Sears Master Protection Consumer Reviews - Page 4

VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA -- In August of 2007 I purchased a 32" Samsung TV from Sears and took out their Master Protection Agreement. This is what they call it!!! A year and a half later while watching a movie the screen went black. After troubleshooting all my options, I called my cable repair and they were out the very next morning. They confirmed that the problem was the TV. I called for service and was told I could not have a service person until 11 days. IF I was purchasing a new TV I'll bet they would be out the next day and not in 11 days or they would lose the sale.

The service person said I could rent a TV and they would reimburse me. However, I would need to pick it up and install it myself. Please picture a 66-year-old woman strapping a 32-inch TV on her back and then crawling on the floor trying to install the TV!!!

When I asked to speak to a supervisor, none was available. And, one did not call me back. I was further told I should watch the TV's in other rooms of the house. Therefore, it was suggested that I spend the day in the bedroom. Can most of us who have to work to this??? When she offered a $10.00 coupon I declined. I will no longer EVER purchase anything in a Sears store.

I called back on Sunday, and guess what?? Supervisors do not work on Sundays. And, the service person was chuckling. I guess it is funny to anyone else until it happens to him. I had an even worst experience with Samsung and would NEVER purchase from them either. I am not happy about waiting, but my complaint is really about the extreme ill-trained and ill-mannered people that these businesses refer to as "customer support reps".

DALLAS, TEXAS -- We bought a brand new a/c unit back in September of 2007. The total price of the unit was close to 5800.00 and the Sears representative ** convinced us to purchase the 5 year master protection plan so that we could have our annual preventative maintenance check for free as well as other extended warranties. We went ahead and purchased this plan for an additional 680.00.

Fast forward to end of July 2008 and everything is falling apart. It is amazing how disorganized the company is. We called to make the appt. for preventative maintenance and that in itself took over a week and a half. We made the appt. and the DAY OF that the technician was supposed to come out he calls (the window of time was 1-5 and he called at 5:10pm) and tells us he checked with the warranty dept. and we are not covered for preventative maintenance.

We then have to proceed over the next several weeks in making 10-12 phone calls to various departments until we finally get a copy of our contract mailed to us. It states plainly on the contract that we purchased the master protection plan and what the cost was.

I contacted the national consumer number that Sears provides and they in turn transfer me to the warranty department. The warranty department checks the system and tells me they can't even find a receipt for the purchase in connection with the account that was opened specifically for the purchase. In the end they ask if I can fax THEM a copy of the contract that THEY sent me. Are you kidding me?

So far this is where we are and to be honest I have little faith that this is going to resolve the issue. At this point we've been trying to get this appointment done for four weeks now and we have paid out of pocket for a service that so far they have refused to give us.

LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO -- Pros: Technician comes to your house, diagnoses, orders parts, comes back and repairs.

Cons: Technician comes to your house, diagnoses, orders parts... then you wait 10 days before the part arrives and your appliance gets repaired. I purchased the home repair warranty for my dishwasher in March 3, 2012, after my appliance stopped working properly (it was less than 10-y-old, and Sears has a repair program). After I paid $250 for 1 year of service, the dishwasher got finally repaired on 10 April. I had requested a rush order on the parts, they refused. It turned out that the first part they ordered was not the issue, so we had to wait another 10 days to get the dishwasher working again.

The part they had replaced in April burnt out again last Sunday (7/108/12). I called in the repair services, the guy came Monday and ordered the part again. I will have to wait 10 working days for the parts (i.e. 2 weeks). I called and requested for a rush order also this time. No cigar. They artfully avoid giving me a straight yes/no answer.

So, the bottom line is, if you do not want to spend the money to buy a new appliance and do not mind waiting and waiting and waiting for the appliance to be repaired, buy this warranty. If you do not mind having the repaired appliance breaking down several times following the repair due to crappy parts being ordered (Chinese?), by all means this is your service.

LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO -- We bought a Samsung fridge from Sears and on the first day we installed it would not give water but only ice. We called Sears and they told me to wait for a tech. We finally demanded a new fridge which they finally replaced. A year later the fridge quits working. Called Sears protection plan and sent tech. The tech has been here replacing parts about 5 times and still he has been able to fix the problem. We have been out a fridge for 4 months and going on 5.

I talked to Sears about replacement under lemon clause and they been giving me the runaround that tech needs to show up and whatever he says. I think he is going to rebuild the fridge until he figures it out on how to fix it. It seems he calls some other tech to help him figure it out why does Sears hire experienced techs. I am very disappointed on how they treat their customers. Will not buy from Sears again. This plan is a joke. Still waiting for tech, probably he will fix it by July or December.

