What’s your problem? Sears “oven insurance” didn’t cover my range

Question:I’m having some difficulty getting Sears to honor its protection agreement that they sold to me two months after I purchased a Kenmore range.

I bought the unit at the Sears outlet store. A sales person said that the only problem with the unit was the small scratches on the side. Since the range was going between the cabinets and they were not going to be visible, it didn’t matter.

Once the range was brought home and installed, the light did not work, the feet of the unit did not function so it could not be leveled on the floor and all five of the burner adjustments on the unit did not work properly.

I called the Sears repair service and they sent someone out to have the unit looked at. The service man agreed that the unit needed to be repaired and ordered the parts. He said that when they came in that I would have to replace the parts myself. I thought that that was ridiculous so I called the repair service when the parts arrived and they sent a different person to install the replacement parts.

After changing the necessary parts, the technician said the entire valve system had to be replaced. But he said it might not solve the problem, and that the unit may not be repairable.

I then received a phone call from Sears protection agreement insurance department to sell me a policy for my Kenmore Range. They told me that they were aware that my range already had two repair services done to the unit and that if it were to have four within the year or the unit was deemed unrepairable by the repairman, that with this particular agreement Sears would replace the unit with a brand new one.

I bought the insurance. A technician later determined the unit wasn’t repairable.

After trying to call Sears several times, I finally reached a representative who told me the best he could do was to charge me the difference in cost for a new unit. I don’t think that’s fair. Sears sold me an insurance policy, and I’d like the new range they promised. Can you help? — Anthony Guglielmo, Wantagh, NY

Answer: Sears shouldn’t have sold you a non-working oven. When the oven failed to perform, it should have replaced it immediately, no questions asked.

I’m not sure if I understand why insurance on an appliance is even necessary. It doesn’t matter where you bought the range, the manufacturer and the retailer and manufacturer should stand behind them. In Kenmore’s case, the two are essentially one and the same.

You spend a heck of a lot of time on the phone with Sears. I might have put your grievance in writing, to better track your problem. (By the way, all Sears email follow the convention firstname.lastname@searshc.com.) Forwarding your email to a supervisor would almost certainly ensure your case would be assigned a higher priority.

The fact that you bought the oven from an outlet store should have no bearing on the purchase. As you noted, the only defect were a few scratches on the side of the unit. No one told you the oven didn’t work, and had you known, I’m sure you wouldn’t have bought it.

I contacted Sears on your behalf. While its records do not show you have a purchase protection agreement, your range is covered under the manufacturer’s warranty. Sears says you can return the oven to the outlet store and select another range or receive a full refund.

(Photo: Kenneth Moy le/Flickr)

  • Bettenan

    Sears customer service is the worst. We had a repair issue with our three month old lawn mower that was a total debacle. After hours on the phone, with no help. I finally posted something (negative) on Sears facebook page. That got their attention quickly and we were assigned a special CSR that personally handled the problem. It was then resolved. It was an experience that made us decide never to buy another Sears/Kenmore product again.

  • Kelli O’Keefe

    Great job, Christopher (as I posted on LinkedIn).  I have worked with this company in the past.  Their Blue Ribbon team takes incoming orders for estimates under the guise of being free.  Then, once they get to a residence – they use strong-arm/hard core sales tactics to get the prospect to pay for the product they just requested an estimate on.  We were able to get this documented and sent to the attention of the regional manager so that he would make sure the order-takers ceased telling people that estimates are free (on certain products).  The prospect obviously chose another vendor; however, the company sent an apology letter along with a gift card as a good faith gesture.  

  • Grant

    There’s another shoe to be dropped here. Does Mr. Guglielmo have a purchase protection agreement or not? He says he does. If he can prove it, there’s no way he should have have to drag a full-size oven back to the store to get satisfaction. Typical Sears. How this place is still in business is a mystery to me. :-(  

  • Kimber

    When I bought my last oven from Sears, I paid extra for a premium model with a convection oven, which didn’t work properly from the first day.  The third repairman told me that I was expecting “too much” for it to work the way it was advertised.  I called the salesperson directly and told them to either get a new oven to replace it or they could come and pick it up along with the dishwasher, fridge, washer & dryer I had also purchased for my new house.  I had a new unit two days later.  You shouldn’t have to issue threats to get standard service, but that is apparently what Sears makes its customers stoop to.

  • Clsmarinabay1

    I have never had a successful experience with Sears. They even told me they didn’t want to sell to me

  • pine hollow lodging

    we have had nothing but problems wtih Sears service and repair. We bought a rider mower and refrigerator from them. At the time we were second home owners and the ONLY time they serviced our area was on Thursdays; we came up on Fridays. When I suggested they could do the repair when I wasn’t there (like every other repair company in our area does – hey, some people actually work during the day!) I was told that they can’t do that; someone had to be there.

    Twice, when I rescheduled my life to accommodate a Thursday repair date, they didn’t show up. When I called to find out where the guy was, I was told the appointment was cancelled.

    Once they did an inadequate repair. My neighbor ended up fixing it.

    I have also found the warantees to be crappy and now we exclusively use local people to do any appliance or small engine repairs.  I was really committed to Sears and their in house brands. I haven’t stepped foot in a Sears in about ten years, since we had these bad experiences.

  • Dave

    Remember that Sears is Sears in name only — the company was purchased by KMart but the combined company kept the Sears name, and the KMart name isn’t really associated with anything except “cheap” (and I don’t mean “inexpensive”).  Once upon a time Sears was a name associated with quality, but that was on a downhill slide long before the merger.  The only Sears brand name that still means quality is Craftsman, and now those tools are available in other stores, too, so no need to go to Sears, where the sales clerks often don’t have a clue about the products they sell!

