Sears
reviews and complaints

We purchased a refrigerator freezer from Sears?in the spring of 2000. It was a problem from the get go. You could grow old waiting for enough ice to come out the door to fill a glass, but would find puddles of water and ice cubes on the floor whenever it felt like dispensing them. It was serviced numerous times (probably between 6-10 times) but everyone said the same thing... there is nothing that can be done because it is just the way it was made, they are all like that? We quit trying and just learned to live with it? On 06-21-2007 my husband went to get some ice from the door dispenser and noticed what he thought was steam coming out of the chute, so he opened the freezer door? He was in shock to find the upper portion of the freezer was ablaze... Yes... ON FIRE! He suffered burns to his hand putting the fire out? I called sears and they said that they couldn't replace it unless a repair person came out and said it needed to be replaced. Time lost...waiting for him to come and verify it couldn't be fixed.? I thank God that our whole house didn't go up in flames.? We lost all our food and had to live out of a cooler for a week or better, but they did bring us a replacement.? Of course, it was dented and a major downgrade from our original one, but they did leave it till they could resolve the issue (and of course they took the old one with them). I made numerous phone calls to the customer service #, and would have to wait on hold every time from 35 minutes to 1 hour to get to speak to someone. They finally sent out the right model, and again, it was dented. I have called so many people, so many times, that I feel like I should be on the payroll... IT'S RIDICULOUS! Everytime they deliver to us, the unit is dented, warped, or scratched.?I called them once after waiting for 2 1/2 weeks, just to find out they never reordered it. Then they delivered another damaged unit. I called the store immediately and they said they would reorder. A week and a half later it was to be delivered.? They called us Thursday night (after 8:30pm) to say it would be delivered between 3-7pm the next day. [protected] came and no delivery. At 8pm I called the store and was told that they couldn't find it that morning when they loaded up for that days delivery.? "And was anybody going to let us know that", I asked.? "you mean nobody called you", they replied. "We're so sorry". By now, "SO SORRY" doesn't cut it. I called the store the next morning when the only person there that knows what she's doing (Deanna in appliances in the Sears store in Wilmington, NC) was working. It wasn't there because nobody had ordered it like they said they had. Deanna took care of the order herself and yesterday evening they delivered REFRIGERATOR#8-yes #8! and again it had a 3-4 inch dent in the side.? I do not understand where they are getting all these damaged units from and how difficult can it be to get a refrigerator from point A to point B? without damaging it? I am so leary of the icemaker--it's the same kind as the one that caught on fire. They say it was some kind of heater unit in the icemaker that ignited? You can believe that I took pictures before they took the unit and have filed an incident report with the consumer product safety commission because I don't want to see this happen to anyone else!? I don't know what else we can do but keep receiving and keep sending back the damaged units. It's just so frustrating that we have been dealing? with this for months now without a resolution. One guy in the appliance dept. once laughed and said "man that beats our record of 5" (meaning 5 damaged refrigerators). I'm glad somebody can laugh at our setting records... CAUSE IT'S NOT US!? Sears, I have lost all respect for you. Many years ago I would buy things from you even if they cost a little bit more because I knew if there was a problem you would stand behind it and make it right... boy how times have changed!

A friend of mine was just terminated because of a $60.00 mistake on a customers order and was interrogated for about two and a half hours not to mention all of the mental stress that was involved. Sears need to stop treating employees like dogs and treating them with respect, because they are not just employees they are friends and family of consumers. Needless to say I will no longer be giving my business to Sears or K-mart.

We bought an expensive "new but slightly dented" Kenmore washer at an appliance outlet. (We now think that the washer had been returned previously.)The delivery men did not level it or follow installation instructions. We had to do everything. The washer would not drain during the 1st & only time that we used it. A service code kept flashing & the machine kept beeping. We called the service number in the late evening and someone with a poor command of English yelled at us and said that we should instead call the store the next day. She could not tell us what the code meant, how to stop the beeping, or how to get it to unlock. We told the store to haul it away after spending much of the night hand rinsing and wringing out the clothes, after we finally managed to get it to unlock. We are still being charged the $60 plus tax delivery charge because it is "non-refundable." Efforts to get this resolved through customer service have been unsuccessful. We had been Sears credit card customers for 39 years. Not any longer.

