A&E Factory Service

Called 21 days later only to be told the “case was set up on 2/12/19” (false) and I needed to wait another 21 days and would be contacted on 3/18/19 for a refund. Of course that did not happen. 3/19/19 called and was told “I put in a note and someone will contact you in 7-10 business days ok”. NO NOT OK...was hung up on. Called back and calmly stated problem yet again, was referred to A&E Factory. Billing - 44 minutes and 57 seconds later and I am still on hold. Meanwhile- I neglected to mention, my mother decided to try the dishwasher 2 days after service call and despite the pump being broken- it is still functioning properly. All the more reason for a refund. WILL NEVER USE THIS COMPANY AGAIN. EVER.

When repairman came on Friday he did not have the part and said he could order it and we could schedule the repair for the following Friday! And, he wanted to charge another $79! He had no record of receiving the first $79! He called his office and was on hold for about 20 minutes, then they verified that they'd already received the service charge. My mom refused to allow A&E to service the fridge, she told the repairman that the customer service from this company sucked, and that he should try to get a job with another company! Although my fridge was only 3 years old we decided to get a new one, not a Kenmore!

He explained that Samsung would cover parts but not labor. The labor costs were estimated at $390 which was more than the cost of the parts. The technician advised me to NOT accept the estimate and contact Samsung to attempt to have them fix it since it the unit was so new. I signed all his paperwork and asked for copies. He said they would be emailed to me. He also said that he didn't think I should've had the refrigerator cleaned because he didn't see any signs of it needing it.

I contacted the store where I purchased the refrigerator and explained the situation. The service manager of the store was disappointed to know that I called A&E first instead of her because she's had several instances of customers being overcharged from A&E. She said to get the diagnosis of the problem in writing and she would work directly with Samsung to complete the repair.

It has been an exhausting and unsuccessful process in getting a simple diagnostic report for which I paid. The service center call department continues to tell me it takes 1-2 days to receive an email of the information I'm requesting but, of the 4 times I've requested the information, I've received a blank Excel spreadsheet, a receipt for my costs, a service ticket confirmation, and simply no reply at all. Never have they sent me the diagnosis report. The service center representatives are difficult to work with, they repeatedly "transfer" your call only to remain on hold for 18 minutes then have the call disconnect (this has happened twice).

I feel like I've been scammed. I paid for a service call, a cleaning, and a diagnostic test, was encouraged by my technician to decline the repair estimate, and now cannot receive the information I need and the information I paid for. I will never use this repair service again and I strongly suggest you do not get entangled in their web of poor customer service and questionable practices.

I tell tech machine has worked fine for 9 years and to get his stinky cigarette smelling self out of my house. He says not without his $99 diagnostic fee. Long story short...don’t smoke cigarettes while on the job in a client's driveway. Don’t tell clients you are having a bad day and you're crazy. Don’t tell female clients they can't wash clothes. Terrible experience!!!

The day before that appointment it was canceled for unknown reasons. The next scheduled appointment was a week away. This time a different repairman showed up and he had no idea that someone had already been there previously and that the compressor and parts were at the house. He left to go get refrigerant and we never heard from him or the repair company again. That was day 26 without a fridge. Every time we attempted to contact A&E service center you end up talking to a foreigner that you struggle to understand and you start all over again as if it were the first contact. There is no transfer of information to the repair technicians on what the problem is. They have come to repair or what has already been done.

I finally just contacted a recommended local appliance repairman that I could talk to directly and he came and replaced the compressor the day after I contacted him. What a nightmare! I've never dealt with a more unreliable, uncaring repair service in my 61 years. Not only will we never buy another LG appliance, but we will never use A&E appliance repair service again. It also cost us 3 days off work waiting for someone to show up and they did absolutely nothing for us on those visits.

Again I have taken off work. 3 parts have shown up to my house in the past week and am still missing 1 so I call the technician and leave him a message. With no response the next day I wait, and wait, and wait, then finally call A&E and get someone who tells me that they still are trying to get the last part ordered from the manufacturer and don’t know when it will be available. I tell her that it would have been nice to have received a phone call and she acted like she could have cared less.

