Complaint Review: SEARS - Hoffman Estates Illinois

October 2004 we purchased 3 full priced top of the line new in box appliances along with the maximum available 3 year warranty at our local SEARS, "the name you can trust". They were delivered, and the fridge was 1 inch taller than the specs said, and we had to have our cabinet adjusted to accomodate it. "OOPS" says Sears, "Sorry, we'll fix it on our literature". OK. Then 6 months later the ice maker begins to malfunction, and we also notice a rust spot the size of a silver dollar forming beneath the water/ice dispenser on the freezer door. We called Sears repair and were informed that the icemaker was a "recalled unit" and was going to be replaced free, but as for the rust, it was a "cosmetic issue" and that "since we lived in Florida, and it's humid there, rust was to be expected". The service man came and replaced the icemaker and re-iterated the "sorry your warranty won't do anything about the rust message", and I told him it wouldn't be cosmetic forever, and stated that certainly once the rust penetrated the door, it would no longer be considered cosmetic, to which he said, yes, you are likely correct.

Well, 3 icemakers later, the rusted area has extended to an area 6 inches wide by 8 inches long and goes all the way thru the door. Rust is also growing on the faulty icemakers frame and on the back wall of the fridge beneath the plastic walls, and runs in streaks down the smooth front of this fridge. 2 of 4 drawers have cracked, and are useless, but the final straw came June 8 when the icemaker flooded the one day old bamboo floor we'd had installed in our kitchen. When the fridge was put back in it's place, the icemaker wouldn't turn on, and shocked me when I tried with a visible blue spark. Then hours later when I woke up at 1 a.m. and went to the kitchen, I hit the pool of water created when the icemaker started to fill and wouldn't stop, flooding the brand new floor, and I slipped and landed flat on my back on the floor.

Water pouring out the bottom of the fridge, my back hurting, I stuffed the freezer with towels to absorb the overflow and turned off the water to the entire house until help arrived the next day. VERY INCONVIENENT! That nite I wrote Sears CEO, a Consumer Affairs report, and a consumer reporter, and was surprised to get a real letter reply from Sears the next day saying they were "upgrading" my complaint and referring it now to their "Product Safety" division. That was 2 weeks ago, and I have had no further contact, and still have no water or ice in the door as I paid for, and the fridge looks like an ugly mess standing in the corner of our newly remodeled kitchen. Who knows how much energy is wasted each day while cold air pours out the hole thru the door created by this thick rust. And we have been buying ice by the bag for the majority of the time we have owned this Kenmore product.

Today I spent 4 hours on the phone with Sears, only to be told that I had no remedy left because I had renewed my full coverage warranty on the 2 appliances that had no problems but I mysteriously cancelled it on the appliance that was defective and a source of frustration pretty much from Day One. That I categorically deny, I will swear on everything that matters that Sears made that decision to drop the replacement portion of the policy when the 3 years I pre-paid for were up, and left this off intentionally knowing their unit had been failing from the first year we owned it.

Even now, 4 years later with major rust growing on this appliance, I am still being old that "rust is not covered, no matter where on the unit or how serious it is. Rust is to be expected, evn on motors, and isn't covered by any warranty, not even in the first years manufacturer warranty."

Since I was first told that Floridians were to expect rusty appliances, I went back to Sears posing as a customer, and asked if there was anything we should know about the expected life of these appliances in our tropical climate. "Nothing whatsoever, no these are top of the line, we have sold Kenmore in Florida for decades!" And if there was a problem I asked? "Well, then repairs would be covered by your manufacturers warranty, and later the extended warranty if you buy it." I told the salesman my true story,and he walked away and refused to speak to me.

Today, I went online at Sears and asked for a chat rep to suggest a side by side fridge for us here in Florida, and once again this same unit was reccomended. "All repairs are covered by the manufacturers warranty during year one" I was told, and the extended warranty would protect our purchase after that. It's all a big, fat lie, and I am going to be pushing a $1,400 fridge to the garage and buying a new fridge elsewhere after just 4 years because this fridge is an absolute total LEMON, and Sears does not care one bit.

If you buy an appliance from Sears, you better buy a back up appliance elsewhere. And if you buy one after reading this, I am sorry to say that you likely deserve any headaches you will most likely have.

Sharont99

sanford, Florida

U.S.A.

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