The Consumer Complaints Blog

My Kenmore fridge (model no. 10652602100) was purchased in 2002. It has a ten year warranty on it. It stopped working on Dec 21, 2008. My wife contacted Sears and they said their technicians were all booked up before Christmas. So my wife called a local appliance store to get a technician to take a look at it, hoping that it was something small that he could fix. The technician diagnosed that the compressor was dead and needed to be replaced. I called Sears on Dec 26, 2008 (it was a Saturday) about the fridge and indicated the compressor needed to be replaced and the operator told me that a technician would contact me on Monday about the costs of replacing the compressor and he would come to fix the fridge on Tuesday around noon. I left the operator my home phone number and cellular phone number. I received no phone call on Monday and Tuesday morning.

I called Sears at 1:30 PM Tuesday and asked if the technician would ever come that day as I did not hear from the technician at all. She said she would get the technician to call me in 30 minutes. One hour had passed and I got no call from the technician. I stepped out to get some groceries at around 2:30 PM, thinking that the technician could contact me on my cell phone number when he can come. After I got home, I got a phone message left by the technician at 2:45, saying that he called but nobody was home and I needed to reschedule the appointment. So I rescheduled the appointment for the next day. Again I was not given a specific time window that the technician could come and I waited at home for him (3 days in a row. That was how I spent my holidays). At around 1:00 pm, the technician called and he said he did not have the compressor and he had to order it and the cost to replace the compressor was $400. I thought to myself why should I spend $400 for such bad service. I called the same local appliance store for a quote for replacing the compressor and they said they charged $250.

I called Sears and told them I did not like their service and they charged a lot for replacing the compressor. I said since the compressor was still under warranty, I would like to have it and get somebody to put it on my fridge and return the defective compressor to them after. Then they said that that was not how the warranty worked and they needed to do the work themselves. If I just wanted to have just the compressor alone, I had to pay $260.

If I add $260 and the cost of extended warranty together, it is around $400.00. That means, I am paying for the part (and labour) myself!!! The extended warranty is useless. This is how Sears does their business.

My in-laws also have a Kenmore fridge. They had the compressor replaced within 5 years of purchase. I also searched the web for Kenmore fridge problems. I found that they had a lot of compressor problems. This will tell you about the quality of the Kenmore fridges.

Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.

I have attached the following letter I written to the company that describes Sear’s horrible customer service

I have been a long time customer of your company but recently I bought furniture from your Scarborough store for the first time. I have had a horrible experience with your company since. Your logo reads “Quality, Value, Service, Trust” but your company fails in all four of these areas.

I bought a sofa and a set of tables from your William Kitchen Road Scarborough store on August 24, 2008. It was set to be delivered more than one month later on October 8, 2008 from 12 noon to 6pm. I took that day off to wait for this delivery. I received a call the morning of Wednesday, October 8, 2008 from your delivery department telling me that the items I purchased “did not get on to the delivery truck in time” and hence my delivery had to be rescheduled and the next available delivery date was the following week. I was very unhappy about this given I cancelled my patients that day in order to be home to open the door for the delivery people. I settled for having the delivery rescheduled for Thursday October 16, 2008 from 5pm to 9:30pm. I confirm this delivery the day before and the morning of. I cancelled my plans for the evening in order to be home again. I then got a call on October 16 at 6:30pm from the delivery man stating he was at 55 Rosedale Avenue West. I told him I was at 55 Via Rosedale. I told him I did not understand how he could be at the wrong address since my Sears receipt specifically has the address 55 Via Rosedale printed on it. Nevertheless, this delivery man refused to turn around (he states he was heading south and not north) even though he was only a 15 minute drive away. As you can understand, I became very angry as this was the second mistake your company made and the second day you caused me to waste. I phoned your delivery inquiry line. They were very unhelpful except to tell me that the saleperson Pedram at the Scarborough store entered my address incorrectly on the delivery system. They then transferred me to your corporate customer service line. There I spoke with an agent named Sarah who told me the best she could do was to arrange a special delivery with another truck for the following Saturday with a narrower delivery time window. She states she will call me back in a couple of hours to confirm this delivery time. When I did not hear from her by 9pm, I called your corporate customer service line again and spoke with Meridith and explained my whole story again and she states she could not help me and whatever Sarah promised to do was between me and her. And Sarah never ended up calling me that night.