So, after we discovered that the freezer had stopped working and everything inside defrosted, we called LG support (These folks were great in helping me.) I called them on Friday afternoon and they said a technician could be here on Tuesday. LG called their locally appointed service group A&E Factory Service. They appeared to be helpful and confirmed the technician would be here on Tuesday LG ordered a new part and arrived 2 days layer via UPS On Tuesday. The part arrived broken as per the technician's report when he arrived on Tuesday. So he ordered another new part and said he could only get out here on Friday.

So I got a call from A&E confirming Friday. So I get a weird call late Thursday evening saying I had to reschedule. That's all No reason. I called A&E Friday were unhelpful and did not care about their broken service promise. They cut me off after 20 minutes. I called them back and they recommended I call LG. WHich I did... LG organised a technician to arrive here Friday between 10 and 12.. I had to go out for 10 minutes at 10, and the sad thing is apparently the Service guy arrived after A&E said no one was available, at the time I was out. No one from A&E called me so say I'm here!

I can't comment yet on the repair, but judging from just trying to get someone out here being a nightmare, I hope the service repair is better. I'll follow this up after the job is done.

12:00 noon comes around and no one showed up and the parts were delivered to the house. I called the company and they said I was not on their schedule!!! What??? I spoke to at least 7 people from different companies. They transferred the call to Geek Squad, A&E and AIG. Same answer. "This can't help me. Transfer." "This is not my department. Transfer." "Sorry. They lied to you. Transfer..." On and on and on. Now I'm raging, angry and verrry upset. No matter how much I tried couldn't get the matter resolved. A couple of those employees rescheduled for Monday. I desperately need my washer. Haven't done laundry in 3 weeks and my family and I are running out of clothes... Worst customer service I have ever encounter. DO NOT TRUST THEM AT ALL.

Skip to March 2018, I renewed the contract and advised that the machine was having difficulty washing properly, it seemed like it was lacking enough water, and when you add a pitcher of water it worked fine. Over the phone they diagnosed that it was a fill valve problem, a problem they confirmed because we had had a water main break and the washing machine had to have the valve replaced for the same problem a month earlier.

The tech, who was supposed to be there between 9 and 12 kept calling throughout the day that he was running late. Finally showed up at 5:30. He was very rude and said I just didn't know how to use the machine, stating that the machine used alternating wash arms and that was what I was hearing. I needed to switch detergents, and to wash the dishes before I put them in the DISHWASHER, and it would be fine. I will point out that this machine does not, and was specifically chosen because it powered all the wash arms at the same time. He also diagnosed at that time that the motor that opened the vent was defective. Saying "just turn up the rinse aid."

I continued for almost a year with stopping the machine to add water, and then having to be there when the cycle finishes so I could open the door so the dishes would dry properly. So thus not an Automatic Dishwasher by any means. Then I get a call from Sears wanting to renew the service plan, I told them of the problems, and they scheduled a new appointment, assuring me that they would send another tech, with me specifically stating that I did not want the same man there.

My appointment was 2-11-19. Scheduled 1-5PM. Tech calls at 4:45 saying he was running late, and would be there at 5:30. He finally arrives at 6:00. Same tech, same scenario. He was rushed, wanted to get home, last call of the day. He proceeds to look under my cabinets, check my garbage disposal. He took the front of the dishwasher and said it was working like it should. This is when it got ugly fast.

I told him "It was not working right," that I had to add water. He said, "so you think you know more than me." I very upset at this time state "Yes, as a matter of fact I do. I have owned the (curse word) thing for six years," and he could leave. He said turns purple in the face and says he is leaving because I cursed at him, and he was going to report me to corporate office. That his report would go straight to corporate. Well you know I was so scared. I asked for his supervisor's name. He said "I don't have to give that to you." I asked for the direct phone to his office, said "not giving you that."

Finally after five more minutes of me telling him to leave, and he posturing like he was going to hit me, I offered to call the police and he left. There are many, many, many other appliance repair companies in the phone book. I would highly suggest using any of these over A&E. All of our Sears stores are gone in town now, including the one he is dispatched from. Hope he sits on the unemployment line soon.

So we had to start over and after another week, a technician did show up for the appointment. A part had to be ordered and he stated he would be back the following Wednesday to put the part in. We receive a voice mail from A&E confirming the part was received the day before, so we are hopeful the refrigerator is finally going to be fixed. First thing the next morning we expect the technician, but no one shows up. I wait until around 10:00 to check on where the technician is and a representative tells me our "window" is 10-12. So we expect someone shortly, but again no one shows up. I call again to customer service around 2:00 and now our "window” is 7-9 pm. I ask, “Why did the time change. It was supposed to be this morning.” The representative told me, “I don't know but we should get off the phone in case the technician tries to get through.” What??!

