in it's owners manual and promising to take back any defective appliance for two years after the date of purchase. They gave me another number to call. I don't think they are going to honor there written warranty.
Donald of New Orleans LA (06/07/08)
I purchased a Sears Kenmore 18000btu air conditioner 4 years ago - with an 3 year MPA service agreement. The air conditioner died on us. We called the 800 number to check on their warranty on the unit - 5 year on the sealed system. The person on the phone said they could send someone out to evaluate whether the repair was covered by the warranty (the sealed system). He said their would be a $75 service fee if we chose to fix the unit.
The service technician arrived and said that Sears charges $75 for his time no matter what. I told him what the customer service person told me that we would be charged if the problem was not covered by the five year warranty. He said that once his truck pulled up we are charged $75 no matter what. I asked to talk to his supervisor - Mrs. Edith. I explained what the customer service person told me and she (and the technician) said they do that all the time and that I was wrong (not the customer service person). I told her why would I approve their visit (and $75 fee) when I have already purchased another unit. I was looking to see if the Sears Kenmore unit could be fixed under warranty and I was going to keep it as a back-up.
The technician told me Mrs. Edith told him to write me up as a refusal to pay - I said I would pay if that is my only option but, I felt that Sears Home Services had miscommunicated their service fee to me and should be waived without me being blacklisted (or labeled as a non-paying customer). I wrote the check out but, decided to switch to the Sears credit card - the technician told me I couldn't use the credit card because he had closed the ticket (his fault not mine).
He called his supervisor and said he was told not to accept any payment but, from now on Sears would have me listed as a nonpaying service call-out customer. I felt like this was completely unfair and possibly illegal since I have other Sears (and Kenmore products) which I have purchased service agreements for. I cannot believe the hassle I received (not from the technician but, Mrs. Edith) and the misinformation. This made feel like Sears was out to collect their service fee regardless of my situation.
Jo of Norton OH (06/07/08)
We Purchased a Kenmore Dehumidafier 2 Years ago. Since then we have had it in for Repair 5 Times. I was told by rapid Resolutions They would not replace it because we have not had it in 4 Times in one Year. We also bought a Bissell Carpet Cleaner from Sears and have had that in 4 Times it won't spray and when it does it won't pick up the water. Same prolem we need to have it it for repair 4 Times in one year or we have to be told that it can't be repaired. My comment was appearently it can't because it has been this way since it was last repaired.
Sears is a joke. We will not buy from them again. If Sears cares they should make sure someone who cares sees this. Especially since we just spent 2000.00 for a Range and a Grill Last month.
Thomas of Houston TX (06/04/08)
I bought a service agreement for a television. It is WORTHLESS! All I get is a runaround, put on hold and lies.
I used to trust Sears, but I will NEVER but anything from there again. Let the buyer beware!
Jackie of Conshohocken PA (05/21/08)
Washer is less than 2 years old. Broke immediately. Sears repair fixed it but had to wait for appointment then wait for parts. Now, it broke again. Called yesterday and given an appointment for a week away (next Wed). Of course, it just blinks and beeps at me so I am sure that a part will need to be ordered further delaying the repair! Called today and told there was nothing available sooner.
This machine has a maintenance agreement on it. This is a ridiculous amount of time to wait. Today, I called Best Buy today and they can come out Fri and I called Appliance Doctor and they can come tomorrow. I have to wait until the store opens to complain to someone but I doubt I will get anywhere. I am also going to complain to the maintenance agreement people but I doubt I will get anywhere.
I have many MA's on various products. I hate Sears anymore. They used to be good with repair but no more! Now the machine is broken but I am thinking of canceling all these agreements. They aren't worth it!
I asked them if my MA would pay for me having to use the laundromat and they said no way. Sometimes they pay for rental when the part will take more than 2-3 weeks!
Ginger of Everett WA (05/18/08)
First of all I have had my wash/dryer for about 7yrs with no problems. I decide to get preventive maintenance done on it to keep it going and in good shape.This cost me $175.00. About one week later my washer starts having problems. It seems to be getting stuck on the cycle and wont continue. Coincidence, I dont know I have no way of knowing that.
So I have someone come out. Its the motor he tells me. That costs me $211. So Im wondering why on earth I paid for preventitive maintenance when the amount I spent prevented absolutely nothing! Two days later the washer is doing the same damn thing. Its not fixed. On top of it my dryer is not working, it is not drying my clothes.
So I am now waiting for Sears to come out again and at this point I have no choice but to use them to resolve the problem since I have already given them $375. My washer and dryer worked absolutely fine until their maintenance worker came to do the preventitive work. Either their workers are completely incompetent and should not be working in maintenance or they are running a scam to purposely screw up peoples appliances in order that they will be forced to spend more money! Its like a car, I dont know anything about washers and dryers, so I have no choice but to have them fix it. I will never ever use Sears for maintenance on anything again nor will I ever buy anything from them again. I am a single mom of three kids and I don't have the money to just spend on their incompetence.
Economicaly they have so far cost me $375.00 and who knows how much more I may need to spend as my equipment still is not working.
Melissa of Wilmington MA (05/17/08)
Service contract not honored in reasonable time frame.
loss of time,and money due to incompetance of company.
Felicia of Kingstree SC (05/14/08)
I purchased a digital camera from sears in florence sc and I also purchased a two year shop master protection agreement. At the time that I purchased it I was told that if I had a problem with the camera I could bring it into the store and they would sent it off to be repaired. I went to the store because the ok button on the camera was not working properly. On my way into the store I dropped the camera and broke the camera door. In the mean time I was told to contact the manufacturer directly. I asked why did I have to contact them if I purchased the extended warranty through sears. The young man said he did not know.
In the mean time I am on the phone with kodak. the person with whom I spoke states that it will cost $90 to repair the camera. So I informed them that I purchased the extended warranty thru sears and was promptly informed that they do not honor the extended warranty from sears. So I got off the phone and I spoke with Mrs. Pat Johnson the Asst.Manager she tried to help me as much as she could. Meanwhile the salesperson who sold me the camera came back into the service department and he was VERY rude. He proceded to tell me that he did not tell me to bring the camera into the store. He told me that I would have to send it to Kodak, so I asked him what was the purpose of purchasing the Master Protection Agreement(extended warranty) if I had to send it to Kodak myself? He could give me an answer.
So he the salesperon (Roy Bufkin) called sears Product Service. he calls me and gave me this case# and tells me to call them and they will send me the packaging to mail the camera to them to be repaired. When I calledthe sears product service I spoke with a young man who asked me for the model# and serial# which I gave. Then he asked what the problem was with the camera I told him that the ok button was not working. He asked was their any other damage to the camera & I toldhim that I dropped the camera and broke the battery door. He then informs me that they would not be able to fix my camera. I asked why he said because the battery door was damaged. I told him I wasn't asking them to fix the battery door I only wanted the inital problem THE OK BUTTON fixed and he told they would not be able to touch my camera. I told them that I would sign a waiver stating that I damage the battery door and I was told that I needed to contact Kodak and have the battery door repaired before they could fix the OK Button.
So I called Kodak again inquiring about how much it would be to repair the battery door & was told $90. So I asked was it possible to purchase the battery door & was told No but I could mail them my camera and they would send me a coupon for 15% off the purchase of another Kodak camera and they (KodaK) would just keep my camera. So I was not satisfied because I felt like sears was getting over on me, because the intial problem didn't have anything to with the battery door.
