Augh! I really hate Sears!!

[AnOtHeRdIsNeYfReAk]

I will never buy another large purchase from Sears ever again. I bought a walk behind lawnmower at the end of May last year. About a week ago as my 14 year old cousin was mowing the lawn for me there was a slight popping sound as the mower died. As it died a piece of what I assume is the motor broke through the frame causing gas to leak out and a small fire. Thank goodness the lawn was almost finished so there was a very small amount of gas left in the mower. I don't want to think about what would have happened if it was full or even half full. My cousin was ok, just some minor injuries. Nothing serious, though she won't mow the lawn ever again. (Quite understandable)

So here we are on June 19th and that lawnmower only had 6 months of use on it. And I have a fairly small lawn to boot. I called the number on the warranty information and ended up speaking to a few different people, none of whom were helpful. Finally I spoke to someone who told me that I needed to bring it to their repair center. Now this wasn't a problem. I didn't expect them to come to me. I figured I would just rent a small truck to drop it off before I left for work since it doesn't fit in my car. The only problem was the repair center is in another state over 100 miles from me. -Uh, that's not going to happen anytime soon. I'm too busy for the next few weeks with some extra time at work, a 2nd job I just started and the kids' activities. Also when I asked how long the repair would take I was told it could be up to 4 months!!! And that I may end up paying for it myself, but they wouldn't know until they repaired it if it could even be repaired.

I told them I was willing to just take a credit toward another mower for the depreciated value of a year old used mower. I would even take a refurbished model. Basically I just wanted them to work with me so I wouldn't be without a mower. And I wasn't about to buy a new one since I have a warranty for a reason. They wouldn't help me and started to get very rude and nasty. I'm not sure where to go with this. My boyfriend wants me to talk to his lawyer since my cousin did get injured, but honestly it wasn't more than some neosporin and a band-aid could handle so that just seems silly.

If you were in my shoes what would you do?

 

[tOSU]

Your going to have to take your mower in to get fixed. I would start looking for a used lawn mower or hire someone to mow your lawn.

You could lawyer up but that isn't going to get your mower fixed any quicker & will probably cost you money up front & may not end well for you anyway.

I bought a Sears mower 15 years ago, lasted one season & the crank went bad. They repaired it, but it took 2 months. It lasted 6 months & died again. I bought a Honda and have never had a bit of problems.

 

[goofyernmost]

I don't think it is fair to blame Sears when you don't even know what caused the problem. You say "what I assumed is part of the motor" might be an object left on the lawn that the mower picked up and threw into the engine casing. That would not be the responsibility of Sears to do anything about it.

First of all, you have to get it to them so they can see what the problem is. No business will promise anything until the see what the actual problem is. If it was a defect with the mower then I am sure that you will be compensated for it. If not a mechanical, you probably won't be and that would not make Sears a bad guy.

I'm not saying that Sears is a saint. They might very well try to wriggle out of the responsibility even if it is an equipment problem, but you will not know that until you do the first thing necessary and that is to take it there.

Some maintenance outfits have rental units that can be used while you wait for your repair. That may not be free initially either, but can become a negotiating point when and if it proves to be a product fault.

I might add that I have had nothing but good luck with any of my Sears machinery. I purchase my lawn mower about 16 years ago. All I ever did was put gas in it and change the oil occasionally. I sold it just before I moved this spring and it still started on the first pull, every time and ran as quiet and smooth as could be. The same thing applied to my snowblower...used it for 15 years without so much as a hint of a problem.

 

[Sadie22]

What annual maintenance was done on the mower? Was the maintenance performed by you or by an authorized maintenance shop?

 

[lynxstch]

HATE Sears..
examples..bought a wall to wall blue carpet, had it installed..over the course of 6 months..it turned green..they told me it was the vacuum I was using..sold me a beater bar (this was years ago..lol)..didn't solve the problem..they sent a carpet cleaning company..rug was still green..they refused to take it back and give me my $ back till I got the MA attorney generals office involved.

Guess I hadn't learned my lesson..bought a stereo from them..they 'dropped it' off the truck..and tried to sell me a higher priced one..bought a vcr..they called me told me it was in..go to pick it up..noone can find it..try to sell me a higher priced one..


FF to a few years ago..husband wanted a rototiller..Sears had a craftsman one on sale..against my better judgement, I let him get it..he used it once..it started with a high pitched screaming sound..I thought he had run over a lve animal in the garden..I called them..they said bring it back to the store ..we loaded it in the trunk and took it back..they had another one on display which they let us have..on the way out of the store, I saw 3 more just like ours..out in the DO NOT WORK pile..they had all come back that same day!!!

luckily for them, the new tiller still works, 5 years later..but all in all, I will never buy from Sears again!


I don't understand why you can't take it back to your local sears store..if it's not that old, they should replace it under warranty?

 

[Michelle67]

I don't think it is fair to blame Sears when you don't even know what caused the problem. You say "what I assumed is part of the motor" might be an object left on the lawn that the mower picked up and threw into the engine casing. That would not be the responsibility of Sears to do anything about it.

First of all, you have to get it to them so they can see what the problem is. No business will promise anything until the see what the actual problem is. If it was a defect with the mower then I am sure that you will be compensated for it. If not a mechanical, you probably won't be and that would not make Sears a bad guy.

I'm not saying that Sears is a saint. They might very well try to wriggle out of the responsibility even if it is an equipment problem, but you will not know that until you do the first thing necessary and that is to take it there.

Some maintenance outfits have rental units that can be used while you wait for your repair. That may not be free initially either, but can become a negotiating point when and if it proves to be a product fault.

