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+--- Thread: Sears appliance repair question (/showthread.php?tid=189193)
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Sears appliance repair question - BernDog - 03-17-2016
Our 6 year old water heater with a 12 year warranty failed. It was leaking from the top, apparently at the cold inlet. I didn't know if it was the fitting leaking (which wouldn't be covered under warranty) or if there was something wrong with the tank (which would). I called the Sears repair "department" (call center) to see if a licensed plumber could make that determination, or if it needed to be a Sears rep. I didn't want to pay for a Sears call if it wasn't their deal, and I didn't plan on using their service (tank is covered by manufacturer warranty, which doesn't include labor). I was assured that they would accept the word of a licensed plumber if the tank had failed. Great. Called my guy. He saw that the tank was cracked. He called Sears and they said that their people needed to make that determination. I was at work, so I wasn't able to mediate any of this. Yadda yadda through some other stuff that's irrelevant to the question, and later today (after the fact) I was in the local Sears. They said the same thing, that any licensed plumber would do. They charge $99 for their official rep to come sign off in the replacement. Tried to call in and plead my case to get the fee waived (because, c'mon) once I was able to jump in and deal with this later in the day. Repair center rep and his supervisor both say, "Nope. Non-refundable." I get that they need to pay their guy, but the whole situation was based on inaccurate information I was given from two different sources (one of which was the same call center dept).
So, do I have any recourse at this point? $99 doesn't break the bank, but that's not the point. I paid my guy to come out (wasting his time), I paid their guy to come out, and I have to pay my guy again to do the job tomorrow.
Re: Sears appliance repair question - testcase - 03-17-2016
Small Claims Court & snail mail letter to Sears corporate.
Re: Sears appliance repair question - jdc - 03-17-2016
Did you pay by CC? Dispute the charges...
Re: Sears appliance repair question - BernDog - 03-17-2016
Haven't paid anything yet. I'm assuming they'll send a bill.
Re: Sears appliance repair question - Dennis S - 03-18-2016
I hear stuff like this all the time about Sears repair. I wouldn't roll over, that's for sure.
Re: Sears appliance repair question - tenders - 03-18-2016
What's the $99 for again?
* To confirm your plumber's diagnosis? Two people told you that wasn't necessary. Write down when you spoke to them, at what numbers, and their names if you remember them, and send that to Sears in lieu of payment.
* To release a new heater to you? That seems like a hidden fee that violates the warranty and is in conflict with their statement that the plumber's diagnosis is adequate. Offer to tweet the situation and see how many people agree with you. (Even if you aren't on Twitter.)
* To deliver the heater to you, or to pick up the old heater, confirming its condition in the process? Now that's a bit of a grey area, I would be inclined not to debate that. Arguably they are providing some value to you or your plumber.
* To sign off on the new installed heater? Don't let 'em in the house.
Re: Sears appliance repair question - tenders - 03-18-2016
"I get that they need to pay their guy" - they can talk to the tank manufacturer about that.
Re: Sears appliance repair question - space-time - 03-18-2016
I called the Sears repair "department" (call center) to see if a licensed plumber could make that determination, or if it needed to be a Sears rep. I didn't want to pay for a Sears call if it wasn't their deal, and I didn't plan on using their service (tank is covered by manufacturer warranty, which doesn't include labor).
what is done is done, but out of curiosity, since you had to pay a plumber to come make that determination, what does it matter if this was your guy of their guy? do you trust your guy more than their guy? or does your guy offer lower rates?
Re: Sears appliance repair question - BernDog - 03-18-2016
tenders wrote:
What's the $99 for again?
* To confirm your plumber's diagnosis? Two people told you that wasn't necessary. Write down when you spoke to them, at what numbers, and their names if you remember them, and send that to Sears in lieu of payment.
* To release a new heater to you? That seems like a hidden fee that violates the warranty and is in conflict with their statement that the plumber's diagnosis is adequate. Offer to tweet the situation and see how many people agree with you. (Even if you aren't on Twitter.)
* To deliver the heater to you, or to pick up the old heater, confirming its condition in the process? Now that's a bit of a grey area, I would be inclined not to debate that. Arguably they are providing some value to you or your plumber.
* To sign off on the new installed heater? Don't let 'em in the house.
$99 for the guy to come out and say, "Yep, busted," and slap a sticker on it. Not a plumber (at least not acting in that capacity).
Re: Sears appliance repair question - BernDog - 03-18-2016
space-time wrote:
I called the Sears repair "department" (call center) to see if a licensed plumber could make that determination, or if it needed to be a Sears rep. I didn't want to pay for a Sears call if it wasn't their deal, and I didn't plan on using their service (tank is covered by manufacturer warranty, which doesn't include labor).
what is done is done, but out of curiosity, since you had to pay a plumber to come make that determination, what does it matter if this was your guy of their guy? do you trust your guy more than their guy? or does your guy offer lower rates?
Since I didn't t know if this was a warranty situation or if I just needed the fitting replaced, I didn't want to involve Sears if I didn't have to. If it was just the fitting, my guy could have cleaned it up and it'd all be done. If it was more than that, I could have had my guy sign off on the damage, get the replacement, and install it all in one swipe. If I call Sears, they send out who knows who, and all of a sudden I'm dealing with a third party I don't want to deal with. This was my plan after confirming with Sears that that would all work.
My guy is cheaper and a known variable. I don't know who Sears uses.
I also didn't mention that in talking on the phone with Sears about replacement options that they couldn't get to it until the 28th. Part of that was due to them not seeing a replacement any closer than 100 miles. That's why I went to the store. I didn't believe my Sears didn't have a 12 year, 40 gallon, natural gas water heater. I was right. Totally in stock. Guy on the phone wanted to give me a 9 year, but I wasn't having that. He also kept trying to upsell me on the protection plan, but he kept calling it "renewing the warranty".
To respond to some other things, I don't know who I originally spoke to. I didn't start any sort of claim process or anything. My first call was just to verify company policy on approving warranty replacement. I was obviously steered wrong. Probably not much else to do than to pay it, but this is not a very good customer service situation. If I was given the right info in the first place, I would have had their auditor, or whatever he was, come out from the start and not wasted my plumber's time.