So I called sears National Customer Relation, there I spoke with Gloria who told me that their wasn't anything she could do. She also stated that the policy for sending the cameras off for repairs had changed. So I asked her why wasn't I notified that the policy had change and did not get and answer. I called back to the sears in florence to speak with Mrs Pat Johnson. She asked me to speak with the manager Allen Henderson. I spoke with A. Henderson who basically calledmea liar. He stated that Roy the salesperson had been working at the store for 13 years and he had never had a complaint about him. I told A. Henderson da I had been shopping at that store for almost 21 years and because he was rude I asked him for his managers name and number; which he refused to give me. I called the columbia sears & asked did the columbia & florence store had the same District manager and was told that they do no know. So I called the Sumter Sc Sears and asked the same question and was told that they did have the same district manager, his name was Mike Lesso. but she was not able to give me a number. I was connected to personnel. I spoke with Christina.
I got disconnected called back & spoe with Pam who stated that she was not able to give out the district managers #. Called their and spoke with Valeria @ 10:39am on the 6th of May she stated that she was sending the information to customer complaint & they are s'pose to fix my camera atlease the part that is covered and I should hear from someone within 24 hours.
It is now the 14th of May and my warranty expires on 7-03-08. I First contact the Florence Sears 0n May 4, 2008. IN the Master Proctection Agreement it doesn't state that they will not fix a part that is covered if their are damages after the inital problem. And when I called their National Customer Relation a secong time I spoke with George and asked him to show me in their Master Protection Agreement where it states that they would not repair the camera because I damaged it after the intial problem and he could not. I am stuck with a camera that sears will not honor their warranty.. I Surely wish you can help me.
Because they won't honor their warranty I have to purchase a new camera
Richard of Culver City CA (05/14/08)
Sears fold me over the phone a warranty on my Maytag Stackable washer for $214 and told me that they would fix the problem and if it they could not fix it they would give me a voucher for $500 to buy a replacement. I scheduled a technician to come out. He told me that the cost would be $942 and I would have a $500 credit and my additional cost would be $442 to fix the washer. I called to schedule the repair eventhough I thought they were not living up to what I was told, fixing the machine for what I had paid. I recieved a certificate of warranty in the mail.
I have called Sears numerous times and requested to speak to a supervisor, I was left on hold for up to an hour or disconnected. Two days before the appointment I called sears for the tenth time to make sure that the technician would have the parts because I was going to have to take my laundryroom apart so the work could be done. I got a stackable unit because of limited space. I installed cabinets which would have to be moved to repair the machine. After several hours on the phone I was told that my warranty was canceled and I would get a refund. My guess was that they would keep my money if I didn't use the warranty and cancel it if it was going to cost them something. Hours of frustration is what I got from Sears and I will never buy anything from them again.
Sears misrepresented service product and wasted hours and hours of my time and caused me tremendous frustration.
Julie of Sellersville PA (05/02/08)
They sell an extended contract with a full cleaning for vacuum and refused to do the cleaning. Vacuum has been with them for almost 2 months with the demand they do a full cleaning and they are nasty about it & do not feel customer has a right to demand what is in the contract.
have been without the vacuum for two months already. Still don't have it back and have to re-send in the other one now that I have someone claiming they will finally do a cleaning.
Anthony of Amherstburg OTHER (04/26/08)
I would like to express my complete dissatisfaction with your CSR department. If the CSR's are not equipped to properly convey important details regarding service/mainteance agreements on the phone, then they should not be doing so.
The woman I spoke with completely neglected to inform me of some very important details regarding this program, such as: Technician is required to come to our home to inspect all appliances that are potentially going to be covered in the warranty program..makes good sense however NO ONE informed me of this before I signed up for the agreement.
My fridge was in good working order the day I received a call from the CSR and I asked her to mail me the agreement info. prior to me signing up for the agreement. She also stated to me that the agreement was valid upon the date to which I agreed to sign up and for two years after that date. She did not tell me anything about a 90 day waiting period, this means that your 2 year agreement is ONLY good for 2 years minus 90 days. These are important details to which the customers need to be made aware of.
My husband and I have spent a lot of money at Sears for our appliances, etc. We can promise you that because we have recieved such a difficult time about this service agreement, that we will no longer be purchasers of anything from Sears in the future, near or far.
Belinda of Rosedale MD (04/24/08)
I purchased a SEARS Washer and Dryer in 2003 and purchased the extended warranty as well and have kept it up to date since. Last year in May of 2007 they contacted me again to renew my coverage and I did, as I do every year in May. This year they began calling me in February to tell me that my service plan expires next month, March 2008. In most certainly did not!, it expires in May of 2008. The girl looked into the information that I gave her and told me that Yes, I was correct and that they had to honor the may date and would call me again in May. I have had 4 additional calls since the first one, and all of then said Yes I was correct and would call again in May.
I since have received notice that my warranty expired in March and that I am no loner covered and that if I want coverage again I must pay more now since I let the plan laps. Then they tell me that well Yes, I did renew in May of last year ( even though they have been saying that I renewed in March) although it was only for ten months, I did not take out a ten month plan, I took a twelve month plan a I always do. So, now if I want to renew, as I know I need to due to all the trouble with the dryer, ( there is a class action suit due to the fraudulent information that they gave when I purchased the dryer and all the trouble with the auto dry sensor)although if I do it will now cost me $375.00 compared to the $189.00 that I have paid in the past 5 years! And I have proof from my bank that I did renew in May of 2008 and that I paid for twelve months and yet SEARS will NOT honor it! Never again will I buy from SEARS NEVER!
When I have trouble again with the washer & dryer, and I most likely will...I will have to buy a new washer & dryer instead of having this set fixed again for the umpteenth time!
Felipe of Richmond KY (04/22/08)
Well back in 2006 Sears done a call to see if we would like to add any appliances to our warranty scince we already had warranties on many appliances. i.e. wash/dry, refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, stove. Up to this time we had a good experience with sears. We purchased an extended warranty on our air conditioning system. The money was deducted, warranty was rendered our first experience under the A/C was in the last part of 2006 when we complained the system was not operating properly. So far, so good. The following year, the begining of 2007 approx. march of '07 we called in for service check up. Tech. arrived on scheduled date, serviced both components inside and out side of A/C unit. Even showed my spouse how to clean it and maintain it. After the service was complete we had to call them again because the unit failed to cool. Different tech. came back serviced unit while serviceing unit locked up the compressor. The compressor was replaced at a cost to Sears of over $1,100.00+ for the compressor not including labor.
Following year March of 2008 we called again for service check for Summer. Tech. arrived and stated after the service he could only service the outside unit. He stated that the indoor portion of the unit was not part of the A/C unit and that he was not authorized to service the in door portion according to North Carolina. He also stated that unless we had a proof of warrany coverage that stated that the in door portion was covered to go against NC that there was nothing he could do. When he was showed the warrany coverage of items he said the it was only talking about the out door portion of the unit, not the indoor portion of the unit. When told about them servicing it the year before and showing my spouse how to maintance the unit and filters he stated that the tech. had done it out of curtiousy that he could have lost his job over doing that. He said that he could lose his job if he touched the unit. His solution to the problem was to take the electronic filters out and run the system that way and said that the system we had was junk and he would not own one.
After the tech. had left we called the Warranty Dept. and spoke with them and they said we were covered and the tech. should have serviced it. They transferred us to the Maintance Dept. in Louiseville, KY and spoke to the lady that answered the phone, who by the way was abrupt and rude. And she told us that we were not covered and that she wasn't having her tech. service something that was not covered by warranty. She also said that the tech.'s word was final. So I called the Warranty Dept. back and spoke to a lady in charge of warranties and explained the events that had occured from begining to end. She advised me that maintance was out of her domaine that I needed to call National Customer Service which I did the following week April 14th. NCS explained to me that the salesman and warranty had an error on the input of the warranty. That she understood that the tech. had worked on my unit the first year that she would make sure that they came out and serviced it this year to make it right. That maintance would be calling me to make an appointment to service it.
