Sears review: warranty scam! 23

Hi understand what you're going through. I got a a master protection plan for my TV. I told them if I could purchase this warranty since my TV had a PROBLEM. They told me yes I could and sold it to me. The technician came to my house 2 weeks later and told me that the TV was not fixable, I called Sears and they said that they would then replace it. I called 2 days later wondering when they would replace it and was told that they had canceled my warranty as they had no right to sell it to me in the first place because they aren't supposed to sell warranties on items with problems. I was never told of the cancellation and furthermore that's not my problem because I told them before hand that my TV had a problem and that's why I was purchasing the warranty, and since that's what I signed up for I should get my TV replaced. Well all they said is that they are sorry for the inconvenience. Are you kidding me! So I'm going to do everything I can to let others know that Sears screws over their customers!

you are so seriously full of it i absolutely 100% call B.S. right here! noone would sell you a master protection agreement after telling them your tv has a pre existing condition,,,, nah instead what really happened is you tried to cheat the sears company by getting a agreement on a tv u know damn well was beyond repair and then try to use the free replacement clause hahahaahah nice try buy no one is going to fall for that DUH!

Sears is the absolute worst for customer service and satisfaction. We bought a washing machine from them which started leaking brownish transmission fluid after 2 months. They said it was under warranty, but the LABOR would cost 275.00...my husband is a master electrician and master plumber, licensed and bonded..he told sears to just send him the part since it was under warranty and he would put it on himself. They said that under no circumstances could they send him the warrantied part unless their service tech installed it for 275.00. My husband has probably repaired well in excess of 200 washing machines in his 30 years of business.
I would NEVER purchase a Sears appliance, and tell all of our customers the same thing!

Hi there, our fridge(an expensive model) purchased in '2000 on our Sears card account, broke just before this Easter 2008.

We called a technician from Sears, and he came out and told us that the freon(which keeps the heat out) had evaporated through a small hole somewhere, and that this particular problem was covered by warranty for 10 years. He left, and was going to file a report, and then we would hear from the company about replacing it etc.
We waited until the end of the week, and after not hearing anything from them we contacted the company about the situation, and we were told that we would need to produce the "purchase order number" in order for something to be done, even though they had the purchase date of December 9, 2000, and even the delivery date of December 15, 2000.

We are a military family and have moved since we purchased the fridge, and have such misplaced the original purchase order, and since we are unable to produce it, Sears will not honor the warranty for the freon of 10 years. My husband and I have been calling non-stop to different branches trying to locate the purchase number, or to trying to trace the number through the credit card, but have been unsuccessful, as the company is unable to pull-up the records because of the length of time. However, we as consumers are expected to keep a purchase order from 7+ years ago, but a big company like Sears is not...to me this is asking alot of consumers if Sears is not required to!

So we made a last ditch attempt today and called Corporate Customer Service, and we were told that Sears would not be able to do anything about our situation unless we produced the original purchase order number. So after receiving no satisfaction, we are going to pay off our Sears card account and boycott Sears. We realize that we are only a drop in the pan for a huge corporation like Sears, but we also intend to tell others about what they have done, and let's face it word of mouth can be very powerful!

I purchased washer from sears with a 1 year warranty. It broke after 9 months. I told me the same lie over and over again. They told me that I overload the washer . I swear to god. I never buy anything from sear again.

Sears is a scam. I also have a washer and from day one it danced around the floor. They came out time and time again to adjust the belt. I called and told them to keep the junk they sold me and then Sears sent out two repair men who were jerks. Attempted to tell me this is the way we wash our clothes. Then started to show me the "proper way to load a machine." I got so upset I told them funny may last washer had no problems with how it was loaded and no matter how you load this junk MAYTAG now made by WHIRLPOOL it dances and I have washed clothes for over 30 years and done more laundry than they could ever begin to and to take loading lessons from two jerks was not going to continue. Even after I proved to them loading it makes no difference they adjusted the belt and said nothing was wrong with my washer. Now a year later it still dances I have no warranty and it is worse than ever. So I call Sears and told them hey your machine you sold me still has the problem from day one from when I bought it could you please help and send someone out again. You can guess the reply. No not for free. JERKS! SO I have a pile of junk I wash with and can't afford another. I think we should all take our junk appliances to the local Sears and drop it on the steps of Sears with junk wrote all over it and SOLD BY SEARS! Sears can't stay open with this way of doing things. Between bad credit card ways and repair ways everyone is finding out STAY AWAY FROM SEARS!

