Sears Extended Warranties - More for less

[whirlcool]

I heard from my nutty sister today. She has a Kenmore HE3T washer she bought about 8 years ago. Each and every year she purchases and new extended warranty. The last time it was almost $300.00 for one year coverage. Her husband is not handy in the least so she buys extended warranties on everything!

Anyway the last time the machine was serviced the serviceman told her that the motherboard for the controls would have to be replaced pretty soon even though the washer was still working fine. This was about a year ago.

This past week, she went to use the washer and it wouldn't let her select the cycle she wanted. Plus the door boot has mold on it. She tried to clean it, but it wouldn't come clean. So she wanted that replaced.

She called her friendly Sears warranty agent and told her what was going on. She told the person on the other end of the phone that she thinks she needs a new motherboard because that's what the last guy that was there told her. So she goes through the unplug the unit for 5 minutes, restart the unit and other things with the Sears rep on the phone. Thirty minutes later they told her they would send somebody out to check the machine out. So they guy comes out takes the machine apart and tells her she needs a new motherboard and that he would have to order one. They leave.

Two weeks later they come back with the new motherboard. They install it and the machine would not even turn on. They get ready to leave and my sister threw a bitch fest their way about how is she supposed to do laundry now? Turns out the motherboard they brought out was defective.

The next day she gets a phone call from a Sears rep telling her that because of the age of the machine, they will not cover the motherboard or the door boot. She'll have to pay for that out of her own pocket even though she has an extended warranty. As my sister told it "Those bitches quickly realized that they pulled this crap on the wrong person". So she kept asking for supervisors until she reached the top guy who continued to tell her they will not cover the repairs.
What did she do next? She went to her local Sears store (Oakbrook) and pulled the best screaming hissy of her life on the store manager. I could just see it. People probably from the basement to the third floor probably heard her calling the store manager every name in the book! Remember with my sister you are not dealing with a rational person. You are dealing with an out of control bi-polar person that is also severely OCD. She told the store manager that if she didn't get satisfaction she would be back the next day and each and every day after that to repeat the same scene again.

The next day she gets a phone call from Sears warranty service saying they will cover the repair, provided they can find the parts needed.

Has anyone else ever experienced this kind of problem with Sears warranty service?

 

[yogitunes]

oh yeah....been there.....and YES, you will get better satisfaction from throwing a FIT inside the store....especially Sears Sale Saturday's.....

Go APE SHIT on their ASS......my machine was 2 years old.....and I got a complete refund for the entire set, warranty and all!

I had an issue with BestBuy over the first Neptune's I got.....once you drag that whole machine back to the store, and PARK it in the Entrance, and I was the one who called the Police there!.....they quickly responded with a new machine fast!

sometimes you just have to go to EXTREMES to get justice!....

 

[polkanut]

Allen,

<span style="font-size: small;">All I can say is WOW!</span>

 

[ken]

8 years old and already experiencing problems? Remember back when electronic components made things MORE dependable? Just what brand is a Kenmore HE3T?

 

[iheartmaytag]

Unfortunately

It isn't only Sear's.
Not defending Sear's--I hate them. Except for Donna in appliances, she's a peach.

I bought a Maytag Dishwasher from Lowe's, within six months the control panel went out. Because of this I bought the extended warranty when the original warranty was up. Then the second control panel went out, I called service. They sent out A&E and the guy ordered a new control panel as well as motor controller. Had to wait two weeks for the parts to come in while being without a dishwasher, and it was still full of water from the cycle that it stopped during.

At 18 months of age the bottom rack began rusting through. I contacted extended warranty and was advised that his is cosmetic and they didn't cover racks. Besides the last two repairs totaled more than the machine cost new and they would not cover any more repairs.
Well so much for their lemon provision.

When the control panel went out for the third time, I just replaced the machine.

 

[ken]

I apologize if this is hijacking the thread but seeing Martins comment about BestBuy brought to mind my sisters recent dealings with them. She bought a new RCA 55" flat screen TV to the tune of $800.00 from BestBuy at the end of December. She brought it home and placed it in the downstairs playroom still in the box. She didnt get around to setting it up until the Saturday night before Super Bowl Sunday. She and I were the ones to take it upstairs and set it up. When it was turned on there was nothing but a blue and gray striped screen with a black spot with spider webs radiating from it. Obviously the screen was cracked and it was that way when it was taken out of the store. There was no damage to the box.

She immediately called the store and was told to bring it back. But when she did she was told they wouldnt take it back as it was past their 15 day return period. Both she and her daughter got into a shouting match with the store manager but he just stood behind the 15 day return policy. Her daughter questioned what if something was purchased after Thanksgiving and given as a Christmas present and found to be broken. Would they take the same position and not accept it back? She was told yes. The manager stated that even if something were to be returned DURING the 15 day return period it could still be refused to be accepted back if they decided the customer had damaged it. Talk about covering their asses. Obviously what needs to be done with everyting purchased at Bestbuy is to demand it be taken out of the box and tested in the store before purchasing it.

My sister called customer service and got the same answer. Each time she called she asked to speak with a supervisor and the CSR told her they didnt have a supervisor. She filed complaints with the BBB and Atty General without results.

She purchased the TV on time so she is giving BestBuy her money in return for a hunk of plastic junk thats only good for recycling. She purchased the TV from BestBuy as a continuing customer but that made no difference to them. I told her not to pay for it but she wont do that because shes afraid of what it would do to her credit.

Her daughters bought her another TV as Sears. When the salesperson there heard the story concerning BestBuy he couldnt believe it. He said Sears would have taken the TV back no problem.