After not hearing from them by the 22nd of April we called them again. I asked about my case the service person said there was no case and that nothing had been done thats why no one had called me. We feel that the salesman of the warranty Dept. are not in agreement with the maintance Dept. with in sears making the customer suffer for unfullfilled warranties implied at the time of sales and first service the shell game of being stalled here it is and here its not covered warranty game is a poor endorsement, we feel like we have been stolen from and lied to. Our Warranty states PRODUCT: CENT A/C COIL & COND IYIP MODEL NUMBER: HP26-030-I0P
Our money was accepted by sears with understanding that it covered the whole unit, service was rendored for the first year, on the second year when A/C inside the house broke down now they make us aware that we are high and dry without coverage on that item
Debra of Collierville TN (04/16/08)
My mother took her lawn mower in to get serviced. She has a MA on the mower. She was told it needed a tune up and a new blade BUT it would cost her $90.00. Why, she ask...she has a MA on it. She was told that her agreement did not cover a tune-up any more. When did it change? No one could tell her.
She told them NOT to do the work and she would pick up her mower. She went to pick up the mower and they told her the charge would be $30.00. She told them that she had no work done to the mower. Sears told her that charge was just to look at it. So here is my question...just what does an agreement pay for? Can anybody answer that question or will I get charged for asking?
Robert of Queensbury NY (04/07/08)
Called sears for service on a 3 year old sears dryer on Friday eve and was told all the benefits to a service agreement for over 200 bucks and the pitch sounded attractive and I fell for it. They had me wait for one of those famous 8 till 5 appointments and the tech showed up and supposedly repaired dryer.
Sunday it was the same problem all over again so I called sears again and was given another one of those 8 till fivers, but it was a no show. When I called I was told that it looks like I never had an appointment and the next available was this coming Saturday ANOTHER 5 days away.
When an immediate refund to my card was demanded so I can move on to a reputable service man I was told it would be prorated for the prior repair preformed. WHAT PRIOR REPAIR?????? I got put on to 4 different automated answering services and the one time I asked for a supervisor was put on a hold and listened to music for 38:08.
I am paralyzed and in a wheelchair and needed to have an aide wait with me for the whole shot Saturday. Then when Monday came I needed to have a friend take me to all my appointments, P/T and Dr. while my aide sat and waited for the repair man since she is aware of the issues with the dryer only for a no show and I have no more patience or mental ability to put up with anymore and just want to move on. I have no more energy to wait on phones anymore to get my refund handled to my card.
Betty of Bronx NY (04/07/08)
I sat up an appointment w/Sears for 4/3/08, to repair my washing machine. The cancelled saying the Service man was sick. I made another appointment for 4/7/07. They cancelled again. The Service man was sick. I stayed home from work for 2 days for these appointments. I am upset.
When I go to reschedule again, they are saying that I have to wait until 4/14/08. This is unfair. It was not my fault that Sears did not keep there side of the bargin. All I asked them to do was to give me an earlier appointment. Sears is a big company. I know they could get some one to come to me sooner. They did not help me get an earlier appointment. I will never purchase any appliances from them again. I am paying for this warranty. The service they are giving me is awful. Who's the say on the 4/14/08, the the Service man isn't sick.
I had to take 2 days from work. The reps on the phone need some training. One rep actually laugh in a disrepectful way.
John of Voorhees NJ (04/06/08)
Bought a power miser 12... 50 gal gas hot water heater just over 2yrs ago from sears. Was told by store rep parts+tank are covered for upwards of ten years. I called the number on the tank for service and got transfered NUMEROUS times(about 9....seriously!)I was told by one person at customer service my water heater is not covered....and get his just out of range by 2wks! Come on!
They need to send a sevice tech out for anywhere from $35-65. I asked for specifics numbers and was told they could not give me. I tried to just order the burner assembly+thermocouple but they want to charge just over $100 for just the burner assembly. I thought parts were covered...oh only if you pay as service tech to come out+eval at an unknown rate.
2.5 months ago when I tried to buy just a thermocouple(from Sears then Home Depot)they only have universal+when took apart to install it looked completly diffrent and I didn't feel comfortable because there was a welded or soldered transistor in line that the stock one had that the aftermarket ones didnt. If I had called then I would have been ok but it seemed to work after I scrapped the tarnish off of the stock thermocouple and now out of service coverage only works when I let it sit a few days
Try taking a cold shower + function well all day knowing when you get home it will still be cold. Time wasted traveling to numerous stores, being transfered while on phone with customer service to still be dissapointed.
James of Micanopy FL (03/27/08)
Sears service sold me a service agreement for $251.99 and I was told that for this amount they would come to my home and fix my refrigerator. When the technician came he checked the refrigerator and told me that the compressor was bad. Then he told me that the repair agreement only covered repairs up to $500. To replace the compressor would cost $678. I would have to pay the additional $178. When I asked him how the bill breaks down, he told me that the parts would be $383.43 for the compressor, the starter overload relay would be $63.48, and the freon would be $9.00. When I called the sears parts department I was told that a compressor kit, which consists of these same parts, plus others, cost $284.06 plus $15 shipping.
I called Sears service back to ask them if the technician had made a mistake. After speaking to twelve different people, AND REMAINING ON HOLD FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME, I finally found out that because I was buying the part through the technician, not a sears technician, but a third party, I had to pay 33% more for the parts. The part was shipped to my home and not handled or touched by this third party. I did not think that sears was out to rip off it's customers, but this seems to be the case. I would not recommend that anyone do business with sears for any reason. They did not tell me about the $500 limit on repairs, I had to go through 12 people ( from the Philippines, Guatamala, Mexico, India, and Texas), to find out that this was their policy and if I did not like it I could go elsewhere. They hiked up the price of the parts in order to charge me more than I would have had to pay their own parts department.
I was not told about the policy limit,or the 33% hike in parts prices. This is a deceptive business practice and I was forced to pay more than a call-in customer of the sears parts sales department.
Carmelo of Roslindale MA (03/12/08)
My wife and I Purchased a 42 Panasonic Plasma TV with warranty on March 2005. December 29th 2007, a black stripe appears on center right of TV which was later found to be a buffer was damaged (a $43 part). December 29th 2007, we called this in to Sears at the 800 number provided. Six Sears supervisors, three supervisors of their repair shop, multiple repair personnel later and still no repair.
It's now March 13th 2008, they've taken the TV and said that the part would cost $2100. The tv cost $1700 dollars. The math should not be difficult but after saying they would replace the tv, they told us after we called back that they are going to order the part and repair the tv. It would take two more weeks for the part to come in, then they need to schedule another day to deliver the television. After the 8 trips they've made to our home, 3 of which they did not show up and on one occasion no call, the average time for a scheduled date is typically two to three more weeks. We're looking at April now. The Warranty expires on March 26th. Get the picture? We're not confident they will repair it. I've even had to loan them my tools because they have come unprepared with their own equipment. We purchased in Illinois, and now reside in Boston, MA when the damage occurred 1yr 8mo after we moved.
Everardo of Silverado CA (03/12/08)
I purchased a Kenmore two drawer dishwasher and the Master Protection Agreement. I am not someone who is so naive to believe that every product will work as advertised or that it will never have any problems. That's why I purchased the MPA, which is an extended warranty and covers, according to Sears, ANYTHING that could go wrong for a period of 5 years. When the bottom drawer stopped working, I called for service. It took TWO MONTHS of playing phone tag with Sears to get a technician to the house. They said they would return calls and then didn't and then would claim a technician had come to the house when I had been there and knew they had not.