Now it is 8:00 and of course no one shows up and I call customer service. The representative is extremely hard to understand but I finally get out of her that no one is coming tonight. At that point I asked for a supervisor, who is no more helpful than the last representative. According to the supervisor, someone marked our appointment as closed and there was nothing they could do to fix it. I would have to call Frigidaire and start over AGAIN! I told the supervisor, "That makes no sense. Your company messed up and I have to call to fix your mistake?" She claims nothing could be done on her side. I would not recommend this company to anyone. This is no way to run a business. The customer service department is completely incompetent.

I call again to ask for a manager. They’ll be here between 2-6. He then says that I never even had a confirmed appointment cause I don’t have the parts. I tell him, while reading confirmation text all the info about my supposed fake appointment. He then tells me technician is overbooked and can’t come now. I ask, "So is it I do or do not have appointment cause you just said I didn’t cause I never confirmed I had parts (again that morning they called me to confirm I had) or was he overbooked." He said I then had to call tech to make an exception to come if can if overbooked. Asked for number. Apparently they don’t have technicians' numbers. So no clue how I am suppose to call this person. He tries to reschedule me for a day I can’t do. I said I have confirmation of appointment today. He then tells me that’s not a real appointment.

So now when you receive a text confirmation this is a “generic text for an appointment” and can not be taken as a confirmed appt. meanwhile text says appointment confirmation. So I asked the manager, "Can you please give me real reason why I am not being seen today." So far it was 1) I did not have a real appointment. 2) The technician for my fake appt was overbooked. 3) Said fake appt did not allow 3 hours for fridge to be fixed but only an hour (so how did my appt never exist if see not enough time??). He then proceeded to hang up. I get a text my appt for that day has been cancelled and he was kind enough to reschedule my appointment 3 weeks later without my approval. Do not use this service. If your appliance company names vendors they use ask for someone different. Two days without pay waiting for them. Horrible.

I talked with a “supervisor” and she said that she was sorry the tech did not tell me this but my appointment had to be rescheduled for another week! Now 4 weeks no dishwasher - not life-threatening I know, but ridiculous. I used every argument imaginable and she would not give me back my appointment. They will never email, call or text that you have to call to confirm you received the parts. The tech has to tell you and you have to remember. I had made an appointment, but that did not matter. Terrible Terrible Terrible! Do Not Use Them!

A few weeks later - same issue, only we were home to notice it start to not cool properly. We checked all the usual - doors sealing well, nothing in the coils, coils aren't dirty, fridge fan was on, unit had appropriate ventilation, etc. Called LG and they rushed a replacement compressor. The A&E tech called to ask if the part arrived which it had not. He said that the appointment time was too late in the day anyway and he would not have been able to perform the repair regardless. So far, understandable although less than desirable to know that he wouldn't have done anything anyway.

A week or so later the technician shows up. The fridge was cooling properly on the day he arrived, but he could tell it had issues as we've had it empty not knowing which days it would and would not work. He checked the temperature with a thermometer and said the temperatures were fine and left. He left despite my persistence that something was wrong with the unit as it would not cool all the time. He said, "They either work or they don't. Since it's working, there's nothing I can do." I asked about running a diagnostic, checking Freon levels, or installing the replacement parts. I was told that he wouldn't do any of that since the unit was working.

A couple of days later, the unit quits again. I pull it out from the wall, pull the bottom cover and bump the compressor. The unit starts cooling immediately. I called LG who said to call the service provider and schedule another visit. Technician shows and starts out looking annoyed. I explained what happened and he says he'll look at it. We have bad service so he had to step outside to download the repair manual. He looks a bit confused, but comes back in and puts a voltmeter on the main board. He stares at it for a minute, takes a picture of it and then says there are no LED lights on the board but it isn't producing the correct voltage for the compressor to keep the unit cool. He said the main board would need to be replaced.

After some confusion as to whether he had that board on his truck, he attempted to sell me a service plan to reduce the cost of the repair and said it wasn't covered by LG. It is important to note here that he did not know the purchase date of the unit to know if it was covered. He then tells me the cost of the repair and how if I sign up for a whole home warranty, I can save 50%. If I signup for the lower version of the whole home warranty, I can pay a deductible and save a different percentage (I don't recall what at the moment).