Four years ago I purchased a Sears Kenmore Elite in addition to an oven/stove combo which totaled over $7,000 from Sears. Yesterday, I scheduled an appointment for the refrigerator that is no longer working, which I certainly didn’t expect since Consume Reports had extremely high ratings – the very reason for the purchase. (It's internal temperature is a steady 58 degrees.) I scheduled a service call for 9/13/07 I was told the technician would be at my home between 1pm and 5 pm, and that he would call before arriving. If there was no answer he would not service, and I would have to reschedule. (Which put me in a position to have to speak to solicitors all day.) At 4:00 pm, a Sears representative called to inform me that NO ONE would be showing up to fix the appliance, and that I had to “reschedule”. I was astounded!

The next closest appointment was 6 days away on 9/12, and then I have to be available ALL DAY! I was told since SOME of the parts are still under warranty, I am unable to call any other repair service, so I am technically held hostage by Sears. Everything that was in this state of the art refrigerator which we paid a couple of thousand dollars for has now spoiled.

I called to speak with the sales person who received the handsome commission from our purchase and it was no surprise that he was no longer there. I did speak with the Large Appliance Department Manager, Chris Devans, in the Danbury, CT store, who when I pleaded for assistance, told me, “there’s nothing I can do, it’s not my department.” Nice! Well guess what, I will NEVER purchase another thing from ANY department in Sears, and I don’t recommend any one else to shop there either as they don’t give two cents about you once you’ve purchased the item. They may have made money on this sale, but they most definitely LOST any future business from me, my friends, family, and any one else to whom I can relate this story.

We ordered a stove and microhood from Sears.com and picked it up at West Lebanon NH store. The stove and microwave were both malfunctioning from day 1. The microwave made a chirping noise whenever we would use it and the front door on the stove could not be removed due to an improperly functioning hinge. We called Sears to come fix these problems. Big Mistake.

Visit 1: Repairman comes to assess the situation. Orders a hinge for the stove and a new motor for the microwave.

Visit 2: Repairman comes to work on stove and determines that the wrong hinge was sent. He can not work on microwave, because he doesn't have the work order. He tells us that we need to uninstall the microwave anyway for him to change the part.

Visit 3: We uninstall the microwave before this visit. Another repairman comes and is confused as to why the first guy thought we needed to uninstall it. He replaces the microwave motor and does not test the microwave before leaving. He uses a hammer to remove the door from the stove and installs the hinge in the stove that the previous guy thought was the wrong one. He then breaks the outer glass on the stove door and reinstalls it.

Now he leaves. I test the microwave and it turns out he installed the wrong motor in the wrong place and now it not only chirps, but the turn table is broken. The oven door does not stay closed enough to turn out the oven light. We called Sears.com and they agreed to replace the appliances, which is great! It then takes two days of going between Sears.com and the store we picked up the appliances from getting the run around and being sent in circles to finally get to a point where someone at Sears.com finally figured out what needed to be done and took care of it.

I bought a Sears Kenmore side by side model # [protected] based on the Consumer Reports recommendation. I did not have it home a week and the first Jabil controller board burnt out. They replaced that, but 20 months later, it burnt out again. The repairman said boards almost never burn out...so what are the statistical odds of it happening to my refrigerator. He wanted to blame the home's electrical system, but the refrigerator I have prior survived 15 years without a problem. Now, Sears wants $350 to fix the board and/or $160 a year to guarantee I won't have this problem again. What kind of business are they running and what happened to the Sears that used to stand behind their products?

Sears Saint John, NB

Don't shop at this location! They actually charge your credit card when you return a fridge under warranty and then you have to fight to get your money credited back once you receive the warranty replaced fridge. Also their customer service representatives at the 1800# will hang up on you when you request to speak to a manager.

Here is the what happened to us: This is pretty close to fraudulent activity and the customer service people, unreal!