Finally the technician comes and says that he needs to order a part. He schedules coming out a MONTH later to install it, but never shows up. When I call to find out why, they tell me that it will be another TWO MONTHS because the part is on backorder. The Master Protection Agreement says that I get another unit if they can't provide the parts, but they say that doesn't apply. I contacted the BBB, who basically said that Sears is going to fix it someday, so I should be happy. I'm not. I paid almost $1900 for a two drawer dishwasher and now have not been able to use half of it for half of the time I have owned it. I think they make promises associated with their product warranty and the MPA that amount to fraud. I wish there was something that could be done.
Both my wife and I have taken time off of work to wait for technicians who don't show up when they say they will. I have not been able to use half of the product I paid for.
Michael of Orangevale CA (03/12/08)
Several months ago Sears, A and E Factory Service was working on another appliance in my house. The tech put her tools unprotected on the brand new $3000.00 washer and dryer. When my wife returned from her appointment and went out to load the washer, there were swirls all over in the paint on top of both appliances. The tech decided to cover it up with a box of powdered laundry soap that she wrote, do not use on and the other she picked up a box of liquid laundry soap and marked it use this, covering the swirls. We know it was her because my wife had to tell her the time before to take her tools off of the equipment, because we don't do things like that to our appliances.
When A and E came back to see the damage, they sent the same tech out and she began screaming at my wife at the door. Before any comment was made. Sears said they would fix them but months have past. A message was left by Rep. Angel to let us know that they were ordering parts for both appliances, that was more than 2 months ago, she said it would take a couple of weeks. Sears began to talk only about the washer the next few times we called and I just thought they were just being brief. I called twice and spoke with Angel about the parts and where they were. Angel twice told me she was in the back of the store and couldn't tell me that info.
2 weeks ago the washer top came and I called and wanted to inquire where the other part was. I'm still getting the runaround. Today I called and was put on hold for fifteen minutes and then the phone began ringing back no one answered it. I called back on the phone, I called on with the same caller id and the phone rang and rang no one ever answered it. I picked up the house phone with a blocked number and called simultaneously, they answered the blocked ID phone almost instantly but never answered back to my cell.
I still haven't resolved this issue. Now they say parts can take a couple of months. Cost is not yet determined, my only issue is I filled my house with this horrible company's appliances
Monika of Newmarket OTHER (03/12/08)
Called for a service call for numerous problems with my KitchenAid dishwasher. They told me it was $85 for the service call, no problem, they didn't ask how I was paying, or told me that I needed to physically be present with my credit card for this. Since I couldn't take a half day off of work to wait around for these people, I left my 17 yr old son there with a list of what needed to be done. The guy wouldn't even look at the dishwasher without physically having a credit card.
I tried calling their corporate customer service (this is a joke, since the lady, Brett, a manager, was completely unhelpful; refused to take the card # over the phone; basically called me a liar when she stated that I was informed of the credit card thing ahead of time. I retorted, if I WAS told about it, then why wouldn't I have left it there?, for which she had no reply. She also had that condescending tone in her voice during the entire conversation. I was passed around from one department to another & was on hold for about 15 minutes while I waited for this rude & unhelpful customer service manager. For this reason alone, I will NEVER shop at Sears again.
O. of Cleveland MS (03/10/08)
I purchased four Sears Elite series appliances(refrigerator/freezer, microwave, dishwasher, and range) 2 years ago. The microwave LCD screen goes blank often, and I had to turn power off to reset the screen. The freezer melts everything during defrost cycle. Fortunately (or unfortunately), I purchased an extended service plan for all the appliances. However, getting the service done is the problem. In addition to being rude, service department people act like we do not have a life except waiting for their service people to show up between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. After the microwave started catching fire (believe me this is the first time in my life a microwave started burning its own plastic parts!), I decided to wait for the service technician. I took the day off from work. The service technician tells me that he has no parts to repair the freezer (which has burned a circuit board) or for the microwave turn table spindle; he orders parts.
I had to schedule another service appointment, and wait for the service technician by taking off from work. When I called in the morning to find out approximate time, a rude woman at the service department told me that I will have to wait from 8 am to 5 p.m--and there is no way she can tell me what time the service technician will arrive. I called again, and a man at the service department told me that the service technician will come between 3 - 5 p.m. I came to work to salvage what's left of my work day. Then at 10:47 am, a woman calls to tell me that the service technician will be coming to my place within the next few minutes. This is the worst service experience I have ever had, and I am determined not to buy ANYTHING from Sears again. In fact, I just replaced my Kenmore washing machine, and I shopped at Lowe's. Say "No" to Sears!
I have lost food items four times due to malfunctioning freezer and wasted a lot of time cleaning the freezer after meltdowns. On top of that, I have wasted more than 2 days worth of annual leave waiting for Sears service people to get their act together. They don't carry parts for servicing appliances and re-schedule appointments, wasting precious time of customers. I am sure they like it because they can get paid multiple times for the same simple job! I guess job security is their short term priority. At this rate, poor customer service will drive faithful Sears customers like us away and drive the company to ground.
Thomas of Pembroke MA (02/26/08)
I recently attempted to use my service agreement contract that I purchased at the same time that I purchased my snowblower. I was told that the best they could do was March 13th, 18 days from today. I questioned this unreasonable delay and the rep said that they had a huge backlog. I asked how they can legitimately sell these service contracts and expect the client to wait 18 days for a repair? The response was typical Sears sorry sir, that's the best we can do. I have used service contracts for other big ticket items (non Sears) and never waited more than a day or two. I feel this is certainly misrepresentation when they sell a service agreement that they service at their earliest convenience. This should be disclosed at the onset. I know that I would not have purchased this product and I suspect most buyers would do the same.
I cannot wait 18 days to have my snowblower repaired and intend to contact a local service center (not Sears) which I will have to pay out of pocket. I am a Senior and cannot shovel snow.
Robin of Frederick MD (02/25/08)
I had renewed a service contract on a GE flat top stove. I called in for service and the technician came today 2/25/07. The technician came in my home with a huge chip on his shoulder ready to argue. He would not look at my stove at all. He insisted that warped pots were my issue and proceeded to take a level meant for walls and hold them to the bottom of my pots. He was so argumentative that I threw him out of my home. I then called Sears Customer Service and was basically told that they trust the word of their technicians. I decided that I would cancel the remainder of the service contract as Sears had breached it by refusing proper service to begin with. Later I was called by customer service and asked what I wanted. I told them to come repair the thing for free. I had no intention of reinstituting a contract for service with a company that so disreputably stands behind their service contracts. This was denied to me.
I do not have a functioning stove. The stove is only five years old and I'm probably going to have to replace the stove. In the interim I have no stovetop to cook on.
Alexander of Thornhill OTHER (02/25/08)
We are forced to deal with Sears Extended Warranty Customer Service for all our appliances for 7 - 8 years now. It is amazing how low the level of their customer service is - and it is still getting lower. They miss appointments, they never call back when promised, they cancel appointments on the whim and schedule the next one in 2 - 3 weeks without giving any explanations, they show up at your door at any time they feel like (although the appointment was scheduled for another date/time) and leave you an indignant note that nobody was home - I can go on for hours.
The crown of everything was when technician finally came to inspect a cracked fridge door handle, he was pulling on it until he broke it off completely, told us that he has to order a part and that he will come again in 3 weeks. When the appointment time came, we've got a call that technician won't show up as he had an emergency (like he is a surgeon or something) and they don't know when he will come, and they promised to call back within an hour - it was 3 days ago and we are still waiting. In the meantime, for 5 weeks plus we are using a stool every time we need to open a fridge door to reach for the top where we are able to grab a doors edge.
What gets me the most is that there is absolutely nothing you can do. The customer service representatives would promise with robotic sounding cheerful voices that they would send an email with complaint to another department and that's the most they can do. When asked to be transferred to their supervisor they answer that the supervisor is not there and cannot take my call. This is just a tip of the iceberg - if I remember all ridiculous occurrences of incompetence, unprofessionalism and obnoxious ignorance of Sears Customer Service staff, I could write a book. And all this happens after they were getting approximately $800.00 every year for maintenance service from me for the last 7 - 8 years! I really could not imagine that a company like Sears would get so low in the level of Customer Service. It goes without saying that I'll never buy anything from Sears again no matter how hard pressed I am to do so and how low their prices are.
