A&E Factory Services A subsidiary of Sears Home Services Charged $300 for repair that did not fix my washer, it was as dead when tech left as when he arrived. Hoffman Estates Illinois

 My 4 yr old washer stopped working. I contacted A&E Factory Services because they had serviced my machine a yr before just days before my extended warranty expired. I was very surprised to get a same day appointment.

The tech arrived, I explained what happened. The tech took out his phone and kept punching the machine start button. As they always do when the button is pushed, lights flashed. The tech kept mumbling numbers and looking at his phone. Last year the tech hooked of a diagnostic tool which found and repaired a computer? problem.

The current tech looked at the machine, after he finished poking the start, and pointed at the right front corner of the lid and told me I had a defective lid lock. He quoted $299 for the repair, the part was about $54. Because of my previous experience, I trusted his word.

The guy was not at my house more than thirty minutes and it took less than 5 minutes to replace the part. He was only out of my sight long enough for me to go inside to retrieve my debit card while he went to his truck to get his card reader. I paid him, thanked him and waved goodbye. Then, I put in a load of wash and discovered my machine was still dead. I received an email with my receipt and saw that the tech noted: "Technician Comments: Replaced lid lock all ops okay." Not true.

I called the number on their web site asking for a refund. I was refused and told the work was guaranteed for 90 days and they schedule another appt for Jun 2 on May 21. I knew that after I was without a machine for two weeks that they would find another problem unrelated to the original repair and try to stick me with another big bill.

I raised cane on the Sears Home Services Facebook page and ended up with an appt the next day. When I learned the same tech was coming, I cancelled and have texts and emails to confirm the fact. The tech showed up anyway. I told him I had cancelled the appointment and told him to leave. Afterwards he sent a bill for $32.25.

I called again demanding a refund of all monies paid above what a diagnostic service call would have been, $99.  I felt like I had reached a call center in the Philippines. I had trouble understanding anyone, spent a lot of time on hold, was cut off and transferred repeatedly. In the end I was told I would hear back from them in two weeks, no guarantees.

I have filed complaints with my state's Attorney General, the FTC, and the Chicago BBB. I have read lots of customer horror stories, backed up by a web page with comments from techs about their experiences working for the company. I've purchased a new machine and have made sure that the executive customer service rep of the company is aware of the business practices of A&E Factory Services, a subsidiary of Sears Home Services.