I see why Sears is in trouble. REPEAT CUSTOMERS are what keeps any business going strong. In 1996 we made the mistake of buying furniture and a fridge from them. They delivered my sofa with a BIG RIP in the back. Then I had to wait for the guy to come to my house to fix it. Set up appointment for the first day, had to take off work. Waited all day, no call, no nothing. Called them and oh, service man had an emergency and couldn't come. A simple phone call would have been nice. Had to take off work a second day for them to fix it. Complained about missing TWO days of work for THEIR mistake and was just given the "sorry ". Oh and the fridge, had it just one and a half years before the ice maker broke. DO NOT BUY ANY BIG ITEMS FROM SEARS!

We bought a Sears Kenmore side by side refridgerator with the filtered water & ice a little over two years ago. That feature is one of the main reasons we purchased a new fridge. We live in an area that has high minerals so without a filter the ice-maker eventually stops working. We had this fridge about two years when first it stopped dispensing water and next ice right before Thanksgiving 08. We loved this refridgerator because we now had ice! Lucky for us we had renewed the service contract. When the repair tech came to fix it, he told us it was going to require an entire new door because a small platic part that cost around $4.00 had broken inside the mechanism but the cost of the replacement door would be over $800.00 not including all which was under warranty. We originally paid abt $1300.00 for it new. So he ordered us a replacement door. Several days later we get a phone call asking had the door arrived to which my husband said 'no, why?' and then the Sears rep said 'well we don't know if we are going to be able to find you a replacement door but we are still looking, it could take at least six weeks if we can find one." The thing is, the color of the fridge (bisque) is being discontinued so that makes it harder to find the door. This is just the start of a long story that I'm going to try and condense to the best of my ability while retaining what happened. This all started in November 2008. Sears never could assure us that they were going to be able to find us a door but that we could get another of the same fridge. Now think, why would we want the same model that requires a whole door for a simple little plastic part that is prone to break? Our former fridge that we replaced with the side by side was 17 years old and was still working when we got rid of it and it did for another two years. My husband argued this point with Sears for weeks finally convincing them that we were NOT going to take the same fridge with a defective design and that we wanted something different instead. Finally, they did agree to it, so another one was ordered in December of 2008 but we would not be able to get it until January 2009. My husband spent numerous hours on the phone with Sears and had to speak with people in several different departments in order to solve this disaster. They told him they would transfere the renewed service agreement to the new fridge and charged it to our Sears credit card which we had not even authorized once the prior one expired so that took two months to correct trying to get it posted to our Discover. Sears credit card rep said the card did not have to be authorized as long as the account was open. The nightmare never seems to end. My husband was under the impression that the Sears charged had been removed and placed on the Discover card but yesterday we got another billing from Sears with an additional late fee. Also another chapter of this story is that after we finally got the replacement fridge, a Whirlpool, the door for the broken fridge arrives via Fed-ex which just dropped it off onto our front porch never ringing the doorbell. We called Sears to inform them that we were now in possession of the door. Somehow we learn that we now have two service plans on two fridges neither of which we own since one belonged to the broken one and the other policy to another one we did not own. So last night my husband spent another two hours on the phone trying to correct the billing problem, the service agreement and the $800. door that is still sitting on our front porch awaiting pick-up 3 wks later. Well now it seems Sears voided the warranty of the brand new Whirlpool cause we didn't pay for it since it was a traded replacement for the broken model. I don't know how they can legally do that since this is a new model out-of-the-box but they said they did so we were forced to buy another service agreement so our brand new Whirlpool would have a warranty. Now I hear that Sears may be closing soon. I live in a small rural town. We have to travel over 60 miles to get to a Sears department store and 30 miles to a catalog store. We have dealth with Sears for 30+ years. It use to be that they back their products and treated customers with respect but this is no longer the case. My husband handled all the phone conversation with Sears and he was only treated with respect by a few Sears employess but many were rude and nasty. I like dealing with Sears because of their repair service but now I'm beginning to wonder if it is worth it anymore.