Combined, my wife and I lost wages for approximately 3 - 4 days when we've waited for appointments that never happened. We were forced to live without washer and dryer for a period of about 2 months, we are forced to continue opening the fridge door reaching for the top like contortionists - I am not speaking here of intangibles like our frayed nerves.
Hal of Gardners PA (01/22/08)
Sears does not honor their extended warranties properly. They not only did not fix my washer, they broke it to the point where it can't be used at all and caused damage to my home. Then they failed to show up for a scheduled visit to repair the machine.
I have loss of use of a major appliance for over 1 month and water damage to my home.
Cecilia of North Hollywood CA (01/21/08)
I bought a Toshiba TV from Sears about two years ago with a warranty, so on September 18, 2007, I took it to be repaired because it wouldn't turn on. I was told it will be ready about two weeks from that date. The due date comes and I call them up and they say it's not ready because they ordered the wrong parts. I didn't make a big deal about it but then time passed, months passed, and I was just getting tired of the same story; It'll be done next week. I decided to call their Supervisor but since I wasn't able to talk to him, one of the employees left him a message to contact me as soon as possible. I waited about three days and Nothing; I called him back just to find out that I was being discriminated against. He said I didn't call you because I was informed that you didn't speak English. I was so angry, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I let him know about my case; it was two months that I'd been with out my TV and the Holidays were coming, and he said we will get you a new TV if we can't repair it.
Finally, after three months of waiting, I got my TV back. It was a Saturday 29 of December 2007, but the dissapoinments were not over yet when I found out the TV was worse that before as the upper corners of the TV were oval shaped the picture colors were really dark and the letters on the left side margin couldn't be seen. My oldest TV look better. I took it back on the 31st, I also took some pictures of these descriptions, they took it in and this time it only took them a couple of weeks trying to fix it. When I went to pick it up last Saturday 19 of January. I requested to test the TV on site before I take it home and sure enough they didn't fix it completely, the colors were off and the margins were of too. The employees from the repair center were witnesses, they didn't hesitate to send it back, but at this moment I have reached a point were I don't really want to deal with this any more, I want my money back, I never want to have anything to do with these people.
I have spent over 10 hours on the phone, I've spent gas money going from store to store trying to find help, overall a lot of time, I was discriminated against. I spent the holiday without my TV and denied my guest. Discomfort for knowing that I was throwing my money in the trash.
Rhonda of Mililani HI (01/12/08)
In April 2005, I purchased a Sony 50 big screen TV, and also purchased a 3 year extended warranty for $480. On New Year's day, 2008, the TV would not turn on. I called the customer service department, and when it was determined that I needed a service call, I was given an appointment of Jan. 12th. I was surprised that the wait was that long, but oh well - that's the way it goes. On Jan. 11th, as I was literally in the pre-op room at the hospital waiting for my 12-year old daughter to have surgery, they called and told me that they were overbooked and needed to reschedule. The next available appointment was on Jan 28th! I told them that was unacceptable, that my daughter would be home recovering from surgery, and that we needed the TV to be fixed asap. They were unable to give me a closer date, and took my name and number to have the parts department in Honolulu call me back. No one called. The following day, I called them again and was transferred to several different people, none of whom could give me a closer date. I told them that it was very bad customer service to have to wait a whole month for a repair. In the end, my appointment is still on the 28th.
In the meantime, I'll have to purchase a new TV so that my daughter will have some form of entertainment while she's recovering from her surgery. I thought about canceling my warranty agreement and asking for a full refund, but to my dismay, the cost of service and repair could possibly be more than that, and then I'd be out even more money. The bottom line is that they know you have no other choice but to put up with their crummy service. I feel that if they can't handle the work load, they should contract it out in order to give the customer the service they thought they purchased.
The economic damage is that I'll have to purchase another TV or rent one for a month until Sears gets their act together and comes to fix it. I'll never purchase another appliance from Sears again--I've learned my lesson.
Jason of West Carrollton OH (01/12/08)
I purchased a LCD HDTV from Sears 9/2005 with their five year warranty. On November 15, 2007, a service technician was called based on the fact that the color on the TV was dramatically reduced and blurry. There were also yellow spots on the screen. My parents have the same TV and same part replaced: a light engine. The technician stated that was the problem, and the part was ordered. He also told us the part would be sent to Sears Service, and once it was received they would call to schedule. Normally, parts from Sears are shipped to your door, but apparently this is a $2000 part. We received numerous calls from Sears since November 15 trying to schedule our appointment. We ask if they have the part, and they tell us that it was shipped to our house. This continues for several weeks. They even sent messages to the technicians to see if they had the part, but no one responded. Finally, a technician had the part all this time, and repair was scheduled for 1/12/07 from 8-12. The technician (ID# 0233973) calls to tell us that the building in which the part is located is locked, and he cannot access the part--that is all that was said. From 9 to 11:30 I was on the phone repeatedly trying to find out what was going on. I finally talked to someone (service manager?) and he had me on hold--then said the earliest appointment time would be 1/22/07 from 8-5.
So, here is what we dealt with since 11/15/07... 1. Numerous calls trying to schedule appointment when we did not have the part. 2. No one knew where this $2000 part was 3. Numerous hours on the phone 4. Bitterness and anger of waiting and talking with someone different every time, repeatedly telling them the same story over and over 5. Numerous hours we wasted waiting on the service technician only to find out nothing could be done that day 6. Having a service call scheduled 1/12/07 but the technician cannot even access a part in a building that is supposed to open. 7. Dealing with these problems on to wait till 1/22/07 instead of getting the job done 1/14/07 because that is policy but there is no policy for customer satisfaction. WE JUST WANT THE PART INSTALLED! 8. We have waited 3 months for a part to be replaced!
Catherine of Bayonne NJ (01/05/08)
I called for service on a Seara washer which I have a service contract for. My request for service was made on Dec 23, 2007, the earliest appointment was Jan 5, 2008. On Jan 5th, I was called at 9:30 a.m. to let me know the tech had called in sick and they would need to reschedule my appointment and the soonest date available was Jan 15th. This is a weekday and I would have to take the day off from work. So the next date would be the 19th. I spent an hour on the phone with various departments only to be put on hold and have the customer service manager refuse to get on the phone with me. After 45mins the supervisor got on the phone and told me she could not help me and that her supervisor was in an indefinite meeting. I called National customer service for Sears to file a complaint and they said they do not handle that and referred me back to the same number I was getting the run around from in the first place. I will never buy another product from Sears again and I most certaintly would not recommend buying a contract from Sears.
Carolyn of Winchester VA (12/26/07)
I bought a Kenmore Elite Washer and Dryer in 2003. The dryer broke last January. I called in for a repair and was sold an extended warranty on the unit. I was very satisfied with the service and repair. About 2 months ago the dryer broke again, and the washer stopped spinning unless it was on the heavy duty cycle. I called for a repair on the dryer and asked about the extended warranty for the washer. I was told nothing could be done, but the serviceman would look at the washer. He fixed the dryer again and said the washer would need $400+ worth of repairs.
Needless to say, we are very disappointed in the fact that a washer that was less than 4 years old, with normal household use, was going to have to be replaced. The dryer has had 2 service calls and still takes about 90 minutes to dry a normal load. Our previous washer and dryer lasted us 12 years during which we had four children living at home. We tried calling Sears again and everyone we talked to just kept repeating: "We are sorry to hear that." I have a stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, TV, washer and dryer that I had purchased at Sears; when they are replaced, I can assure you that the purchase will not be made at Sears, nor will I recommend that anyone else buy at Sears. I am copying this letter to everyone in my contacts to ensure everyone I know is aware of our experience with Sears.