We returned our fridge under warranty as it had cracks in the internal walls, that went well as the new fridge came and old one left. HOWEVER, sears actual charged my MasterCard for the full price of the replacement fridge and then said it would be a week for the credit to be placed back. Well 6 weeks later were still waiting and when we call the store or customer service they lie and say "It will be on your CC tomorrow" tomorrow never comes. We are taking them to small claims court and contacting our local media. Also when you ask for a manager or supervisor the reps hang-up on you!

Seems I'm not alone in my struggle with Sears, yet I feel that my story is worse than any you have posted so far. They actually damaged my 150 year old home jamming the refrigerator through a doorway. After promising a mere $300 compensation, they haven't even done that and are now refusing to return my phone calls. I'm about to update my website as to that effect but here's the link to my story with pictures:

http://www.vivaladata.com/searssucks.html

Thanks for providing a voice to the people.

Warmest Regards,
Diana Simonson

On 08/10/07 Purchased a Free Standing Gas Range, Microhood and oven, and 4 cycle dishwasher from Sears Willowbrook. NJ Price was over 3,100.00.

Items were replacements for old Sears Products.

Have purchased all appliances from sears for over 40 years.

Delivery set for 08/24. Received 3 calls from Sears Delivery prior to 08/24 to assure that some one would be home to receive delivery.

Called [protected] on 08/23 at 6 pm to confirm delivery. Received call from Sears delivery at 7:19 pm indicating that delivery would be on 08/24 between 2 and 4 pm.

Had old appliances removed. Additional stair rails removed from entrance hall. Old appliances placed out in disposal area for garbage pick up.

On 08/24 Garbage pick up at 7:30 am. At 8:45 Sears Delivery called and said they could not make delivery applicances did not come in on the morning truck.

Stove would not be delivered until September 9th
Micohood would not be delivered until August 29 and Dishwasher would not be delivered until August 25.

Called Sears Willowbrook Store. Appliance Dept spoke to Omar. He said the only person that could help me was Rob the individual that sold me the units and he would not be in today.

Asked for customer service dept. Guess what. Sears stores do not have customer service. Each deparment has that responsibility. Asked for individaul in Appliances that takes care of customer service. He said I had to speak to Rob. I told him Rob would not be in today. He said that's right.

Since I was getting nowhere I terminated the call.

I Called Sears Holding Corp, Hoffman Estates, IL and asked for Mr. Aylwin B. Lewis office. He is CEO of Sears Holding Corp.

Spoke to Thiffany who said she was an Executive Officer of the Company.

Her responses were worst than Omar's. She said she could do absolutely nothing to assist me.

At 11:30 Mail delivery my Visa Card Bill came in and all of the Sears Charges of 08/10 were listed for payment. But no delivery.

Went back to store and cancelled all items ordered.

I ordered a riding lawnmower and accessories on line from Sears to the tune of $2200. Got the order confirmation, and an e-mail saying I would be contacted to set up delivery. Several days go by and I don't hear anything so I log back in and it shows my order canceled.

I call customer service and they say yes, it was canceled but they don't know why. Account services say my credit card was good but no reason is given for the cancellation. They make no attempt to figure it out or make it good.

I send an e-mail to Sears alerting them that there process is broken. I get a reply saying they looked into it and don't know why it was canceled, but if I would call account services they would look into it. I replied that if they couldn't get the answer, I'm sure I couldn't. Bought a John Deere and had a much better experience and got a better mower.

What a bunch of ###s. No wonder Sears is going down the tubes.

Sears Portrait Studio

Garden City, NY

Re: Sears Portrait Needs to Understand Cultural Customs (Order # )

It was our first portrait experience with Sears. My family had a very good photo session with Keira. Compared to The Picture People, where we usually go, our photo shoot at Sears was relaxing. Keira made sure we liked all of the poses. She also helped us choose the poses and number of each print in our order. We spent some time with our order, but we felt unrushed and appreciated Keira's input.

However, when we picked up our order, the Sears Portrait sales representative, April, showed us 4 more poses that was not part of our order. She showed us a sepia toned 8=94x10=94, a black and white 8=94x10=94, etc. We were confused: we spent time selecting the poses and number of prints we wanted. Why was April showing us more?

April told us it was to show us the different effects that Sears Portrait offers. It was to show us more possibilities. However, Keira

had already showed us the different printing effects when we placed our order. April said that she had no control over this printing feature; Sears Portrait had this automatic printing addition.