My son purchased a Kenmore freezer from Sears. The sides of the freezer gets really hot at times and has scorched my floor where it is setting. Callled an had a technician look at it and he said it was natural for the sides to get hot. I have had a service technician out here five times. I also talked to the new manager of the store it was purchased and he said it was not natural for he was a technician. I have missed two days of work waiting for the tech to come and was called late in the day to say that the technician was not coming. I was told after five complaintes that the freezer would be replaced, but that did not happen. Was offered a hundred off of a four hundred dollar fan, that means that I would be paying the same price for the fan as what the freezer cost. The warrenty is not worth the paper it is written on. Sears does not stand behind their products. Mary Balser 3 years ago.

We bought 2 Kenmore elite units from Sears, a matching freezer and fridge. After 4 years the compressors on both failed, the freezer went first and then the fridge. 4 years on a freezer or fridge is ridiculous, normal use expectancy on items like these is 10 to 15 years. Both units had a "Full 5 year warranty on sealed cooling units", this was declared very visibly on page 3 of the information packets. However Sears won't honor their warranty, they wanted us to pay for the repairs, and similar to another comment they wanted us to buy additional warranty protection on our already defective unit. Totally ridiculous! We have been lifetime Sears/Kenmore users, the Sears of today is not the Sears of the past. I remember when they actually honored warranties without arguing, one phone call and quite often a repairman would be out within hours. Bottom line is we'll NEVER buy anything from Sears again, we're boycotting them. We had to throw out the defective units as they weren't worth repairing, we purchased a nice Whirlpool Gold refrigerator/freezer from a competitor that actually stands behind their sold products. I recommend that anyone considering buying from Sears go elsewhere, they have all the signs of a company in decline.

Well don't ever buy a central heat and air unit from Sears. I chose Sears thinking that "SEARS" techs were going to do the install and it would be done through a reputable company that I could go back to if there were problems. I was mistaken. Instead they sent a contracting crew from 4hrs away. In the first hour they were there they cut the return vent to large for the vent they brought, dropped a carpet blower through the roof, marked up my walls were they were going to cut with a sharpie then cut elsewhere. By the time they were done, they installed the drain from the unit in the ceiling incorrectly so water filled the pan, and installed the emergency shut-off float wrong so the pan over-flowed ruining a portion of the ceiling. They completely tore up the walls that they had to go through and half of the vents were uneven to the walls. It took a confrontation on the phone to get the project manager out to see the problems. Finally he saw what had happened and made them return to fix it. I promise it wasn't next day service. This was in 06. In August it will be 3 years old. Since then I had to replace the thermostat (wouldn't cover it under warranty) and somthing in the control board in the main unit messed up. ( They didn't want to warranty that last year either, but the service tech talked them into it...). Now the coolant is leaking and they want $100.00 to send out a tech to fix it claiming no labor warranty remains. I tried to find who actually manuf. the unit (as it is a KENMORE) and was given the number to a company that doesn't have anything to do with Kenmore. No one in customer service can do anything but ask you for you telephone number and verify your address. That is if you can make your way through the automated operating system which seems to take you through the galaxy and back. I don't mind pushing a number to get me to the right department, but spending 15 mins through automated operating system is asking a bit much. Then once you get to talk to someone, they get your information and say "please hold" only to disconnect you. SEARS SUCKS. NO Satisfaction. Maybe they should stop building houses in a week and start taking care of customers.

Sears won't honor their warranty on my water heater. I purchased it four years ago and it came with a 12 year warranty on parts. Two years ago the Thermo coupler broke. The guy didn't come for a week and when he did, told me that he was replacing them on all their units. Seems their cheap china parts all broke. Same damn thing broke again. And again, they can't come out for a week. It's freaking cold now. My local plumbing/heating guy came out and told me he would put the part on but Sears won't sell it to him. They won't sell it to me either and honor my warranty. If if came with a warranty, what's the problem with them? Seems a little illegal, don't you think?

buyer beware! STAY AWAY FROM SEARS
i made the horrible mistake of purchasing a kennmore elite oasis h/e top loading match
ing washer & dryer along with a extended warranty that was purchased three years ago
if you have this if you have junk check the inside cabinet mine is full of rust of course
sears says we don"t cover rust that's youre problen and wanted to know if i (get ready for this one)the warranty service actually asked me if i washe cloths OUTSIDE to make along story short i will never purchase anything else from sears my next call is to the
better busniess bureau to file a complaint and to anyome elese who will listen!10-2609
10-26-09
marie
uniontown, pa.