  • Anonymous

    I would point out that Sears is not actually a manufacturer of anything.  They have some of the best known house brands, but the manufacturers can and do change over time.  At various times their DieHard auto batteries have been made by Delco, Exide, and (now exclusively) Johnson Controls.  Their Craftsmen tools have been made by many different suppliers over the years.  I had a knew someone who worked for one of their paint/detergent suppliers (DeSoto) and she was able to get cases of Weatherbeater paint and Sears laundry detergent at bargain prices.  Their appliances have been from Maytag, Whirlpool (I know this because a listed patent on the label was from Whirlpool), Amana, and possibly any and all of the major or minor US appliance manufacturers at one time or another.

    The don’t stand behind the product they sell as a manufacturer, but as a reseller.  They may offer to fix or replace, but the replacement could very well be made by someone other than the original manufacturer.  I have had pretty good success returning their Craftsmen tools – including screwdrivers that were pretty badly worn and/or rusted.  I had a coworker who told me about finding a damaged and abandoned Craftsmen hand tool on the sidewalk.  He took it into a Sears store and got a replacement with no questions asked.

    I knew someone who bought an Amana refrigerator at a Sears Outlet store at a super cheap price.  It had a damaged handle, which was actually pretty easy to fix.  It was also missing a plastic cover over the lower radiator grill, and a call to Amana customer service yielded a new one – no questions asked.

  • Flolotrowski

    By selling a range that was non functional, Sears was guilty of consumer fraud, in that they misrepresented the status of the range, and violated two implied warranties: merchantability and fitness for use.  Since this range did not function as a range, Sears should either have replaced the range or given the consumer a refund.  If the range was purchased with a credit card, the consumer could have written a letter to the credit card company delineating the problems and requested a chargeback.  American Express is especially responsive when the quality of an item is not as represented.

  • Carrie Charney

    Any money he shelled out for repairs should be refunded as well….and what he paid for the insurance policy he didn’t need.

  • KT

    BEWARE of OneTravel.com and Cheapoair.com they just gave us the most expensive flight from SFO to Palma de Mallorca and return and then charged and additional $800 fee for booking it!!!!

  • mad at sears

    we have a sears kenmore ranvge, purchased the master protection plan.   have had 8 service callsone call in 2009, five calls in 2010 and two in 2011 but four of the calls have been within the last 12 months. Sears has a policy to replace your appliance if they can’t seem to get the repair right. But of course when we made a request for a new range (you guessed it) Sears backed out.  They came up with an excuse about why they will  not replace the range.  They offered an additional 3 months on the protection plan and closed my case.  

    I would say to all would be Sears appliance purchasers, don’t do it and definitely don’t buy their protections plans.   You’re gonna get screwed.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_33QLGO557XEQXGVOTCA2DWMERM Firstname Lastname

    The ‘firstname lastname” in the story being the same as my ,moniker here is just a coincidence.
    I am in no way connected with fly by night sears.
    However, I do have an appliance repair business which I’ve operated successfully for over 30 years.
    Many years ago, sears invented the name “kenmore” as the name for all their appliance products and many other products.
    The way to determine who is the actual mfgr of an appliance is with the model #.
    If you have a dryer with the model # beginning with 110 then several more digits, it’s a Whirlpool~~typicaly a quality product.
    Model #’s beginning with 362 or others are mfgrd by a different company.
    I can’t tell you how many sears “repairs” I’ve had to actually correctly repair as, there have been so many over the years.

    The old warning of “caveat emptor” should apply to every sears purchase and also those from any & all other retailers.
    And, it should be given proper attention BEFORE making a purchase.

    Being an honest business person is an easy thing to be and very rewarding.
    I have customers which have been mine since the first contact.
    That is both financially rewarding and allows me to feel good about myself.
    Of course, I am THE MAN, not an employee so, I make the rules and, if I can’t do it right~~no charge.

    Now, the MAJOR irresponsibility that consumers demonstrate is shoving the owner’s manual in a drawer, never to be seen again.
    People, read the damn thing and save yourselves pain, heartache and MONEY.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_33QLGO557XEQXGVOTCA2DWMERM Firstname Lastname

    One more thing I’d like to say.
    For those of you who neurotically NEED to have a washer and/or dryer, the control panel of which looks like a control panel from NASA, who do you think you’re fooling other than yourself?

    There are more problems and more expensive repairs required with these “electronic” controls than old fashioned analog parts.

    What do these controls do?
    they turn the heating element on & off, on longer for ‘more dry’ and shorter intervals for “delicate” or etc.
    Clean the exhaust ALL THE WAY FROM THE DRYER TO OUT OF THE HOUSE.
    Use fabric softener in the washer instead of dryer sheets in the dryer which leave a residue on the lint filter and ON YOUR CLOTHES.
    If you’ve had your dryer for a while and use dryer sheets, put the lint filter under the faucet and watch it hold water.
    Clean the coils underneath your refrigerator REGULARLY.
    All these things for which you, the homeowner are responsible are in that manual you irresponsibly shoved into some drawer unread.

    I am the very rare honest repaiman however, I DO charge to correct what YOU should have done.
    SMDH

  • Bill V.

    >I am the very rare honest repaiman however, I DO charge to correct what YOU should have done.

    Sorry, I didn’t realize that buying modern appliances carried with it some great moral burden.

    It’s great that you’re an honest repairman, but why the disdain for your clients? Did it ever occur to you that we hire you because we don’t want to clean out our dryer exhaust or fridge coils, and can afford to pay someone who knows what they are doing to do it for us?

    Tell us what our appliances need, tell us how often, and then smile and collect the money. Trust me, it’s a win-win situation.