I called your customer service line again the next morning at 8am and spoke with an agent named Tina. I had to explain my whole story again since she did seem to know what was going on with my delivery. She stated that my address on the delivery system was 55 Rosedale Avenue West. I told her that this was the wrong address and I did not understand why it has not been corrected yet. She told me that she will call me back after she looks into the situation. I got a call back from yet a different agent at around noon telling me that a Saturday delivery was not possible now and the next available delivery date was October 20 from 1 to 6pm. I told her I could not cancel more patients in order to wait again for this delivery for the third time. She told me that the next evening delivery date was October 22 from 1 to 9:30pm! I asked her why was the delivery window larger than previously offered? She told me that this was the only option offered in my area. That was ridiculous! Basically, your company made no attempts whatsoever to make up for its mistakes. Your company instead expected me to settle for an inconvenient larger delivery time window and expecting me to waste more of my time. I got very frustrated and asked this representative to cancel my order and to get a refund. She told me that she will notify the store. I could not believe that I already paid my bill in full and still have not received the items I bought almost two months ago.
Given the experience I had with your company staff not keeping their word and the evidence of poor communication within your company, I drove all the way back to Scarborough from Brampton to speak to the salesperson Pedram on October 18th. I explained the situation to him. The store had no idea that I requested a refund. Pedram had the audacity to ask me what the problem was since the furniture was scheduled to be delivered on Monday. Not only did he not apologize for entering my address incorrectly on the delivery system, when I told him that I wanted a refund, he brush me off and walked away stating that he could not help me any longer. Luckily, I got help from another office staff and got my refund on my American Express card. I could not believe how rude Pedram was and how he did not show any regret on his sloppy, inaccurate computer entry that cost me wasting my time. It is also ironic that when I got home, I got a phone message from your delivery department stating the furniture was set to be delivered Monday. Again, this is evident of your company’s poor communication within itself.

The bottom line is that I can’t believe that a big company like yours would have such poor customer service. Part of the problem is outsourcing your delivery service; having sales people who are rude and do not treat customers with respect and who do not take any responsibility for their mistakes; and having customer service agents who do not take any responsibility nor follow up on what they say they will do. I spent $20 on prepaid calling cards on my cell phone alone just talking to your customer service department. I am totally frustrated and am seriously contemplating on whether or not to ever shop at any of your stores again and whether or not to share my experience with the larger community. Basically, your company can never make up for the frustration and time I have wasted as a physician. But the least your company can do is offer an official apology from your company and from Pedram. I am asking that Pedram get reprimanded for his disgusting customer service. I appreciate you reading through this letter. I may be only one customer but having poor customer service like this will eventually affect your bottom line if not already. I hope lessons can be learned from this case so that your company improves and another customer will not have to go through the same horrible experience as I did.

Sincerely,
Lien Luu

Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.

This is a case of “BUYER BEWARE” at Canadian Tire (Calgary Store #419, 64th Ave & Deerfoot Trail N.E, Calgary, Alberta). You need to look really closely at AND FOR the fine print before purchasing anything from them. And good luck finding the fine print disclosed anywhere except may be in an advertising flyer that goes directly from the mail box to the recycle bin.

Here’s my little story:

Apparently Christmas decorations were on sale a few days before and after Christmas with a “no returns policy” on them. No where on the shelf was that posted or highlighted. As well, it wasn’t disclosed on the receipt that the sale was final. All the receipt shows is the normal return/exchange policy (which I complied with -original receipt, original packaging, unused).

One of the items I purchased was not suitable and I tried to take it back (within 6 days). Upon entering the store, I now noticed signs posted around stating absolutely NO RETURNS accepted on “Class 51” Christmas decorations. Oh, oh, did I buy a Class 51 Christmas decoration? I don’t know, I hope not. I ended up waiting in line for about 10 minutes to find out that I AM the unlucky owner of a Class 51 item.

I contacted the 1-800 Canadian Tire customer service number to find out whether this contradiction to the returns policy stated on the receipt was valid; I was directed to the disclosure in the advertising flyer.

Judging from other blogs and complaints, Canadian Tire continues to have a problem with adequate and accurate disclosure of prices and return policies.

Such a crappy experience! I will definitely go somewhere else where they work harder to keep their customers informed and satisfied.

D. Christensen, Calgary

Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.

Hello! My business dealings/complaint is in attachments. I don’t know where to go to find a blog for St. Louis, Missouri, which is where I live. Can you post my story or give me some info. about where to post this stuff? I have tried the BBB, my credit card disputes center, and the Missouri attorney general website. No use. All I have, apparently, is the ability to post my dissatisfaction on the web. so that other people don’t shop at this store. HELP!

Rachelle

ATTENTION: BILLING DISPUTES

CASE #D-590320100707
Citicard Fax #(605)357-2021

Following is an account of our transactions with “Room to Room Furniture.”