I agree with all the complaints and add one million to them. Our appliances are covered by Sears warranties but God forbid if one of the appliances stops working. Sears tries everything they can not to replace with a new product. They will tell you that a certain part is needed and when it doesn't arrive, it's always on back order and they are trying to locate one from another vendor. LIES LIES LIES--When the part finally arrives and is installed, the appliance stops working again and they are forced to replace with a new product. They even have the nerve to offer you a measly 10.00 gift card after they get tired of hearing complaints to get you off the phone. Come on now Sears--It looks like you will be the next company that will be closing.

07/10/2010
Fed up in Memphis

I am a senior citizen with Diabetes, heart condition. I cannot get service repair for my Upright Bissell vacuum Cleaner.
Model 2143950; Serial [protected]. Bought this machine at Sears store at 1900 W. Lawrence Avenue in Chicago in 2007. Purchased Master Protection Agreement for this item every year.Certificate # [protected] 00030, expiration date: 03/19/2011.Product is faulty was under repair during 9/08. Then September 2010. vacuum wouldn't suction and handle at the back was loose. Brought for repair to 1900 West Lawrence Sears, Chicago store on 9/3/2010, the vacuum cleaner was shipped for repair to Sears Repair center at 2063 George Street, Melrose, IL 60160. Was shipped back to Sears at 1900 W. Lawrence, Chicago on 9/14/2010. Picked it up the same evening. 9/15/10 vacuumed my 2-bedroom apartment, and then tried to empty dirt canister, which couldn't be open because gray funnel (inner Cyclone) part of in the upper track collapsed and blocked dirt canister from opening. On 9/16/10, brought machine back to Sears at 1900 W. Lawrence, spoke to a Manager, Dean Prjansky. He somehow was able to release dirt canister, and when he did, Grey Funnel (inner Cyclone), not sure of the name of the part, fall off. The louvers located in the upper portion of of inner cyclone were loose, sliding them straight down on the top of the inner cyclone couldn't be possible because they were not holding.So, 9/16/10, vacuum Cleaner was sent for a second time this year, 2010 for repair at the Sears Repair shop from 1900 W. Lawrence Chicago to 2063 George Street, Melrose Park Repair center. I received call on 9/24/2010 from Sears at 1900 W. Lawrence in Chicago that according to Sears Repair center at Melrose park, IL that I have abused or misused vacuum Cleaner that they found "Dry Wall" particles inside of it? The status of my Vacuum Cleaner is "Waiting for Approval", so they can charge me $208.00 to repair it, while disregarding my Master protection Agreement. To your attention please-This is OUTRAGEOUS LIE! I use " Nature's Choice Carpet and Room Deodorizer powder, which, I gently sprinkle in moderate portion on carpet, wait 15 minutes, and then vacuum. So, the particles they found was not a dry wall but a carpet deodorizer powder. I also use Arm and hammer brand, both are legitimate products designed to make carpet fresh. Vacuum cleaner should not be breaking because of that, What does the gray funnel collapse has to do with carpet deodorizing powder? I have 2-bedroom apartment, and I vacuum once, sometimes, twice per week. Your Repair shop representatives are taking advantage of ill Senior Citizens who live on a fixed income and are alone. They don't want to do their job, so they come up with outrageous excuses just to sack up the last money person got on Social Security fixed income.
Please note that I asked to get new machine or get gift certificate and I was told that it is up to Sears repair shop to determine what is the right course of action. They gave me 2 phone numbers, I keep calling to Sears Repair shop, Melrose, IL, and I get busy signal. besides, it is a long distance from call, I cannot afford calling there. [protected], and [protected]
I also called to sears corporate to allege complaints, all befallen on a deaf ear. They say they got my complain, but nothing is happening.

