Sears Master Protection Agreement for Washer is a SHAM! Nationwide

We purchased a Whirlrpool washer from Sears in April 2011.  Shortly after the 3-year warranty expired in April 2014, the machine started to (occasionally) make an extremely loud “grinding” noise that could be heard throughout the house even though the washer is in the basement.  I called Sears in June 2014 to get the washer serviced.  The customer service rep convinced me to purchase a 1-year Master Protection Agreement (for over $200) which would cover the cost of this service call and any additional repairs for a year;  the Protection Agreement also states “Product replacement if your Washer cannot be fixed”.  The first service call did not fix the problem; neither did two more service calls for the same problem during the 1-year warranty period.  The loud grinding noise kept re-occurring several times a month.   

Near the end of the 1-year Agreement I called Sears to have a technician come out for a 4th time.  I explained to the customer service rep that while there had been no grinding noise for the past few weeks, experience indicated that it would re-occur, and I wanted Sears to either fix the washer or to replace the machine before my Protection Agreement expired in early June 2015.  The rep suggested that I wait until the next time the grinding noise occurred before requesting service - even if that was after the 1-year Agreement expired - because (the rep said) Sears would still fix the washer at no additional cost since the problem had occurred and been reported during the warranty period.  I said OK, and you can probably guess the rest.   

After the Protection Agreement expired, the loud grinding noise re-occurred: 5 times during June-July 2015.  I called Sears on Aug 3, 2015, to request service and  I carefully explained all of the above to the customer service rep.  But I was told that because the Agreement had expired Sears would neither replace the washer nor cover the cost of new repairs for this pre-existing problem.  I asked to speak to a supervisor, and after explaining all of this again to the supervisor I was told the same thing.  So I asked to speak to the supervisor’s supervisor and was told I could go no higher.  I then asked for a refund of the (over $200) cost of the Protection Agreement since Sears had failed to fix anything, but that was denied.  

Clearly, Sears Master Protection Agreement is a sham!