Rick of Eugene OR (12/25/07)
SEARS Extended warranty service is terrible. Our dishwasher quit working on DEC 1. Called the warranty people and set an appointment for repair on DEC 21st. THIS WAS THE FIRST AVAILABLE APPOINTMENT. A & E apparently has no techs. After waiting 6 hours (8 to 2) and no show, we had to leave. Our appointment was between 8 and 12. They interpret that as me missing my appointment. I called and the next appointment availabl e was DEC 24. Home all morning. Called to see where the tech was and was told he wouldn't be out. They needed to reschedule.
No one called me. It was only after I called I was told they needed to reschedule. Next available appointment is Jan 5. We shall see. PLEASE DON'T DO THIS TO YOURSELF! I have had various maintenance agreements over the years, and all were acceptable. SEARS IS UNACCEPTABLE!
Nancy of Sn Bernrdno CA (12/12/07)
I have a maintenance agreement with Sears on a 32" TV; on 12/06/07 it stopped working. The repair man couldn't get parts because it's an analog set and parts are no longer available. He ordered a replacement TV. He said we would get a call from customer service as to the amount of money allowed to replace TV. On 12/11/07, I had to call to find out, since they never called. I was informed by Sears Customer Service that I would ONLY be allotted $330.00 toward a replacement set because they no longer carry analog sets! How do we replace a 32" TV with $330.00? We are senior citizens paying Sears to guarantee minimal loss on our appliances; furthermore, when the sales office calls to get us to renew our maintenance agreement, NOTHING IS EVER MENTIONED ABOUT WHICH APPLIANCES WILL NO LONGER BE REPLACED WHEN IT CANNOT BE FIXED!
I am a 64-year-old cancer patient. This stress is very debilitating. The expense to buy a new set, with a screen large enough for older eyes to see clearly, and which remains our major entertainment, is overwhelming. This is Christmas, and we are without a TV.
Joan of Atlanta GA (12/11/07)
I purchased a home with a one year old, expensive, top of the line GE profile Microwave. Within 2 months it quit heating. The former owner had purchased a 5-year extended warranty, but Sears would not honor it. Five years later I am still without a microwave. With everything I have read on the Internet about GE microwaves failing after a short period of time, we should all file for a class action suite against GE. My GE refrigerator failed right around the same time (same age). The service people forgot to confirm that I WAS NOT the original owner of the home. They repaired it, but I never received the food spoilage money.
Shame on Sears and GE!
Mark of Cincinnati OH (12/11/07)
We spent almost 10k at Sears in kitchen appliances. Two months after installation, our $3500 oven would not work. Sears claims they are not responsible, and Whirlpool is responsible to fix it under warranty. The problem is that Whirlpool subcontracts the work, and their subcontractor has failed to show for five appointments. Also, Sears has no authority over Whirlpool subcontractors. I have missed five days from work and my $3500 oven is still not fixed. I have talked to 20 different Sears and Whirlpool personnel over the past two weeks, and they don't care. Now I am being told Sears bought the subcontactor A&E ,yet they have no control. Nobody is responsible except when then took my 10k.
I'm out over $1200 dollars in wages and no way to bake food for several weeks--not to mention how upset my wife is. It has been broken for the same amount of time as it has worked.
William of Baltimore MD (11/20/07)
I responded to the hazard warning about Craftsman snowthrowers in October, 2007. I receiced the parts for repair and scheduled a technician to visit on 11/16/07. I called that morning and was told I was second in line. That afternoon Sears called me and told to reschedule for Monday 11/19/07. I called that morning and was told I was 12th in line. That afternoon I was called again and told to reschedule for 12/04/07. I am very disappointed and disatisfied with the scheduling of this repair.
Jerry of Glendale NY (11/15/07)
I have a service agreement with Sears on a snowblower. It's not working. Sears sent a repairman over; when he left, the machine was left with parts not attached. I called and was given another appointment. for today, 11/15/07. They canceled without even calling me. I called and offered another appt. for 11/23. I said yes, and then I was told there were no open appts. for 11/23. Nothing but a run around here. They now said 11/30 they will come. Bottom line they left the snowblower apart, unusable; and I was told they don't even make the parts to get it working. My agreement is fix it or replace it. They refuse to replace it and can't fix it.
I took off from work and lost pay two days. If it snows I can't use the blower because they dismantled it. I have a heart condition and cannot shovel snow. I paid for the agreement to fix or replace and Sears hasn't done either.
Suzanne of Palmyra ME (11/14/07)
We bought 5 Sears appliances about 1 year ago. Four were for us and one for our daughter living next door. We did not move into our new home until May 15, 2007, so the appliances were virtually brand new until then. My daughter did not use her dishwasher at all until about July, 2007. When she tried to use it, it had an old, burned out motor. They were told a motor could be sent to them, they could then install it themselves, but that would void the warranty. Of course, they had Sears install it but had to wait weeks.
We bought an HE washer and dryer, a dishwasher and an electric oven. The washer has already had 2 service calls in this short time. The dishwasher has had 1 service call, and now the stove has a burned out element. This has only been in use for 6 months. When I called the service department I specifically told them that I needed a new element. I also had to buy an extended warranty because the year was up. I bought one for the oven and the dishwasher--a total of $224.00 for products that should have worked properly from day one. I waited a week and when the repairman came yesterday, he said no one had mentioned the element and he had to order one. It will not be here at the earliest until Tuesday, November 20th. That leaves 1 day for him to come and install it before Thanksgiving. My husband and I are the only 2 people in the house, so we do not overwork the oven. I bought Sears products because of Consumer Reports. How could they have been so wrong? I will never buy Sears products again. This has been very emotionally draining.
Sears contacted me by e-mail after I e-mailed them with all the above on Nov. 9. They said their recovery dept. would contact me as soon as possible. I have yet to hear from them. This is not as soon as possible!!!
Pamela of Pepperell MA (10/23/07)
I bought a Maytag Naptune Top Loading washing machine from Sears last year. So far it has been out of service more than it has been in service. Luckily I have an extended warranty on it. But it is often weeks before Sears can send people to service and after they come the machine only works for one or two loads of laundry. This is the WORST washing machine on the planet, and Sears' so-called warranty is virtually worthless.
It is a significant inconvenience. I hope NOBODY else EVER gets talked into buying this horrible washer and that Sears may do something about their DREADFUL service!
Cheryl of Gaithersburg MD (10/22/07)
I have waited 5 months to get a settlement on my Sears heat/air unit. Sears policy is if they cannot fix your appliance within 10 days they replace it free. I was authorized to get a new unit. I have paid for the unit and a new maintenance agreement. Sears has yet to refund the money I spent on the heat/air unit!
I have extra bill on my credit card.
Sheila of Lawrence KS (04/11/07)
I also purchased the Kenmore HE3 washer -- spending ALOT of money, thinking it would be better. Also purchased the extended warranty. As stated... you wait AT LEAST a week to get somebody there - they don't know what they are doing WHEN they get there -- then you wait an additional 10 days to receive the part by UPS.... which is usually sooner, but what do they care!?!
We STUPIDLY purchased a multitude of products from Sears with the glowing extended service plan. Trust me, it is better to save the money on the service plan and invest in the repair man. You will inevitably need one, it is just a matter of when...? Trio fridge has yet to be fixed, they did replace the microwave after 3 attempts to fix, I am using an independent repair person for the washer.... that was over $1000 and didn't even last 4 years.