Scott,
I've sent my e-mail to your e-mail mentioned 5 times already. You obviously didn't get any of them.Andrea W.
Sears Cares - Senior Case Manager
Sears Holdings Corporation "I apologize but we will be unable to assist you with this concern. Our research has shown that you already have a case with our office Once we receive a complaint via letter form, you are assigned a Case Manager who will handle any questions or concerns regarding your issue. I have forwarded over your recent emails to your case manger and you should be contacted on [protected]"

Brian Major is my case manager who does nothing. He hasn't answerd my phone calls and e-mails.
I am also Mia2, the person, who wrote the same message using tdifferent account number.
I sent you message on the board with Mia 2 account, and you have never bothered to reply on any of them.

Everyone needs to read the fine print, like I did, and realize that if you decide that you don't need the protection agreement within one year of it's purchase, you can get the money you spent on it refunded.

Sorry to break this news to people, but Sears is one of the best retailers in the country, as far as customer service is concerned. Nobody else offers a warranty that will cover your product indefinately, and then renfund your money within the year if you're not satisfied. That's even if you get it repaired during that time.

Only Sears can give it's customers that kind or customer service and peace of mind.

Proud Sears Customer.

DO NOT BUY ELECTRONIC WARRANTIES FROM SEARS... VERY ANGRY CUSTOMER... In 2008 my mother-in-law went with me to pusrchase a tv. The salesman told me that the warranty covered evertything INCLUDING ACCIDENTS. So being my husband and I had 1 year old twins, I called him to see if we should purchase the 5 year warranty instead of the 3 even though it was more money it was safer with the kids. So being that I trusted the associate. I purshed the 5 year warranty for our 40 inch sony. Well now that our tv is broken from an accident and it is almost as much as the tv. I am getting told I shoud of read the warranty contract and cancelled it. I guess basically it is ok that there sales people can lie to make there comissons but not ok for the customer to get statifaction when something happens. well they have just lost alot of customers that spend alot of money there because they have no idea how to make mistakes from there assicoates right... so be very careful of sneaky sears ways... not only that my friend paid a lot of money in intrest because they go by there billing date not the date of purchase... BECAREFUL. I can't believe that the still have people shop there...

Purchased a new top of the line Maytag double oven at Sears in Canton, Ohio. Purchased the extended warranty. Oven smells of gas and the racks fall through. Sears will not replace even though I have the warranty. i have spend hours and hours AND HOURS on the phone with the warranty department only to be given the run around consistently. I do not know what to do next, the stove is only 8 months old, but I told SEARS shortly after it was delivered that it leaked gas, was told Sears would not do anything until after 30 days. It turns out that after 30 days SEARS will not return the item and you have to deal with the warranty department which will give you the run around, transfer you to department after department, will not return phone calls, I am at my wits end. I paid over $1, 700.00 for this stove and I have been cheated like I have never been cheated in my entire life. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM SEARS, DO NOT PURCHASE THE WARRANTY--IT IS A FRAUD. SEARS IS CORRUPT. SOMETHING IS TERRIBLY WRONG WITH SEARS. I AM TOTALLY AGHAST AT THIS SITUATION. i WAS TOLD A MANAGER WOULD CALL ME BACK SUNDAY AND THEY NEVER DID. A REPAIRMAN WAS HERE FRIDAY AND SAID THE STOVE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED and that this is the sixth Maytag stove of this type he has been out to repair with the same complaint AND SEARS DENIES THE REPAIRMAN'S FINDINGS. HELP ME PLEASE. WHY IS SEARS CHEATING THEIR LONG TIME CUSTOMERS? WHAT IS GOING ON HERE.

I bought carpet and wilsonart flooring in 2000. when they pulled up my dinning room carpet, there was a half inch difference with the kitchen, and since they had miscalculated sears had to put additional flooring down to make it level with the kitchen. the installers used pergo glue and not wilsonart. the carpet had a dye shift down the middle. 5 months later they had to replace my carpet and kitchen flooring.I had purchased the Sears Premium heavy padding for under the carpet and I heard one of the installers comment to the other installer why I was replacing my old pad for "this". I didn't give it much thought until later. My wilsonart flooring started to curl up on the edges and sears replaced it. the new carpet they brought was not even sears carpet but some Brillo pad junk that was terrible. The manager came out and agreed that the 2ND carpet was not sears, so they came out a 3rd time to replace carpet. I had to sign off on the new carpet before they installed. Now in 2009 there was a seam in the carpet that needed to be re-glued, sears said that they would pay for the cost of repair, but I would have to sign with witnesses, to cancel my "lifetime" warranty. I did not fix the 6 inch unglued section yet. The premium pad that was to last 20 or more years is hard as a brick completely disintegrated. when I called and asked about the premium padding, the service person said they no longer had information about the specifics on the premium padding sold back then. They replaced my carpet 2 times, and my wilsonart 1 time, I am glad that they didn't make any money on my sale. However, I think to compensate for their cost for the dinning room floor they switched the premium padding with the lowest grade padding. The parts of my house that has 18yr old carpet has more padding then my 12 year carpet. I never shop at Sears now.