Friday, June 15, 2007. My husband and I, Justin and Rachelle Shields, went to Room to Room Furniture, located at 352 Jamestown mall, Florissant, MO 63034-2930. Phone number: 314-355-5500. We were looking for a bedroom set. We found one in a catalog and asked the store owner and manager, Ron, about the quality of the set. He assured us that it was “middle of the line.” He described the set as having good, solid particle board, as having solid metal tracks for the drawers, and a nice look. We agreed to purchase the items for $770.25, including delivery. We were assured delivery would come the following Tuesday, June 19th. WE HAVE A RECEIPT for this transaction.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007. No delivery arrived. We called Room to Room Furniture and they said it would come the next day.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007. No delivery arrived. We called Room to Room Furniture and they said it would come the next day.

Thursday, June 21, 2007. No delivery arrived. We called Room to Room Furniture and they said it would come the next day at around 3:00 pm.

Friday, June 22, 2007. 3:00 pm. No delivery arrived. We called Room to Room Furniture and they said delivery would come the next day. We expressed some concern to them about the constant rescheduling and the inconvenience of having to adjust our schedules for almost an entire work week. They then informed us that they would be able to deliver the items that evening at around 8:00 pm.

Friday, June 22, 2007. 8:00 pm. The items arrived.

Saturday, June 23, 2007. I unpacked the items from their wrapping to discover that they were very poor quality and in bad condition. The set consisted of two night stands, a headboard, a dresser, a chest, and a mirror. The mirror not only had been broken in half, but half of it was missing. Only half of a broken mirror arrived in pieces. The set was made from particle board, but the drawer bottoms were made of cardboard. The tracks consisted of one metal track that was loosely stapled down the center of the drawer cavities—one metal track per drawer. The drawers attached to these tracks via plastic clips. We were told the tracks and drawer attachments were of metal, and provided well for opening and closing the drawers. This was not the case. Most of these metal tracks were not stapled down adequately—if at all. Most of the tracks were hanging loosely, unattached to the dressers. This caused the drawers to slide in at odd angles, to get stuck, and to fall out at random. The set was held together only by staples. Most of these staples had not been put in properly, and were sticking out of the furniture and snagging our clothing, the carpet, and our walls. Some of the paper finish over the particle board was peeling. The particle board had been gauged in two places on the dresser.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007. We called Room to Room about the broken mirror and they agreed to reorder it. We decided to try to live with the furniture and see if it was functional. We had not used it yet because we had just moved into our house and were mostly living out of boxes and unpacking little by little.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007. We began to unpack our bedroom and to put clothing into the bedroom set purchased from Room to Room Furniture. When Justin was attempting to load one of the drawers of the chest with clothing, the drawer fell out by itself, and the plastic clip broke into pieces. Several of the other drawers would stick, or would not close properly. We decided that the furniture was not functional, and decided to call Room to Room Furniture about the issue.

Week of July 3 through July 7th. We called Room to Room Furniture about returning the furniture. They told us that no refunds were available—only exchanges were accepted. We tried to call several times that week about the furniture and no one would answer.

Monday, July 8, 2007. We went to Room to Room Furniture to discuss the matter personally with Ron, as they were no longer taking our phone calls. Ron insisted that we had not called him earlier, and that this was the first notice he had been given of the problems. He told us that his store has caller ID, and that he had not seen either of our cell phone numbers calling. We expressed our displeasure with the store, its delivery procedures, and its products. We asked for a refund, stating that an exchange was distasteful to us because it would require us doing further business with the store. Ron became aggressive and rude. He yelled at us and called me names, including “ridiculous,” and insinuated that my husband and I ought to be intelligent enough to agree with his views. He said that we had waited too long to return the items—that over a month had passed and that there was nothing he could do. (Note: Only two weeks had passed since we received the items, and one of those weeks was spent calling the store with no answer). He became sarcastic, saying that we did not want the furniture because “we didn’t like it,” and that we were “picky.” When it became clear to us that he would not listen to our case objectively, we left the store. We filed a complaint at the mall Customer Service desk immediately.

Tuesday, July 9, 2007. I sent an e-mail to Mr. Stephens, the Jamestown mall manager, describing my complaint.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007. I sent a follow-up e-mail to Mr. Stephens about the issue, with more detail. I sent a copy of the e-mail to Ms. Son, of mall customer relations.

Thursday, July 12, 2007. Justin returned the furniture to Room to Room Furniture for a store credit. He did so because the exchange window was 30 days. If we did not exchange the furniture within that window, we would not even be entitled to store credit. Therefore, he accepted $720.25 of store credit, $50.00 being deducted as a “restocking/delivery fee.” This credit would not expire, and therefore, would give us time for more negotiations. WE HAVE A RECEIPT for this transaction, stating $720.25 as “store credit.”