Sears Maintenance Agreement for TVs has a clause that agrees to reimburse the client for the cost of renting a replacement TV while the covered TV is in the repair shop. However, no one will rent a TV for less than a month and Sears will not agree to reimburse for the minimal rental. Virtually no repairs take that long so the guarantee is useless, as I am sure that Sears knows quite well. Sears should pull the guarantee from their agreement or make it meaningful by agreeing to reimburse for the minimal time available from rental shops. As it stands, the agreement is duplicitous.

I purchased a refrigerator from Sears 5 years ago - a french door bottom freezer, branded Kenmore Elite but made by Amana (according to a very seasoned Sears repair tech). Fortunately I purchased an MP agreement at the time. Honestly it was almost by accident: the fridge was a floor/display unit and the salesman basically threw it in. As it appeared I was getting it for free, I didn't argue. Thank goodness.

The fridge was not great & I had several repair visits but though aggravating all were free. Then, when the unit was about 4 1/2 years old, the compressor went out. It was replaced for free but the fridge was never the same. The interior water dispenser froze solid, and vegetables etc. froze in the produce bins. Nothing the repair techs did made any difference.

After the obligatory number of unsuccessful service visits I called and invoked the lemon clause. The reps I spoke to did due diligence and then approved a free replacement unit to the tune of $2250. Though I'd rather have had a trouble free fridge from day one I can honestly say that Sears has been true to their agreement. So, on balance I'm a satisfied customer!

LITTLETON, COLORADO -- I purchased the TV 11/07 for $1,400 and purchased the warranty for $299 covered for 3 years. I had the service technician come out about 10 months after the purchase for the once a year annual maintenance and thought it was a joke. Granted it was no cost to me, but I could have done a better job of cleaning the TV than he did.

About 3 months later I noticed a line going through the top portion of the screen. I had the protection so I figured I would milk the $299 for every dime. The tech came out, took 5 min looking at the TV, told me he could replace the back panel for $1,300, plus another $200 in labor. He told me since I only paid $1,300 for the TV, it was uneconomical to repair.

Long story but the result was a $1,300 credit to go buy a new TV at no charge to me. Another good thing is that the 3 yr warranty I purchased now transfers over to the new TV. ZI did not think it was worth it at first, but am sure glad I got the warranty.

RICHARDSON, TEXAS -- I purchased my 51-inch rear projection Hitachi at Sears about 3 years ago with a master protection agreement. In that time I have had a recurring problem of the screen going white, pink, green or black. The first call I made was about the problem was right after I received the TV. The lady on the phone told me it was a common problem with the cable provider and not the TV.

A year later I moved and had a different cable provider and different cable box. Of course the problem kept occurring. So I called Sears and the technician had no idea what the problem was. Needless to say the technicians have continued to come out and not figure out what the problem is. When I called to have my TV replaced I was told that the technician visits were considered adjustments, not repairs and my TV could not be replaced.

I spent an additional $200 for this master protection agreement only to have to take 6 days off of work and have no resolution to my problem, except a $50 gift card for my trouble around Super Bowl time. Seriously? I will never buy anything from Sears again. Their products are a joke.

YARDLEY, PENNSYLVANIA -- SEARS - We purchased a treadmill 2 years back. We relied on SEARS service and purchased a Master Protection Plan to cover our expensive buy though I thought it's a waste of money. But it came to use when our treadmill got stuck at an inclined position and stopped working.

We called up Sears and fixed an appointment. It was scheduled on a Thursday. The time window was VERY SPECIFIC- 8AM-5PM. I have no idea why they can't give more specific window. I took off from work, stayed at home waiting for the SEARS technician. I received a call at 3pm. "Madam, Our technician called in sick. Can I reschedule it for tom?"

It was my husband's turn to stay back at home. The entire day nobody showed up. We called them at 5.00 and very casually the customer rep said "Oh sorry madam. Can we reschedule it for next Friday?" We were furious. But we thought it is our necessity and agreed.

The schedule was made for today. The technician called up at 9 am when I was in the shower. I called back immediately and they said we will inform the technician. I was happy that finally we are going to get it fixed. In the afternoon I called up just to confirm the appointment. The rep said "Oh sorry madam. The technician has left your area. Would you like to reschedule?" Is there a solution for this arrogant system. Does SEARS respect its customers and their time?

MASSACHUSETTS -- Have Master Protection with Sears. Refrigerator broke Thanksgiving eve. All food went to garbage. Called Sears on 11/29/13 for repair appointment. Dec. 5, 2013 the soonest available. What's the point of Master Protection if service not available when needed?