I always have my appliances covered under a Master Protection Agreement with Sears. In Feb/March of this year (2014) my contracts expired and I was not financially able to renew at that moment, but was able to do so on May 4. I placed 10 of my appliances/electronics under warranty (most of which had previously been under contract anyway). On June 17 I called Sears to ask for a service on my washing machine which was beginning to make a noise during the final spin cycle. On June 26 the technician came but immediately began complaining about the lack of space/room of where the washer was located. I told him we would have to move the washer away from the wall and away from the surrounding cabinetry and push it a few feet into a wider area in which he could work. HE NEVER EVEN OPENED THE WASHER DOOR, NOR DID HE DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. He kept complaining about the limited work space. I told him, "You don't even know what's wrong with the machine yet you are complaining about the work space?" So he asked what was wrong with it, and I explained about the noise it was making. He walked to the side to make a phone call. I could hear him asking someone to verify my warranty contract, and then he came back to me and said that since my contract was initiated in May, and we were now in mid-June, he could not honor the contract and it would have to be voided or cancelled. I could not believe what I was hearing. I requested the service call 45 days after initiating the contract. I placed all my appliances under contract, not just the washer. I kept arguing with him that it was absurd, and I insisted that he at least look at the washer to see what was wrong with it. He walked away once again and placed several calls. I heard him saying that my washer was "irreparable" and suggested that my contract be cancelled. A few minutes later he came to me with a printout from his portable computer and said, "Here is what will happen." He told me exactly what was reflected on the printout: that my contract was purchased in May, which means it will be voided and cancelled since we were only in the month of June. I responded with, "How can you do such a thing? On what grounds?" He said that it was the decision of Sears. I argued that I heard his conversation and I heard HIM telling them that the washer was irreparable and the contract should be cancelled. It was HIS suggestion because he did not want to move the washer and do the work. HE NEVER EVEN OPENED THE WASHER DOOR TO LOOK AT IT! As he walked out my front door, I asked him for his name, and he said "Hector Gonzalez." I immediately called Sears and reported what had happened. They said they would look into it. Three hours later I received a call from a local Service Dept supervisor who told me that the technician did not honor the repair because my contract had a 90-day elimination period and that the contract would not be voided. I said, "How can I have a 90-day elimination period on a 12-month contract? That's ridiculous!" She insisted that that was the end of the story and hung up on me. I called Customer Solutions again and complained about the supervisor's call. They told me that it was not true about the 90-day elimination period and told me I had a valid contract which was NOT being cancelled and they ordered that a technician come to my home again three days later. I had to stay home on this second occasion and waited all day long. No one came; no one called. At 3 pm I called Sears Customer Solutions. They said it seems that the Service Dept had cancelled the appointment and rescheduled for two days later, all without informing ME! So I had to take yet another day and sit home, and guess what? Yep. No one came, no one called. I called Customer Solutions and they told me it seems that my appointment had been cancelled by the very same Service Department. Now my case was being passed around from dept to dept as they began investigating. The Service Dept kept insisting that my contract was invalid and they were refusing to service me, yet Sears Corporate, through Customer Solutions, kept telling me my contract was valid and they rescheduled my service appointment yet one more time. Of course the Service Department cancelled that one too. I spent over one week calling Customer Solutions on a daily basis, sometimes on the phone for five hours at a time, trying to get this resolved, but no luck. One of the reps even read me the service tech's notes regarding his visit to my home, and he claims that the problem with my washer was a "pre-existing condition" so my contract should be voided based on that. And guess what? His name was not Hector Gonzalez, as he told me! He lied to me when I asked for his name! So now I am fighting with Sears Customer Solutions, trying to find out how a service tech can come to the conclusion that I had a pre-existing condition when he never even looked at the machine nor diagnosed it! He just did NOT want to do the work! At first the excuse was that I had recently taken out the warranty contract and I called too soon. Then it was that I had a 90-day elimination period. Then he said that my machine was old and not worth the money for Sears to repair it. Then, after Sears Corporate said that my contract was valid and the repair had to be made, the excuse was that it was a pre-existing condition. Now a Customer Solutions supervisor reads the notes of the tech stating that it was a pre-existing condition, and he says, "Oh, the tech says her problem is pre-existing, so we cannot honor the repair. Case closed." THE TECHNICIAN NEVER DIAGNOSED MY PROBLEM! HE NEVER LOOKED AT THE MACHINE! SO BASED ON WHAT IS IT PRE-EXISTING? WHAT IS THE DIAGNOSIS? WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE MACHINE? No one knows because no one ever checked it. IS THERE ANYONE IN SEARS WHO UNDERSTANDS THE GROSS NEGLIGENCE THAT IS HAPPENING HERE? THE TECHNICIAN LIED ABOUT HIS NAME; HE LIED ABOUT MY CONTRACT; HE LIED ABOUT THE ELIMINATION PERIOD; HE CAME TO MY HOME AND NEVER EVEN CHECKED THE MACHINE; HE COMPLAINED ABOUT HAVING TO WORK ON THE WASHER IN ITS PRESENT LOCATION, THAT THERE WAS LITTLE ROOM TO WORK; AND THEN HE CLAIMED IT WAS A PRE-EXISTING CONDITION WITHOUT LOOKING AT IT? I exhort Sears Corporate personnel or someone with authority to contact me to make this right, or else I will be talking to my attorney. THIS IS JUST NOT RIGHT! bobbienytopr@gmail.com