I might add that I have had nothing but good luck with any of my Sears machinery. I purchase my lawn mower about 16 years ago. All I ever did was put gas in it and change the oil occasionally. I sold it just before I moved this spring and it still started on the first pull, every time and ran as quiet and smooth as could be. The same thing applied to my snowblower...used it for 15 years without so much as a hint of a problem.

I agree. I'm sure that you are an honest person, but bear in mind that not everyone is, and people try to get warranty compensation all the time for things that they damaged themselves through neglect or misuse. Sears has to protect itself by verifying that the problem was a failure on the part of the machinery and not the user. I would just go ahead and take it in, and see what happens. It's a hassle, but it's the only way you're going to find out what they are willing to do to help you. Good luck!

 

[tvguy]

Sears is pretty good here. Is the store you bought it at 100 miles away too? I'd take it to the store I bought it at and let them decide how there are going to get it to the service center.
I never was a Sear fan, but my late father in law swore by them. I have to admit, especially for tools and power equipment, you can't beat them.

 

[fireflymedic]

I will never buy another large purchase from Sears ever again. I bought a walk behind lawnmower at the end of May last year. About a week ago as my 14 year old cousin was mowing the lawn for me there was a slight popping sound as the mower died. As it died a piece of what I assume is the motor broke through the frame causing gas to leak out and a small fire. Thank goodness the lawn was almost finished so there was a very small amount of gas left in the mower. I don't want to think about what would have happened if it was full or even half full. My cousin was ok, just some minor injuries. Nothing serious, though she won't mow the lawn ever again. (Quite understandable)

So here we are on June 19th and that lawnmower only had 6 months of use on it. And I have a fairly small lawn to boot. I called the number on the warranty information and ended up speaking to a few different people, none of whom were helpful. Finally I spoke to someone who told me that I needed to bring it to their repair center. Now this wasn't a problem. I didn't expect them to come to me. I figured I would just rent a small truck to drop it off before I left for work since it doesn't fit in my car. The only problem was the repair center is in another state over 100 miles from me. -Uh, that's not going to happen anytime soon. I'm too busy for the next few weeks with some extra time at work, a 2nd job I just started and the kids' activities. Also when I asked how long the repair would take I was told it could be up to 4 months!!! And that I may end up paying for it myself, but they wouldn't know until they repaired it if it could even be repaired.

I told them I was willing to just take a credit toward another mower for the depreciated value of a year old used mower. I would even take a refurbished model. Basically I just wanted them to work with me so I wouldn't be without a mower. And I wasn't about to buy a new one since I have a warranty for a reason. They wouldn't help me and started to get very rude and nasty. I'm not sure where to go with this. My boyfriend wants me to talk to his lawyer since my cousin did get injured, but honestly it wasn't more than some neosporin and a band-aid could handle so that just seems silly.

If you were in my shoes what would you do?

if you do plan to go furhter with this (like a laywer) you need quite using the phone and start complaining in wrighting, either email or letters so they cannot denie statements.

Of course you need to read your warenty paper work and see if you have any rights.

This is why I never pay extra for a warenty, to big of a pain the the

 

[S. C.]

Did you buy it with a credit card? Some offer longer warranties.

 

[minniecarousel]

My sis had so much trouble trying to get Sears to come and fix her furnace. They would come out, tinker with it and say it was repaired. Then it wouldn't work. She'd call again, then they wouldn't show. She finally gave up, called a local furnace company that declared it unrepairable. She bought a new non-Sears furnace and cancelled her "whole home warranty" with Sears. Even that took a while to come through. (they credited her Sears card, then she had to request a check, since she wouldn't be using her Sears card ever again!)

We won't buy any major appliances from Sears anymore.

 

[marcyinPA]

I had a big problem with Sears back in the early Spring. In fact, I think I may have posted here about it. Long story short, they canceled an appointment to have my oven repaired without my knowledge. Sat all morning waiting, and then when I called to see where the repair guy was, they accused ME of changing my appointment and then told me I would have to wait another week for a new appointment. The customer service person was HORRIBLE.

The only way I got resolution to my problem was by posting a complaint on the Sears facebook page, and one of their "social media specialists" contacted me by phone. The repair person was out at my house within 2 days and they cut the service fee by 50%.

I will NEVER EVER do business with Sears again. It is not worth the aggravation!

 

[goofyernmost]

What annual maintenance was done on the mower? Was the maintenance performed by you or by an authorized maintenance shop?

Well, I live by the saying...if it ain't broke...don't fix it! I did all my own maintenance. This is what it amounted too...Lawn Mower = change the oil every spring (sometimes I'd forget and it would happen every two years) Changed the spark plug once after about 5 years. Put a new muffler on it after 10 years...didn't really need it. (preventive maintenance) and bought a new blade about 5 years ago. That was it!

Snow Blower...Pretty much the same thing...oil change in the fall (when I remembered). New spark plug after 5 (or so) years. I did have to occasionally adjust the cables for the drive and auger part. (Just a little turn of a screw)

Both always started right up and worked like champs.

I also always had Kenmore appliances...Stove, Fridge, Freezer, Vacuum Cleaner, Washer, Dryer, Dish Washer and Microwave. Never a problem with any of them, ever. Never took one the service department or called anyone in to repair them. Never needed too. I left the Freezer in my house when I sold it because I had no place to have it in my new place. It was 29 years old at the time and was still humming away happily. I still have the guitar that I bought from Sears in 1971 and it is as good as new.