Friday, July 13, 2007. I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau at 9:03 am. I received an e-mail from Mr. Stephens, Jamestown mall manager, at 11:33 am. He stated that he had spoken with Ron. Ron told Mr. Stephens that he had offered us a “free upgrade,” and that he had tried very hard to ensure our satisfaction. Mr. Stephens said that he has no authority to negotiate exchanges and refunds for stores in his mall, and therefore expressed his sympathies. I e-mailed Mr. Stephens back at 11:56 am and stated that an offer of a “free upgrade” was never mentioned. Had it been proffered, we most certainly would have taken it with satisfaction. I told Mr. Stephens that we had exchanged the furniture for store credit, but did not wish to do further business with Room to Room Furniture, and were attempting to find a way to recover the money.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007. The Better Business Bureau contacted me with Ron’s response to my complaint. He cited that an exchange had been conducted, and that the matter had been resolved. My husband and I determined that it was unlikely that the Better Business Bureau would mitigate this matter, and decided to try and find something in Room to Room Furniture that we would be willing to buy with the store credit. We realized that their delivery process was very unpredictable, and that their customer service was bad, but we felt we had no choice.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007. We went to Room to Room Furniture. Ron was calm, and did not yell at us. We became interested in a chair and ottoman set. Ron told us the chair was $285. The matching ottoman was an additional charge, which we can not recollect completely as we only wrote down the price of the chair. It was around $110.00. We agreed to these prices, and selected a fabric for the upholstery. Ron told us he would order the chair “right away” and that it should be at the store soon. He did not issue a receipt—just told us that the chair would be ordered.

Friday, August 10, 2007. After calling several times over the ensuing weeks, with promises that the chair “would come soon,” we were informed that the chair had arrived.
When Justin went to purchase the chair, they attempted to charge him $399 for it. Justin cited the price discrepancy, and they agreed to drop the price to $330. They cited that they were charging us additional cost because they had to pay for shipping, and that the factory had increased the price of the chair. When Justin complained that he did not agree to pay this price and that the chair should not have been ordered at this sum without his permission, they told him that as he did not have a receipt or written proof of their initial price quote, it was his word against theirs anyway. They charged $180 for the accompanying ottoman. Justin was seriously displeased, but after so much fighting and waiting, he agreed to purchase the chair and took it home. WE HAVE A RECEIPT for this transaction. When he arrived home and we unwrapped the chair, we were shocked to discover that they had ordered the wrong chair. We had ordered a high-backed chair. This chair was low-backed, and completely different from the chair we had ordered—although, it was covered in the fabric we had selected. I sent an e-mail to Mr. Stephens, mall management, about how things were progressing.

Saturday, August 11, 2007. When Justin went to return the incorrect chair, the store was closed with a sign saying that the operators would be back at 5:45 pm. Justin had arrived at 5:10, and decided to wait. 5:45 passed, and Justin grew anxious about his time. Apparently, Ron was gone at a conference and his children were running the store. They returned at 6:20 pm. When Justin finally was able to enter the store, Ron’s children said that Ron wanted to speak with Justin, and they called Ron at the conference. When Justin spoke with Ron on the phone, he informed Justin that the store would have to charge him an additional $50 due to a “clerical error.” When Justin expressed his alarm at this new charge, Ron again became angry. He yelled at Justin over the phone, and became insulting. Eventually, Justin was able to return the incorrect chair and receive store credit. WE HAVE A RECEIPT for this transaction. We were now left with the same $720.25 in store credit that had been issued to us on July 12. Justin returned home and sent an e-mail about these transactions to Mr. Stephens, mall management.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007. Mr. Stephens e-mailed Justin with his findings. He agreed to act as mediator, and spoke with Ron about the proceedings. Ron informed Mr. Stephens that a new chair had been ordered “on rush” This new chair and ottoman would cost $510.00. The remainder of the balance Ron agreed to refund. Ron said the chair should arrive in a week. Though Justin and I were very upset that the price increase had been sustained, we were anxious to conclude the matter and agreed to the terms as long as the chair would arrive in a week.

One week later (approximately August 21): Room to Room Furniture called to say that our fabric selection was gone. We were asked to come select more fabric.