I recently ordered three Craftsman ball-bearing tool chests from Sears.com. Total cost around $1000. Here's my experience:

1) One tool chest arrived, as promised.

2) One tool chest got lost and was then damaged in shipment. Sears emailed me that UPS had it in transit. In fact, after several attempts at UPS tracking it turned out that UPS never received the chest. Instead, it went to a third party who pretty much destroyed it in transit (partly a testament to the poor build quality of the chest). Bad news is that Sears.com (which advertises 24/7 service) was down most of the week -- I tried more than a dozen times to find it up twice. Just as bad, the active site was of no help and also didn't provide a phone for service. I finally found a phone number through Google and then spent half an hour wasted with little help. They tell me I can go to a store. Good news is that after driving 12 miles to the store, it "ONLY" takes 1.5 hours to get a replacemnt.

3) The third item, which I had delivered to the store, is apparently lost somewhere in their system. It was promised it a week ago. I drove to the store -- it's not there. It was then promised two days later for sure. I again drive to the store -- still not there and the overly-busy stock person doesn't have time to find it. The Sears manager refused to let me take the floor model (an identical model) despite my need to have this ASAP for a planned event. I later call Sears to find out when it will arrive. Spend 10 minutes on the phone. They disconnect me and don't call back. I then call the store. I get "human resources" when I ask for "merchandise pickup" from the phone tree. Human resources say they're doing this job too and won't know for another day if they have it . . .

The bottom line here is:

1) The quality of Sears Craftsman products is deteriorating, witness the tool chest that bent like a pretzel. I'd given up buying Sears power tools decades ago, after they outsourced parts (thus eventually destroying their power tool franchise). At this point, low price suppliers like Grizzly and Harbor Freight -- pretty much the bottom of the barrel -- make equally good tool chests.

2) The IT staff running Sears.com is apparently incompetent. I've never seen a major retailer site that was so poorly designed, that led to so many broken links, and then was down for days at a time.

3) Sears logistics is abysmal. They have no idea who has their merchandise, where their merchandise is, or when it might arrive.

4) Sears customer support is hit or miss. I've had more than two dozen attempted contacts and a dozen contacts in my quest to get the three items I ordered. About half the Sears people tried (but failed because they didn't have any systems support or their systems were down) to be helpful. A few were simply incompetent or maddening.

