Sears Still Bad at Backing Up Their Products
It's been a while since I've ranted about Sears. And why do I need to, when others are willing to do it for me? Here's a comment left recently on my post titled Sears Finally Gets It Right, But Ends Up "Ok" at Best in My Book; Fine with Mrs. FMF; You Decide Who is Right:
I have a Free Sprit treadmill that is only 1 yr old which was bought from Sears. The treadmill has not been used much and yet the controller has gone twice and now the walking belt is worn out. It's a $3000 treadmill and I have had to put in at least $800 so far. On the Sears receipt is states satisfaction guaranteed, well I'm not satisfied and they are not standing behind their product. I will not shop at Sears again. I am very disappointed in the product as well as customer service.
Ha! Seems like I'm not the only one they're stiffing. Thank God I only spent $400. I'd be absolutely hitting the roof if I had $3,800 into something they sold me!!!!
If memory serves correctly, all fitness equipment sold at Sears comes with a 90 day warranty.. after that time you're on your own, unless you A: bought an extended warranty, or b: bought the equipment with an extended-warranty credit card.
Deciding not to shop at Sears due to equipment that failed after 4x the length of it's warranty is a little extreme, no? That would be like me purchasing a Ford, owning it for 12 years ( mfr warranty is 3 years ), having a mechanical failure, and swearing off Ford for the rest of my life. Just doesn't make sense, now does it?
Posted by: Leroy Brown | February 08, 2007 at 06:40 PM
I think the warranty period depends on teh product, and it's not a flat 90-day.
A couple of years ago, we had bought a "Crossbow" machine from Sears, similar to a Bowflex. It had a 1-year Sears-back warranty. The machine was a piece of junk, and Sears came out three times to fix it. FInally, we went to the store a little over a year after we bought it, and they agreed to let us trade it in for a Bowflex. We actually got $100 back from Sears in the exchange, and got a much better machine. So I was pretty happy with the way Sears handled me. I didn't have quite the nightmare that FMF and other readers have chronicled here, but I may have just been lucky.
Posted by: SteveK | February 08, 2007 at 07:35 PM
LeRoy --
Re-read his comment. He said he's had it for a year and it's been bad DURING that time -- not AFTER that time. Furthermore, I DID buy the warranty and Sears still won't stand behind their product.
Posted by: FMF | February 08, 2007 at 08:01 PM
Rather than complaining about Sears, why not contact the manufacturer? Does the company who made it stand behind their product?
It had to come with some sort of warranty from the manufacturer. Did you use a credit card? Credit cards can often help. However, if this has gon on for a year, don't expect the manufacturer or credit card to do anything now. You should have contacted them earlier.
On person's bad experience does not make a company bad. You obviously bought a defective product. But Sears is not at fault.
Posted by: Sam | February 08, 2007 at 08:27 PM
Sam is spot on - the product is at fault, not Sears. Simple and to the point.
Posted by: Leroy Brown | February 08, 2007 at 08:39 PM
For me, it doesn't matter -- I bought a THREE YEAR WARRANTY from SEARS that said THEY would make it right, repair it, etc. What are you guys not getting out of that?
Yes, the product is bad, but Sears is equally (or more so in my opinion) in the wrong for not doing something they said they'd do (and were paid to do).
Posted by: FMF | February 08, 2007 at 08:44 PM
I'm with you FMF -- I bought an exercise bike from Sears with extended warranty and it's been bad since I got it home. I hate the thing. It all started off wrong when I paid to have it delivered and set up, and the delivery guys refused to set it up.
I'll shop Sears for incidental purchases but no more big ticket items.
Posted by: gmv | February 08, 2007 at 09:41 PM
I called Sears to come out and fix one of their machines I bought that was 2 months out of warranty. They never showed up and claimed I canceled the appointment. Sorry, the fault here lies with Sears and their failure to stand behind their merchandise, even when the customers are willing to pay to fix it.
Sounds to me like the Sears marketing folks have found your blob FMF.
Posted by: Joe | February 09, 2007 at 09:44 AM
$3000 for a treadmill? Get a near-professional model like a Precor--they cost a little less and are extremely durable!
Posted by: segfault | February 09, 2007 at 06:48 PM