One week later (approximately August 28): Room to Room Furniture called to say they had located our fabric selection, and that the order would be put on “rush” and should arrive a week later, putting approximate delivery date at around September 4th.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007. Justin and I both contacted Mr. Stephens stating that no chair had yet arrived. I stated that Justin and I were no longer willing to purchase the chair at the increased price, as part of the bargain was the expedited delivery. Mr. Stephens agreed to speak with Ron and requested a few days to handle the problem

Wednesday, October 3, 2007. I contacted Mr. Stephens at 11:33 am and asked how the problem was progressing. He responded at 2:25 pm to say that Ron was not willing to negotiate in any particular, and urged me to seek redress through Small Claims Court and the Better Business Bureau. He stated that he has no authority to impose policy on Room to Room Furniture.

Room to Room Furniture continued to insist that they were ordering the chair at their expected price.

Monday, October 8, 2007. I filed several complaints with the Better Business Bureau, each in a different category.

Friday, October 19, 2007. We continue to call Room to Room Furniture to attempt negotiations. They never answer our calls when we call via our cell phones. When we use other phone numbers via calling from our friends’ phones and phones at our business locations, they always answer. We have tested the method, calling first with our cell phones and receiving no answer. Then, we immediately call via another phone number and receive an answer. When we manage to engage them on the phone, Ron is always unpleasant and rude. Room to Room Furniture continues to say that the chair has been ordered and will come “in two weeks.” They have been saying this since September 4th. They keep telling us they will call us with updates yet we have not received one phone call from them. At this point we do not ever expect to receive our item and they still have our $770.25.

Please contact us to let us know how this will work out.

Thank you,

Justin & Rachelle Shields

Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.

I have a problem and I’d like to warn everyone about a strange situation with a popular retailer. I went to a store a few years ago to purchase some appliances at Sears store in Toronto. In order to take advantage of their deferred payment plan, I had to apply for a store credit card. Easy enough; I purchased the appliances, and six months later paid the full amount. Since I did not need the card, I cancelled it. Fast forward to last year when a loan I applied for was declined because the store reported my credit erroneously. It has cost me over $ 1800.00 CDN in higher interest rates, embarrassing conversations and countless hours trying to fix this store’s mistake. All they feel obliged to do was to send a letter to Equifax stating their mistake. They refuse to compensate me for the money I lost and time I wasted fixing their mistake. I have contacted the President’s office, only to be threatened with “legal action” (this happened when I mentioned telling the public about the issue, since they were doing nothing about it). To make the issue more confusing, Sears sold its credit card department to JPMorgan Chase after this mistake happened (an American bank, which does not care at all about me). JP Morgan Chase offered me a $100 dollar “Goodwill gesture” to go away. In addition, they wanted me to re-activate my card to issue this payment! That does not even cover the time I wasted on the phone with Sears. It seems that Sears washed their hands of me when they sold to JPMorgan, and now JPMorgan doesn’t care at all about this issue. Moreover, I never gave JPMorgan permission to use my information, which I feel violates the Privacy act on some level.

What is one to do? The only thing I did wrong was buy appliances from this big chain store. I have tried contacting the Ministry of Governmental Services, only to be told there was nothing they could do in this matter. There is no fines, no penalties, even no laws governing this aspect of consumer relations. The Better Business Bureau does nothing; they were not even worth contacting in this matter. It seems the big stores want to force litigation to address the issue, but I don’t want to hire a lawyer at this point. I was so desperate that I even posted a video on You tube to pass on my frustrations. I would like to warn your listeners at this point to check their credit rating, especially if you have one of those “Store Credit Cards”. Not only are they higher in interest, but it seems they lack the security and knowhow to prevent a simple error like this from happening. Moreover, they will not help you if they do make a mistake. It’s so easy to report an erroneous rating and so difficult to fix it. Apparently, from what people have been telling me, that this type of mistake happens more often than is seems. Why does this happen and how do we prevent it from happening again. I would not wish what happened to me on anyone else. It was a nightmare. Yet that store still makes money and sucks people in to use their credit cards. If the consumer protection laws had any teeth; if our politicians were concerned about protecting us, then there should be some sort of penalty to those who abuse this system. Maybe a stiff penalty would prevent this from happening to anyone else and give those corporations a good shake up!

At this time, all I want Sears to do is to pick up their stupid appliances and give me my money back (with compounded interest, of course)

I have even more information and outlandish stories about this issue, but had to condense this version. Please feel free to contact me if you need any more info.

I have presented my case to the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments in September, but they are dealing only with JPMorgan Chase and not Sears. I am not holding my breath on this outcome. The Ministry of Government Services just sent me an email (under the leadership of Gerry Phillips, M.P.P) suggesting litigation. Great consumer protection, Ontario (if you have the money)!

Thanks again,

Bob Cunningham

Burlington, ON

Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.