We felt infuriated. Is this some kind of guerilla marketing technique that Sears Portrait is using to get us to spend more money? We had already spent time with our order. Why were we being pushed to buy more?

In the U.S., where there are many different cultures, Sears Portrait needs to be sensitive with other customs. In the Chinese culture, images of people SHOULD NOT BE THROWN AWAY. There is a superstition that if people rip and throw away a person's image/photo, it does not bring good luck to that person.

We felt extremely violated that Sears Portrait produced photos WITHOUT OUR CONSENT, after we had already selected our order.

We spent $21 more. We felt extremely cheated. We felt forced to buy these 4 extra photos. Although our photo shoot experience was extremely good, and although we like the quality of our photos (i.e., lighting, color, resolution, composition), we will unfortunately never go back to Sears Portrait because of this guerilla marketing technique you have. It is not worth it.

Sincerely,
Julia Lee

I purchased Sears Replacement Windows in 1993 and was guarantee a lifetime warranty on warping, chipping, pealing and cracking and a 20 year warranty on loss of the insulated seal for as long as I owned my home. I called Sears talked with Rhonda and I requested that I needed someone to come and repair 4 windows and I had a warranty to cover this. She requested I fax her a copy of my warranty. I faxed a copy and received a call back from Rhonda on my answering machine stating that this warranty was just an estimate not a warranty. The two windows I needed repaired were warped and the other two the seals were broken. I bought these windows because of the lifetime warranty. The warranty specifically said that Sears will grant a lifetime warranty on these window not the window company. They will not honor my warranty and said my warranty was only good for a year. I had Sears come out and fix my windows in 1998 and was not charged for the repair. This was past the one year period and they should have the warranty I sent them on file. I am very upset with Sears and will no longer purchase anything from them. They do not stand by what they say, which makes them untrustworthy.
Mary Ash.

Bought a self-cleaning gas range model 665,72002 six years ago. It worked for about a year then the oven wouldn't light or it would display a power failure code (PF) after being on. The tech said it was a "known defect" and replaced the display panel free of charge. Seemed to be okay. Then I was cooking a roast one day-it preheated just fine. About 2 hrs. in I checked it and the oven was stone cold-no PF display this time-it said it was on and at the temp I had set it for. Over the past six years I have had Sears back to fix it several times. Each time they come up with a different diagnosis and replace or adjust something different and proclaim it fixed. Indeed, it will light 20 times in a row-until they leave! I called another local appliance repair company in my area and they said it could only be diagnosed by replacing parts until it was resolved-it's basically just a really poor design. We agreed that would be throwing good money after bad. The problem is intermittent. It can work and then not work for two days and then magically decide to work again. I can't entertain and rarely cook anything that has to be baked. I have endured rude treatment by Sears representatives and no-shows by techs who won't answer the calls and pages by the dispatchers and eat up my vacation leave from work. At one point I reluctantly bought an extended warranty because I knew it was a lemon and would require more repairs-although it felt like extortion. Sure enough, about a month later it did it again. I called and the guy on the phone acknowledged that he could see I had bought the warranty on that date but because it wasn't "showing up" on some field on his computer because it apparently hadn't been inputed correctly or completely yet, I would have to pay for the service call. I had to point out that regardless, the call would be free because their own policy states that if I call back within 90 days from the repair for the same problem, there is no charge. As there is no resolution in sight, I will be shopping for a new stove soon although I can't afford it. I really expected that my stove would last much longer that 18 months!

Purchased an item online and used my $120 Sears Rewards towards the purchase, leaving a balance of $5.00. The item I purchased NEVER arrived; Sears took my rewards pints for this item and did not reimburse me for $120 on my account. Was charged $125, then credited $120. That would be fine if I received my product. They just don't get the fact that this product would have been credited to my account anyway because I never received it; how on earth does this make sense? They took my $120 rewards points and I got nothing for it, not even a credit on my account. Forfeited my $120... canceled my card after 20+ years.