I told him we were interested in the whole home warranty and just wanted the fridge repaired. I also told him that we would need to send the quote for approval to the extended warranty we already had through our credit card company. He told me if I declined the quote that the rate would increase by $40 and he would not be able to send it to me - he didn't know how that worked. Accepting the quote meant I would get the quote emailed with a receipt for the 75% portion of the bill I was asked to pay. Thinking I would get this covered, I agreed.

Never received a receipt. I waited 2 days and called A&E to be told that it would take them 7 to 10 days to generate a receipt and that they couldn't send me the receipt or quote until the technicians return visit was complete. I never could get them to understand that I needed to get the quote approved in order to ensure the repair was covered. I also was hung up on, transferred to never-ending phone queues, given bad numbers, given the useless billing department number (they don't answer) and other inconveniences that lead to a call back to LG. LG was very gracious and agreed to use a different service provider as their attempts to reach A&E resulted in similar frustration. A&E used to be Sears... There's a reason they are bankrupt. Currently, I believe their goal is to swindle customers using sub-quality technicians.

I bought the highest level warranty program on my first visit for $899, the refrigerator could have been replaced for $1200 new. One of the repair people they sent out had no idea what he was doing saying, "I just started working here and they didn't give me the steamer I need to see what your problem is." Then why did he have me take a day off work. The warranty is a waste of money and unfortunately many of the staff are not properly trained.

On 1/14/19 I called A&E to speak to a supervisor and after being disconnected once and transferred SIX times I was able to speak to a Supervisor named "Honey" who completely acted like she didn't even care. Apparently she makes enough money to throw $160 around. I asked her if Mike would be reprimanded and she said she did not know, she was only taking my information. They should be ashamed of themselves. If it didn't cost $130 to file a civil complaint I would do that on principle alone!

I've determined that A&E Factory Service, under instructions from Sears management, has implemented an endless customer service/billing loop in order to deceive and rob people. Because A&E could not repair our refrigerator in a timely manner our fridge broke. We were also concerned about an electrical fire because the electrical board in the freezer was showing red through the slats and steam was coming out, which caused the freezer to stop working. On 11/25/18 we had to cancel the A&E parts/service, requested a refund, and had to buy a new refrigerator.

The second complaint I filed with BBB.org pertains to a $99.00 service fee A&E charged for the first time their tech came out on 10/15/18 to give us a quote for the repair, which we initially turned down. We paid this fee to the technician and have a receipt. In Dec 2018, A&E Factory Service sent us an invoice stating if we don’t pay the $99 service fee they will submit our case to a collections agency! There is no way to speak with anyone in their billing/collections Dept and their instructions say the only way to dispute their bill is by sending a formal dispute in writing to them, which I did. I don’t have any confidence in this company to take this bill off the books - even with a receipt!!!

I believe the only way any of the unwitting victims of A&E Factory Service/Sears posted here and at BBB.org are going to see one penny of their money refunded to them is through a class action lawsuit!!! This is a sad and dastardly way for a trusted and long established company, such as Sears, to go out of business - to rob unsuspecting hard-working people in order to pay their creditors!!!

New appointment for Dec. 28. Tech arrived, checked washer (about 2 minutes). Told us he ordered a main board for it and it would take 7 to 10 days for it to arrive. The part arrived on Jan 10 and the appointment was made for the 11th. The tech arrived on the 11th and after about 5 min claimed they sent the wrong part. He needed a pressure switch. Not a main board. Part ordered. Jan. 8 we receive text message saying appointment for the 8th is cancelled. Didn't know we had an appointment. Had to phone them to find out what was going on. All this time and A&E never did call us. Once we had to make the calls to find out what was going on. The customer skills that we were shown were the worst I have ever seen! Washer still not fixed!

At this point I called a local repairmen and my dishwasher was fixed in 2 days, my total bill was $275 and I did not have to pay in advance, only after the job was done. He told me that one of the parts that they made me order was unnecessary. I returned both parts which arrived on the 12th of December about 5 weeks after they have ordered them. Now I have to hassle with the credit card company to get my charges reversed. Bottom line think twice before you call this company, they overcharge, slow, and do not communicate with you. My rating 1/5 stars.