Sears could have been a great success story, gracefully migrating their catalog business to the Web, continuing to offer excellent Sears-branded merchandise, and supplementing their Sears.com presence with a well-integrated physical presence -- their stores. Sadly, I suspect it is too late for any of this to happen.

From: Message Author (click here to email author) (has asked not to receive email)
Date: Tuesday, 12-Aug-08 18:11:48 CDT

Business: Reply Online Consumer: Comment On This
Comment On This

It's like reading my very own story only I attempted to order a TV.

I won't go into details here, as I posted my rant on this site as well.

It's the people's attitude that floors me and absolutely makes me see red. I don't want excuses, I just want someone to fix it. Don't get nasty with me simply because your company can't tell a hole in the ground when it sees one.

I would have tried sears again if not for the attitude of the reps. As it was, I spent $100 more at a competitor and don't feel cheated at all.

My Kenmore dishwasher was no longer working correctly. I was recently out of warranty I called to have a service call to determine source of [roblem, edt of cost to repair so I may decide to repair or buy a new machine.
3 days off work, many phone calls and confirmed appointments, the serviceman called and agreed to show on a sat morning.

He did show with a young fellow, 'he was teaching the ropes'. In ~2-3 minutes without taking anything apart he says I have I have a worn out pump and a leaking drum. No water had showed because the leak was as yet small and at the back.

These are 2 of the 3 most expensive parts. I suggested that I'll just buy new to which he praised the old machines and degraded the new.
I heard him on the phone trying to source a pump privately.
I wanted him out, I would think it over, He handed me a bill for my sears account and left.

I called the sears store and after a very lengthy bouncing from one dept, service centre to another, along with no returned calls got no one responsible.

After a week of calling, I went to the store and remained at customer service promised a manager for a couple of hours but no showed. I returned and again waited until a young woman showed. She said she was very new and did seem concerned. She was more concerned as they do not have service calls on sat. That was an incorrect manner to source parts, and the invoice was not in the system.

We had found a service guy scamming. She would take this up the ladder. I thanker but advised I would not be paying for another call.

I tried to get another service guy but was promised but ignored or the same guy was to be sent out. I clearly stated I did not want this man in my house.

Nothing happened.

After some 25 phone calls and 18 written request to have this sorted out I refused to pay any more on my account.I was in touch with their Can. head office e mailing Directors. I was passed to a woman, who pormised an account review and a credit. Further I was given a managers name.

He was too busy for ~6 wks. He would look into it. I sent in material good faith payment. I had to chase him down some 2.5 months latter. He says he just wants this to go away, he has nothing to do with service. I told him I needed another dishwasher and suggested we could work out something on the price,

In the meantime the HO lady advised via voice mail of my credit which does not cover the now included service charge and interest. I never did get to speak to her again. I followed there credit dept to the US where I was told that they an arms lenght company owned all the sears account charges and the store dealth with the products. No credit. Not their problem. I pointed out that they have a contract to purchase current charges a a discount for this sort of issue etc, so they could adjust my account to no avail.

The locale manager said he would take up the interest, service call issue and we agreed on a credit but only if I purchased the new dishwasher. I did and he didn't.

I bought the unit, it was installed three days late, the felliow left all packaging materials and came alone so I had to help him carry this up the stairs.

The managers cell number was no longer in service, he would not return calls. HO says he denied any such arrangement. I provided a breakdown with all charges a good faith (3) payments and a bal. I offered to pay bal less s/c, half of latest delivery/installation and interest since problem. They ignored and then refused.

I refused to pay. The interest kept mounting. I have invited them to sue me, they will not. They point out the damage to my credit rating. They refuse to report this as a disputed amount.

The debt will one day disappear due to the time limitations. I have not purchased another item from Sears.

Looks like everyone lost and they could care less, must be part of their business plan. X % loss due to poor products/service/etc. as a part of reserve for write offs.

Nice business. Refuse to pay them, write a letter to co. and BBB, local politician. Be prepared to go to court, although they do not sue as they would lose, and its bad for image . Enough people put up with the rip offs and bullying to keep them profitable.

If they screw you don't pay, don't buy again only when profits drop enough will there be a change.

At least they are in good company with a lost of those sub prime lending bankers, non disclosure re blunders of debt and the worst used car salesmen.