Four years ago we purchased a Samsung wide screen HD television from Sears in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Last year the color convergence went out making it impossible to adjust the color which had gone crazy. Since we purchased the TV from Sears, we called their Home Repair Center to have the problem repaired. After waiting a week for an appointment the technician arrived but didn't have the part to make the repair (even though they knew the problem before arriving and the part needed to fix it). The tech said he would have the part shipped and rescheduled the appointment for the following week. The following week a different tech came and said the first tech ordered the wrong part, and he would have to order a different part, which he did. Ten days later the original tech came and said the second tech didn't know what he doing and installed the original part he ordered.

A year later, the exact problem again occurred with the color convergence. Against my better judgment I called Sears again for the repair thinking that what happened the first time was just bad luck. I provided the Service Center with the make and model of my TV and the exact problem, even though they still had my records from the last year. On July 9th the technician arrived fully aware of what the problem was and what parts were needed to fix it. Of course he didn't have the parts on his truck needed to fix it, and once again had to order the part and have it shipped to my house. The part arrived on the 12th, but the earliest Sears could come back was July 16th. The night before I received a computer generated call from Sears confirming the service repair date for Monday the 16th. By 5PM the service tech didn't show up and nobody called. I was furious because I had arranged my work schedule so I would be close to the house and be available to let them in, not to mention I made separate arrangements for my kids to be picked up from day camp so I would be available for the tech. When I called the customer service line, of course they were apologetic, but couldn't offer an explanation why nobody showed up or didn't call. They customer service rep said I had been rescheduled for July 30th (without checking to see if I was even going to be around then). I complained that was ridicules to have to wait another two weeks. She said there was nothing they could do. Not happy I demanded to speak to someone else. I was switched to Sears's Recovery department. The woman was very nice, said she understood why I was so angry, and assured me they would fit me in sooner by putting me on their list for when people call to cancel an appointment. Well after waiting another week and not hearing I called again. The CS person again apologized and said they must not have any cancellations, and I would just have to wait until the 30th. I then said I would return the new part sitting at my house, and wanted all my money back. She said the 90 dollar service charge I paid was non refundable.

Is there anything else I can do?

Joe Mudano

I bought a set of new tires from a mail order company. I needed to have the tires mounted and balanced, so I took the vehicle to Sears Automotive. After I signed the paper work, I left and came back about 1.5 hours later to pick up my car. Before I left the packing lot, I inspected all the four tires and wheels to make sure they were installed properly. I discovered that all four of my alloy wheels are scratched all around the lug holes. Also the wheels were gouged in the inner edge of the rim. The pattern were uniform and about 2-3 inches long. In addition, there were several places where the paint was peeling off. I told one of the technician and took some pictures. The technician told me that he would notified the Manager to call me the next day, so I left. The next day, no phone call, I called the store again and was told that the Manager had just left. He promised me that the Manager will call me tomorrow.

Finally the next day the Manager (Jay) called and told me to bring my car there. He inspected the wheels and told me that their machine didn't cause the damages. He admitted that the scratches around the lug holes were caused by his technician as the marks were obvious that they were freshly done. He kept telling me that the damages could be caused by hitting the curb. I told him that I would have damage the tire wall first before it could damage the inner edge of the rim. In addition the pattern were uniform. How can you get a uniform pattern by hitting the curb? He was very argumentative and kept pointing out that their machine would not do such damages. I asked him, how about a human error? He said yes, human error is possible, but still did not want to admit. No apology whatsoever even though he admitted that the scratches around the lug holes were caused by his technician. He told me that all he could do was offering me a free oil change... ARE YOU KIDDING ME? These wheels are OEM 17 inches Mercedes Benz wheels that I purchased for $2000 a set a few years ago. I didn't ask him for a set of brand new wheels, but I asked him to have the wheels repaired.