BestBuy SUCKS BIG TIME!

 

[ken]

I apologize if this is hijacking the thread but seeing Martins comment about BestBuy brought to mind my sisters recent dealings with them. She bought a new RCA 55" flat screen TV to the tune of $800.00 from BestBuy at the end of December. She brought it home and placed it in the downstairs playroom still in the box. She didnt get around to setting it up until the Saturday night before Super Bowl Sunday. She and I were the ones to take it upstairs and set it up. When it was turned on there was nothing but a blue and gray striped screen with a black spot with spider webs radiating from it. Obviously the screen was cracked and it was that way when it was taken out of the store. There was no damage to the box.

She immediately called the store and was told to bring it back. But when she did she was told they wouldnt take it back as it was past their 15 day return period. Both she and her daughter got into a shouting match with the store manager but he just stood behind the 15 day return policy. Her daughter questioned what if something was purchased after Thanksgiving and given as a Christmas present and found to be broken. Would they take the same position and not accept it back? She was told yes. The manager stated that even if something were to be returned DURING the 15 day return period it could still be refused to be accepted back if they decided the customer had damaged it. Talk about covering their asses. Obviously what needs to be done with everyting purchased at Bestbuy is to demand it be taken out of the box and tested in the store before purchasing it.

My sister called customer service and got the same answer. Each time she called she asked to speak with a supervisor and the CSR told her they didnt have a supervisor. She filed complaints with the BBB and Atty General without results.

She purchased the TV on time so she is giving BestBuy her money in return for a hunk of plastic junk thats only good for recycling. She purchased the TV from BestBuy as a continuing customer but that made no difference to them. I told her not to pay for it but she wont do that because shes afraid of what it would do to her credit.

Her daughters bought her another TV as Sears. When the salesperson there heard the story concerning BestBuy he couldnt believe it. He said Sears would have taken the TV back no problem.

BestBuy SUCKS BIG TIME!

 

[abcomatic]

Martin

I love it! Way to go. I never buy anything at Worst Buy any longer. I went to the store in Peoria and looked at all of the new washers for sale. A young couple was looking for one to buy; the salesman had no clue on anything. I told them what to look for etc. and told the salesman that I was that one that should get his commission.

 

[mark_wpduet]

Loved reading this

I've always wondered how the extended warranties worked when the machine starts getting older......What a shame she had to go through all that to get it sorted out.

And the other guy who hauled the washer to the store..........LOL .....

And Iheartmaytag..........What a nightmare with your dishwasher.......

I can't believe how lucky I have been with all my WP appliances for 9 years now. KNOCK ON WOOD!!

Not so much luck with my electric heat pump! THAT'S ANOTHER STORY

 

[whirlcool]

Well, my sister still has to wait for the new motherboard to arrive, and hope that it works when installed. The machine will work now, but it's stuck on the "regular" cycle.

To tell you the truth, I am so surprised this machine has lasted this long. She uses liquid Tide HE detergent by the cup full, she adds cup after cup of Downy to each wash load, and she never leaves the door open between wash days because her cats will jump in there and use the machine as a litter box. Yup, it happened several times.

Her daughter stuffs the machine so full of clothing that there is no movement of the clothes, all you see is a mass of clothes going around and around.

But yet the machine has no odors to it yet! Go figure. I mentioned to her that pretty soon the spider will start to go out and she flew into another hissy with me. Wrong subject to try to discuss with her.

She has probably paid for this machine two or three times in purchasing these extended warranties. Her 8 year old Kenmore Vacuum is still under one of these.
Sears has definitely made their money off of her.

And I am staying as far away as possible from this mess. I actually feel sorry for the repair guys. Who knows, she may even be throwing dinnerware at the repair guys when they come in to fix the machine, but her favorite thing is to scream at people at the top of her lungs using language that would make a sailor blush.

 

[mrb627]

How much?

Just how much did she spend in extended warranty for 8 years?

Malcolm

 

[whirlcool]

She said the last year of warranty the price went up to $289.00 for one year. It goes up each year of ownership. I think the first few years it was about $149.00 per year. She definitely paid for the machine twice.

The extended warranty on her vacuum is $87.00 per year and she bought it at the same time she bought the washer. For several years she had a Kirby, but when they bought this new house of theirs she gave it away and only used a Rumba on the carpets for several years. We were horrified over that little revelation.

I know that they just love buying things from Sears because of these warranties, plus her husband is pretty useless when it comes to fixing things. He's been stranded in his car a few times because he left it in Drive and the car wouldn't start that way. Someone has to come and put it in Park for him.

 

[sudsmaster]

When I got my Neptune 7500 set around 2001, I got what Maytag termed an "Extended Service Agreement", for about $120 per machine, with a seven year term. Note that they wouldn't refer to it as an extended warranty. I reckon this is for some legal reasons.

In any case, it paid off, because just after the regular warranty expired at three years, the washer needed major work: replacement of drive spindle/spider, replacement of motor and motor circuit board, and finally replacement of machine motherboard. Since then, it's worked flawlessly. Too well, in fact, because I'd sort of like to replace it with something bigger (or better) but the damn things won't die.

Well, the dryer (gas) did have some touch screen issues. I was able to resolve a silent chime issue by soldering back a loose connection. And then a lack of touch response by cleaning off the pins the ribbon connectors attached to and coating them with silicone dielectric grease. Since then, again, no problems. Oh, and the dryer control board was one that I had them replace at around the seven year mark because the screen looked funny. Well, in addition to the replacement failing, its screen now looks funnier than the original one. LOL. But it's legible, just a sort of blue splotch on the left side.