Eugene of Cocoa FL (11/07/06)
New freezer shut down after 2 1/2 months, (I have a 5 year service plan). It took 2 days for a tech to be scheduled. He had to order parts. It took 10 days for the part to come in. Freezer was repaired but someone had to be home during an 8-hour window to so. Two weeks later, I went on vacation for a week. Some time during that week, the freezer quit again.
WHAT A MESS. I drove to my local Sears store. There was no manager available so the manager of the tool department put me in contact with One Source All I wanted was my money back and be reimbursed for the lost food. I was two weeks past my 90 days. But they will allow me to pick out a new freezer and a $100 store credit off of it. Plus they will send me a $100 store gift card. I also got permission from One Source to dispose of the food. They will send me the balance of the covered food allowance.
I found out the hard way, I was lied to about the food. No service tech, no money. I had picked out a new freezer, called One Source and gave them the model number, which was on sale. Wrong, it was the other model similar to it. Ok, send me the sale model and credit my credit card. I was sent the more expensive model, signed the receipt for the on sale model, (did not check the tag on the freezer, which turned out to be the expensive one) then received in the mail a charge for the more expensive one. (Sounds like bait and switch to me.)
There is a department for every little part in this process. The people for the most part talked like they did not care. Final results, no food money, charge stays on my credit card, and they have already done all they intend to do for me. Now, after 40 years of spending thousands of dollars at Sears, I have only one comment... GOODBYE Sears!!!!
Ali of Hull, MA (08/26/06)
We purchased the Kenmore H2 washer in Nov of '05. 7/28/06 the control board went out. A technician came out on Aug 5, ordered parts, and returned on Aug 8 only to find that the part he needed hadn't arrived. He reorded the part and rescheduled the repair.
We are now 4 weeks with no machine. The part is backed orded and "One Source", the Sears customer service center, doesn't know how long it will be before the part is avaiable. They will not replace the machine and will wait 45 days before further action for our situation (45 days!) even though it is under full warranty.
Their policy is that the repairman needs to be called and has to REPLACE parts 4 times before the machine will be replaced.
The One Source rep states they have no supervisors and the complaint goes no further than them..hence, One Source, I guess.
William of San Diego CO (08/07/06)
In May of 2006 I received notice that the Protection Agreement for my refrigerator I bought and they installed on 07/08/2001 would expire in July. I sent in a check for $232.87 for a three year renewal on 05/22/06. I received the new agreement in June. Later that month I received a telephone call from SEARS asking that I renew the agreement. I told the unidentified questioner that it had been paid and that I had received the renewal agreement. He asked that I read the renewal certificate number to him which I did. He apoligized and I heard someone yelling at him in the background.
Today I received an URGENT: Your Sears Protection Agreement has Expired letter through the mail. When I called about it, after waiting 3 minutes for an operator, the woman told me that the agreement WAS extended and that they had sent out second notices on these accounts - implying that I was the one at fault for not sending it in sooner. I think that SEARS has (1) the most incompetent customer service reps in the business or (2) is deliberately trying to get me to pay them twice for the same services. Either way they are unlikely to ever get my business again.
Marge of Williamstown NJ (08/04/06)
I called on Aug 7, scheduled a repair call on my Maytag dryer that I purchased at Sears for between 8 am and 5 pm Aug 11. At 10:44 am on Aug 11 I received a call that they did not have a serviceman in the area and would have to reschedule - for Aug 17. He said I don't know what to tell you, there is no serviceman available in your area. What kind of service is that? Really makes me want to deal with Sears again!
Daisy of Birmingham AL (07/30/06)
My service agreements states that I have 5 year warranty parts/labor today I called sears for service and was declined because they said that the store made a mistake on my policy I was told that I could not bring my TV in for service nor can they come out to fix it also customer service refused to give me a case number and tI was told that I had to spend $300 for another agreement since the system will not allow them to correct the mistake that the sale person made now I am stuck with a 32 inch JVC TV which is in warranty and sears refuses to fix it at my home and the service department told me it was to large for me to bring it in for service , I do not know what to do. Why is sears doing this to me.
Neal of North Pole AK (04/25/06)
Another case of no service on their service policy. Called in 2 weeks ago and arranged service on my snowblower. No show on date of service. Rescheduled but snow will be gone by then so they will not be able to test. This happens over and over on Sears service contracts that I maintain. I will never buy another contract or extend any. I will never purchase anything from Sears in the future that has a contract available!
I lost a day of work awaiting their repair person. I will make it up so there is no money loss, just sleep as I had to get up at 8 AM to await their rep, after having got off work at 3 am
Alexander of Pacific Palisades CA (04/18/06)
We own a Maytag Neptune top-loader washing machine, one of the most expensive washers sold in Sears. At the time of purchase, Sears also talked us into buying the extended repair warranty. The washer keeps breaking incessantly. Every time we place a repair call to Sears Service, it is about a two-week wait for the repair person to show up, then another two weeks to order parts. The repair person leaves the washer in exactly the same condition -- BROKEN. At this point, this has been going on for two months plus. Sears service appointments are also scheduled in 4 hour intervals, which means that someone has to be at home all that time.
With a family of three young children, it is an impossibility living without a washer. Financial consequences are over $1,000 for a washer that does not work, $300 plus for extended service warranty, plus laundromat costs, which at this point are $400 plus.
Ruth of Lakewood CA (03/02/06)
Sears Repair Service worked on our refrigerator on January 25, 2006. Repair done in our house and we did talk to customer service after about the repair bill. I was not present at time of service, but after talking to my husband and how labor is charged, believe it to be "unreasonable for the service performed".
I do not dispute the part charge of $ 58.43 (with tax) or $55 fee for minimum charge, but the $168.00 labor which after $ 55 is deducted is $ 113.00. The repairman only took 10 minutes to replace the part and said the charge is based on our unit.
My husband also stated that the repairman already took off the part and was replacing it before he said, "Oh I better write up the estimate" and also took the estimate with him when he left ,so all we had was a receipt.
I believe that Sear''s Home Central Management needs to adjust this charge accordingly. I do not believe something that took such a small amount of time should be charged at such a high rate. The customer is trapped since the appliance is not working and warranty has run out and believe that where the product was purchased is the right place to call for repair also. I was told that since I no longer had the extended warranty that I more or less agree to accept charges. I do not..
Scott of South Jordan UT (02/23/06)
On September 22, 2004, I purchased a Dyson Animal Vaccum Cleaner from the above mentioned store. My wife and I wanted to also purchase a warranty. We asked the sales clerk how much the two year and the five year warranties were. We were told that they were having a promotional sale on the 5 year warranty, and that it would only cost one cent.
On Thursday, February 23, 2006, I took the vaccum in to have it serviced. The store did not even have the purchase in their system, so I took my copy of the receipt and the warranty in with me. The service manager would not honor the warranty. He said that since it was not in the computer, he could not honor it. He went to get the store manager. The store manager said that there was a mistake, and that the cost of the 5 year warranty when we bought the vaccum, should have been $249. To get my vaccum serviced I needed to purchase that warranty.
I feel that if there was a mistake, it was the store's mistake, and not mine. I should not have to pay half of the cost of the vaccum a year and a half later to get my warranty honored. Plus the fact, that paying that $249 would only get the warranty until Sept. 2009 (the date the original warranty would have expired).
Irene of Chepachet RI (02/23/06)
In fall of 2001 I purchased a Calypso washer from Sears.
Within the first year I received a letter from Sears stating the washers were being recalled due to injuries incurring when removing clothes. It was replaced with a second Calypso, which, within the first year began malfunctioning by not draining properly and various error codes displayed. Two separate services calls were made and after the second one the washer was replaced with a third.