To cut the story short, he was only willing to offer to waive half of the installation fee ($47) or sell me a set of new wheels "at cost." He showed me a set of 17" cheap wheels for $380. He said that he could sell them to me for $340. What a joke, Sears offers 10% discount on all items from time to time on many major holidays and on customer appreciation day,no coupon needed...certainly he was not selling at cost! This guy is like a car salesman from hell. I told him that I did not feel valued as a customer. He said that I did not even purchased the tires from them, so it did not matter. Obviously this guy is not a customer oriented person. I'm not sure why he can be a Manager at a major company such as Sears. By the way, this was my first experience with Sears auto center and certainly be the LAST! I told him that I didn't think his offer was fair and asked him what was the next step. He said that even if I filed a complaint to the corporate office, they would go to him and I didn't have a case because they would listen to him. SEARS needs to start listening to their customers rather than to their employees. As a customer, I feel "trapped" and don't have any choice but to take the lousy $47. This is the WORST customer experience ever. I will certainly spread the words around to all people I know so they won't make the same mistake I did. For those who read this post... STAY AWAY from Sears auto center especially the one in Clackamas, OR!

I walked into the Sears Outlet in Nashville with the hope of finding a refrigerator that would fit my very restrictive space in my home. Much to my delight at the time, I found the Kenmore Elite 22 cubic ft. fridge and it was one of the only ones of its kind anywhere in Nashville. Hooray! When I asked the obviously new employee about the warranty, he said it was the same one that people get when they purchase a brand new fridge, and that if I were to have any problem, it would be replaced with a new one from the normal Sears store.

It was a "dent & scratch" and it had a few scratches on it, but I could totally live with it. It cost $1199.00. We had to pay for a connector hose for the water line, paid for a shut-off valve upon installation, and paid $60 for delivery.

Four days later, as arranged, our fridge was delivered. The installers were the BEST part of the story - they handled it with care and were SO respectful and courteous. They set it all up and left, taking our old fridge away.

We moved all of our organic food, condiments, health products, etc. quickly into the fridge to avoid spoilage, as it took a while already for them to get set up. The next day, things tasted a little warm, but we didn't fully pay attention until the next day, when the milk was really warm. We put a thermometer inside the fridge and it read 60 degrees! After itemizing all of the food, etc. that we lost, it came to roughly $1000 worth of food and medicines, condiments, etc. that were no longer trusted - a great loss to us.

So we called the company (we had the basic warranty, not the upgraded 2 year extended one) and were told that we were going to have a service technician come out. When we asked when they said Tuesday (it was Friday). So we asked when. They said they didn't know and said that we could call on Monday after 8pm to see when they might come out. Monday evening we received an automated call that said that our repairman would be here between 9am and 6pm the next day. They came in the afternoon that next day, and I had to take time off of work (not a half day, but a whole day of loss based on the vague nature of the repairman's arrival time). This was nearly a week after we had purchased and lost all of our food. We were eating out for almost every meal at this point and getting a bit impatient. If only we knew, the journey had only begun...

The repairman came, "fixed" it and left. This time we were wiser, keeping the thermometer in the fridge watching it go from 59 degrees to 60, to 65 and so on. It stabilized around 65 degrees and that was that.

So we called again, again it wasn't too urgent and we needed to wait for a few more days for another repairman to come. He came eventually, after the same 9-6 time estimate, another day off of work. He came and said that the motherboard was shot and needed to be replaced. He "emergency ordered" the part and said to give him a call when it came to us. 4 days later we got the part and called him. He told us to call the repair service center to schedule a time, so they did schedule sometime two days later - another full day off of work.

He can and installed the part and then went out to his truck to make a phone call. Turns out there are TWO motherboards on this fridge, so we needed to wait for the other part to come in.

Today, 3 weeks after purchasing the fridge, he came over. The part finally came in... almost a week after ordering it. Both motherboards installed, it still didn't work. It took 4 visits from the repairman, 4 days off of work, and 3 weeks after purchase it was finally deemed unfixable.

So what do we do?

Well, I called for a replacement as was told to come on down - come pick any other dent & scratch! Are you kidding me?! Like I want another almost month without a fridge!

I have talked with every department and manager in that store and in the corporate office. I get the runaround like you would not believe. They will only reimburse us for the actual fridge, not the delivery of this lemon, not the tube we had to purchase in order for it to be installed, not any loss of wages or food...

I own my own company and would never DREAM of treating a client this way! We simply wouldn't have any business if we operated in the same fashion. I am pissed, my husband is pissed, and we have money to spend on brand new appliances, but NONE of that will ever go toward Sears ever again.

BUYER BEWARE!