Sears Warranty Rip Off North Conway New Hampshire
Last year I purchase a gas powered leaf blower from Sears. It worked well enough even though it was a bit hard to start and would frequently stall for no apparent reason. It also made an interesting rattling noise when it was moved around.
After almost a year of this I decided to take a closer look at what could be rattling around inside the blower. I am a qualified mechanic having spent more than 20 years in aircraft maintenance and 30 or more years working autos, motorcycles, and small engine powered equipment.
I very carefully opened the leaf blower housing and look at that will you!? There is the top half of a socket head bolt that from the corrosion on its broken surface, has been like this for a long while. No where did that bolt used to live? Ah ha! It's one of the two screws that is supposed to hold the cylinder to the crankcase. The clyinder is freely rotating back and forth on the one remaining bolt. And it's actually been running like this for a year.
I take the whole thing back to Sears. The nice woman says they are sorry. They will send it out and have it repaired and the give it back to me under warranty. Thank you very much.
I get a call yesterday that the blower is ready for pickup. I went to pick it up and they say the labor is free but the parts will be almost ninety dollars. Hey, I only paid that much for it new and I was told it would be fixed for free. What's going on here??!!
They still have the blower but I am not going to let them keep it and I sure as hell aren't going to pay them a dime. These guys are crooks. More to follow.
J.G.
Bartlett, New Hampshire
U.S.A.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
John
Sears,Florida,
U.S.A.
the Rebuttal from "employee"
#4UPDATE Employee
Wed, December 29, 2004
Craftsman gas blowers with the exception of the least expensive model gives a 2 year warranty against any defect in material and workmanship.
The parts should not have been charged to Mr. Bartlett since that is obviously a defect only if he bought anything other than the economy model. If the blower wasn't working well from the start, I urge any customer to please speak to your sales associate immediately within 30 days of purchase. Most of the times if its within such a short period of time it will get exchanged for a new one.
Also before you talk to the salesman regarding a problem remember that you get more flies with honey than vinegar.
Peter
Wilmington,North Carolina,
U.S.A.
You got way more than you deserved
#4UPDATE Employee
Sun, December 05, 2004
After one **YEAR** the product is no longer covered by Sears. Its only covered for 90 days, unless you bought the warrenty (obviously you didnt). You waited one year to check what was wrong with this thing and they owe you nothing, you should have had to pay for parts and labor. Lucky for you they bended over and gave you what you wanted.
J.g.
Bartlett,New Hampshire,
U.S.A.
Manager Steps Up To The Plate, Does Right Thing
#4Author of original report
Sun, December 05, 2004
Good news. The manager/owner of the Sears store
stepped up to the plate today and agreed I should not have to pay for this repair. He instructed his worker to retrieve my blower. He disagreed with the finding of the repair center and told me I should not have to pay for repairs to what is clearly a manufacturing defect. It's refreshing to see reasonable people in charge of a retail store.