This third washer is also exhibiting the very same problems as the previous one of not draining and error codes. In Sept. '04 a repairman came out and "repaired" it, and most recently another repairman came 2/20 to "repair" it, and the very next morning I went to do a load of laundry and the machine began displaying error codes during the wash cycle. Numerous calls were placed to speak to a person but only after contacting a local television station's consumer advocate did I receive a call from a Sears employee, who gave me the telephone number of Sear's One Source Dept, which I was told handles complaints and problems that are unresolved through conventional means.
I spoke with a woman and explained my history, she arranged for a technician to come to my house the next day. The technician deemed both computer heads were defective and advised me the Calypso had been pulled from the stores and a class action lawsuit had been filed regarding the numerous complaints on them. I was advised to contact One Source after the service call and discuss with them the need for a replacement washer and to refuse another Calypso as a replacement..
When I telephoned One Source I was advised they did not have any record of my having 3 different Calypso's and they would not replace the washer. I was also told I would need yet another technician to come out and because the machine was not under warranty I would be responsible for the cost of repairs.
Carl of Muskogee OK (02/23/06)
We purchased a CRAFTSMAN 48" cut 20hp Kohler hydrostat riding mower from SEARS store on 11/21/2001. The carburetor failed 3 times in one year and they declared it a lemon. They convinced us to upgrade mowers with the purchase price of the old mower applied to the new mower plus buying the 3-year extended At-Home Warranty. The new mower, a CRAFTSMAN 48" cut 25hp Kohler hydrostat riding mower was purchased on 10/31/2003 and picked up on 11/5/2003. We paid $2,458.32 for the mower and the extended warranty costs.
When mowing season started in late spring the main deck drive belt was breaking and having carburation problems. The main drive belt from the engine to the deck and the carburetor problems have been a constant complaint with numerous and unmitigated inconvenience and stress. We bought this mower and the extended warranty to minimize and eliminate inconvenience and stress.
At one point, I called AB Electrolux, Sears' supplier of the unit. They called Sears' techs and decided the AB Electrolux engineer knew of some apparent engineering or design flaw. So, Sears sent 2 techs out who spent all day taking our whole mower apart and putting everything back on a new frame less a couple of lockwashers I found left in my driveway and a later discovery of a broken crankcase ventilation grommet, which allowed unfiltered air into the engine causing further wear on the internal engine parts.
Sears even changed the complete deck on the unit once. The main drive belt has been changed more than 6 times. (The spaces between frame and deck parts and the running belt are minimal in more than one place and still are after the deck and frame changeout.) The main drive belt continues to be a problem and we keep a spare around to minimize our down time. The carburetor has been changed out on the engine 3 times. It would always flood out under a load or on a little uneven rough ground. One tech finally discovered the choke setting was incorrect.
This seems to have solved that problem, but at the expense of compromising the life of the engine. Raw gas pouring through the engine has surely worn the cylinders, pistons and rings beyond the mowers' 100 +/- hours of operation. The oil turns dark soon after changing and is contaminated mandating the prudence of being changed along with the oil filter every 12 hrs rather than what is recommended in the maintenance book. We are nearing another season and we dread the start of this season expecting it to be the same unmitigated inconvenience and stress with the mower belt and compromised engine. Our 3-Year Extended At-Home Warranty expires 11/5/2006.
We have exhausted all possible phone calling to the store, (The store manager hung-up the phone on us on 11/5/03.), and corporate #s asking for a full refund. We have no intentions of using this or any other mower like it made by AB Electrolux and marketed under various names by various retailers.
It is our intention to file a suit in small claims for recovery of full purchase price, 3-year extentded warranty price included, and punitive damages.
Elizabeth of Hemet CA (02/21/06)
Our family purchased both a Kenmore HE3 washer and dryer around March of 2003. Within the first three months we began experiencing problems with the latch on the washer. The latch mechanism was replaced. Approximately five months later we had the same problem again. Additionally, around 18 months we began to notice that the floor area was damp around the washer. We tried to find where the moisture was coming from and could not locate the problem. The problem persisted and became worse. At one point we resorted to using a wet dry vac to clean up the water that was leaking out of the washer. When we called the repair center they offered no solution.
We were able to pintpoint the problem...the gasket that would seal the front load door from leaking had tears in it that were unoticable until we took the front of the washer off looking for the leak. When we called Sears about the problem we were informed that it would not be covered under our warranty because it was not a manufacturer defect. We would be required to pay 55.00 for the service call in addition to any parts and labor!
Another part that broke was a small sensor mechanism that senses when the door is open or shut. This caused the door to either not close or it would lock and we would have difficulty getting the laundry out and it would be left sitting damp for an extended period of time. This problem occurred after about 15 months.
We finally purchased a different washer because we did not want to keep getting the run around about the warranty or to sustain more damage to our home (2 story house laundry room upstairs.) The dryer is another story. We noticed the dryer was taking longer each time we used it the last few weeks to dry. Last week (Feb. 12, 2006), the dryer was loaded with clothing and turned on. I was downstairs and noticed an unsual odor, it smelled as if wiring or plastic was on fire. I found the source of the odor to be the dryer.
I had the children get out of the house, and I unplugged the dryer from the wall. The dryer was very hot, I didn't see any flames coming out or any billowing smoke. Only noticed that the dryer was very hot and smelled. We have since ceased to use the dryer, and purchased a new one. Today, 2-21-06, we had a repairman come out and look at the HE3 while he was delivering the new dryer. He discovered that the HE3 dryer had caught on fire, and that was the cause of the excessive heat and the odor.
I was pretty frustrated, as we had planned on getting the old one fixed and leaving it in the garage for playclothes, etc., but the repairs are astronomical. The initial estimate without taking the machine to the shop is $700! We are very disappointed with our experiences with both machines. We purchased top of the line costly appliances with the notion that we were buying name brand dependable merchandise.
Marcia of Sunrise FL (02/20/06)
On 6/4/05 I signed a contract with a Sears salesperson for a new 3 ton A/C unit.
On 6/14/05 A/C unit was installed by AMS Air. By 6/17/05 the A/C unit stopped working. The project coordinator, John Costlow, was contacted and informed of same. He suggested that the unit be turned off for a while in order to allow the copper tube which is connected to the condenser to thaw--since it was frozen solid--. I was then instructed to restart the unit and leave it running in the on mode vs. auto. I also made the "discovery" that the heat does not work either. I tried numerous times to have this problem resolved with John Costlow from 6/17/05 to present.
This "brand new" A/C unit failed inspection on 7/28/05 with the City of Sunrise. The inspector was appalled at what Sears permitted, the inspector also tried to contact John Costlow and stated that none of his calls/messages were returned. The City of Sunrise has pulled out of inspecting Sears A/C units and I was informed that this is nothing new re: customer complaints against Sears.
I continued to place endless phone calls in which messages were left and ignored repeatedly by John Costlow and AMS Air. I have also expressed my dissatisfaction to the complaint ctr @ 1(800)222-5030 and was recently assigned a caseworker, Christine Crowder 1(888)673-7881 ext 3029, in order to "handle my problem". I was informed that it would be easier to have the unit repaired vs. a refund.
Following a 1/30/06 visit from Marco Jr of AMS Air it was determined that a new heater was needed. I feel that I was sold a defective A/C unit and Sears is forcing me to keep it and settle for less. I do not want parts installed/replaced for a defective A/C unit that I feel was given to me that way.The representatives of Sears that I have been calling has repeatedly given me a run around.
Timothy & Janet of Pahrump NV (02/17/06)
We bought a Kenmore side by side refrigerator in October of 2004. We were in Oregon from July thru September, so the two of us used the frigerator less than 12 months when our pin bracket ice dispenser went out.
The first repair man said it was such a common problem that Sears had developed a kit for the repair. The repair man who came when we received the part also said it was a common problem and may have been a recall item. We now have it fixed, but it cost us $176.58.
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July 24 2008
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