Sears Ripoff Master Protection Plan not honored Bend Oregon

On March 21, 2003 we bought a kitchen range from Sears in Bend, Or. We paid $749.99 a 5% promotional credit, plus $139.99 for a 3 year extended warranty or Master Protection Agreement as they call it plus $50 for delivery for a total of $902.48.

When the stove was delivered on March 24, 2003 it had a broken oven door handle. It appeared to have been hit with something. They said they would repair the handle and since it was the last stove of that model in stock we said we would keep it.

Sears sent a new handle and made an appointment for a repair person to come out and install it. The repair person did not keep the appointment. We called repair service and they made another appointment. The repair person did not show up. We called the Sears store in Bend and after talking to the appliance department there we decided to install the handle ourselves. When we opened the box the handle was cracked. We put it on anyway and the stove was usable at that point.

Sears sent a repair person to look at the handle. When he arrived he ordered another handle and made an appointment to install it the following week. He did not keep the appointment. We called repair service and they made another appointment. The repairman arrived on March 15, 2003 and installed the second handle. While he was working on the stove he attempted to clean the glass top with an abrasive material and scratched the glass top. That area was never clean after that.

In December we discovered that the inside seal of the oven door was leaking. We called repair service and they made an appointment to fix the door and the glass top that was ruined by the last repairman. The repairman came on January 5, 2004. He looked at the stove and ordered the parts needed to repair it and made an appointment to install the parts on January 12, 2004. He did not keep the appointment. We called repair service and rescheduled for January 13, 2004. The repair did get there that day and installed the parts.

In the first week of July of 2004 we started getting an error message on the stove. Each time it appeared we had to push several buttons to make it disappear so we could use the stove. We called repair service and made an appointment to have it fixed. They did not keep the appointment. We were going out of town so I said I would call them when we returned.

When we returned I called to make another appointment. They did not keep the appointment. We attempted to call the Bend store manager and we were not able to talk to him even though we called more than 5 times. We were disconnected each time we called and asked to speak to him. I called the service center and told then that I would like to have a new stove since there was no way to get a repairman to our house. When I talked to the person in the service department I was told that it was our cat setting off the sensor. When I asked where the sensor was I was told that it was hidden and I could not see it. When I asked how it was possible for the cat to set off a hidden sensor I was told to flip the breaker to the stove to reset it. This did not work and it is not a satisfactory solution to the problem..

We made another appointment and the repairman did come that time. He looked at the stove and ordered the parts. He made another appointment to install the parts. At this time the oven was not operational at all He arrived on August 11 to install the parts only to find that the wrong parts were sent. He made some phone calls and said we would be contacted soon. About an hour later someone from the Portland Sears Center called and said that they would replace the stove. They asked what features were on the stove and said we would be called the following morning (August 12) to set an appointment to deliver the stove. We were not contacted. I called the Portland number we were given and was told that they needed to know the features on the stove. I started to list them and when I was partially through the list I was told that that was enough information and she would pass it along to another person. I asked how long the process would take and was told that the person was very busy. I waited until 5:00 and then attempted to call the Bend Sears store manager. I left a message saying that if the situation was not resolved quickly I would file a complaint with the Attorney General. About an hour later the manager of the appliance department (Betty Ashford) called. I told her what our problem was and she said it sounded like Sears was trying to fix it. She said she would call the repair center and get back to me before 9 PM. That did not happen.

So far we have spent a total of 13 days waiting for a Sears repairman to replace a handle and oven door and to replace the glass top that one repairman ruined. Several other calls to the repair center have been made that I cannot document. We have been given customer rep names and phone numbers to call if the promised action didn't happen only to be told when we called back because the action didn't happen that there was no such extension or person working for Sears. We have $902.48 invested in the stove and an extended warranty. At this point we have no oven and all we are getting is promises.

Thursday August 12, 2004
Made a courtesy call to Bend Sears to let the store manager know that I was going to file with the Attorney General. I could only leave a message.
A few hours later I received a call from betty Ashford who said she was the appliance manager. I told her about the problems we were having. She said she would get back to me before 9:00. She did not. I then filed the above report.

Friday August 13, 2004
Called 1-800-927-7836 to ask for rental authorization. I was told I would be reimbursed only until the day the stove was fixed or replaced. I can only rent a stove by the month.

10:42 AM---received a message from Betty saying that a Service Replacement person had authorized a replacement range and that she had a salesperson trying to find one. She said she would call when they had one in hand. 10:44 AM---Received a message from Jennifer at Sears National Customer Service. She said she needed my MasterCard number. 800-927-7836 Option 4 Ext. 12359

10:00----Received a message from Mary Ann at 800-295-8785. She said she had authorized a replacement stove Model # 92882

Model # 92882 does not have SureSimmer or Recipe recall. I do not know if it has a clock, Serve Warm, Timer, Touchpad controls, delay start, LogiClean, Sturdi-Glide racks.

In late afternoon I returned Mary Ann's call to let her know the model she chose was not acceptable. I was told she was not in and would not return until Monday.

I then called Betty at Bend Sears and told her I would not accept that model. I told her I had been online and there were only 2 models close to the stove we have. They are #92172 and Model # 95172. She said they were not in stock and would have to be ordered but she would have to get authorization from Mary Ann and that she would email her and let me know on Monday what was decided. She said the model stove we have is no longer manufactured and there are none available to order.

Saturday, August 14, 2004
1:00 PM----Ken from Bend Sears called. He said he found the exact same stove as ours in the warehouse but they could not deliver until next Saturday. I asked him if it was the same model and if it was new. He said yes. I asked him if the top was white. He said no it was black with white specks in it. I told him I would have to look at it before it was delivered. We have family here this weekend and Glen is having a procedure done on Monday so it may be a while before we can get in to look at it. I told him I was very unhappy with the fact that Sears was being so picky about how much the replacement stove cost since it has been 5 weeks since we called for repair and stayed home several days waiting for a repairman who never showed up. I also told him I was very happy with my stove and the same stove would be fine with me.

Glen
La Pine, Oregon
U.S.A.

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