Sears Freezers Consumer Reviews

On January 6th 2010 we requested service on our 10 month old Kenmore refrigerator freezer from Sears. Our second warranty repair. This time the unit blew out the control panel which regulates the temperature and the unit was already warming up. After speaking with the scheduler I was told the soonest we would see repair would be the afternoon of January 14th (8 1/2 days later.) I explained that this was a problem as our perishables would be destroyed in a few days and we required the refrigerator to cool insulin and another drug used by a kidney dialysis patient. The agent put me on hold and insisted that was the best.

When I asked who would pay for the lost food I was told that there was a $250 refund available under warranty. I was told to ask the technician for the form and to fill it out and return it at the time of the repair. Since I had 8 days to wait I did my best to expedite the service in the meantime. One individual (who worked in local repair) said that some areas were backed up two-three weeks and I was lucky it was just 8 days. Hardly a selling point and as my food was melting I felt anything but lucky.

If I would have been told at the time of sale that this type of dreadful response was normal I would have left the store instead of buying the unit. I would assume 99% of your customer base would do the same. I began researching complaints made by others online and saw that there was an email address that kept recurring searscares@searhc.com. Whenever they found a complaint online they posted a cheery little response advising disgruntled customers to work with them to resolve the complaint. I emailed my problem.

On the 6th day of my wait (01-12-10) I received a phone call. A rude individual by the name of ** called to help. His take on helping was that he would call me back after the original repair date to make sure that they fixed it. I explained that this wasn't helpful but if I needed any help filing the food loss claim I would keep his number. He then informed me that there would be no compensation for the hundreds of dollars' worth of food that melted. I explained that I had discussed this on my original call and had mentioned it in subsequent calls to expedite the repair. He said they were wrong and we would have to assume the loss.

Naturally I was irritated and when I expressed my irritation he finally offered two options.

1. He would send us a check for $100. That was better than nothing but still unacceptable. I wanted what I was promised and $100 didn't come close to paying for our loss.

2. He would give us a 2nd year of warranty for free. This wasn't helpful as we already had a free 2nd year of warranty service because we purchased it with a Visa card that included a double warranty up to one year. Besides who in their right mind would tolerate service delays like this twice?

He said that was all he could do and I said I may take this issue to small claims court. At which point he told me "If you're going to take that attitude I'll hang up on you. Before he hung up he promised to follow up with me following the repair on the 14th to make sure I was pleased. Further efforts to expedite the repair were useless. January 14th finally arrived and the repairman came as promised at 2:00 PM.

Although I described the exact part that failed the service tech didn't bring one on the call. He was however helpful enough to check with a local supplier in Dallas who then couriered the part the same afternoon. He promised to make one other call then swing back and fix it shortly after 5 PM. The parts arrived at 5:15 PM. At 5:20 I received a call from the tech who apologized and told me that he was told he could not return until Monday January 18 to complete the repair so we would have to wait another 4 days without refrigeration for our food and medical supplies.

The routing department in Ft Worth said he could not come because they would not pay the overtime. (15 minutes to complete the repair.) I asked for the name of that individual to call and was told she was gone for the day but was given the number. As a last resort I spoke with the local Sears store (previous calls were unsuccessful) here in Plano and spoke with ** who is the Appliance Manager. He pulled strings and got the call rescheduled to Friday (Jan. 15th) and apologized profusely.

The next time I spoke with "Sears Cares" ** called me on January 18th and asked if I was pleased with the service. I told him in no certain terms I was extremely displeased and would never buy another product from Sears. He insisted the service was done as promised on Friday. I corrected him because his notes were again incorrect -- the promise was Thursday and then later Monday. I reminded him that he didn't bother to follow up on Jan 15th as promised and he had done absolutely nothing to help alleviate the problem.

Then the lies continued. I asked to speak with his manager. He informed me he was THE manager. I asked for his last name. He advised me he "didn't have to tell me". I asked who he reported to and he informed me it was Bruce Johnston the CEO of Sears. I told him I believed he was lying to me. Silence on his end. I asked if the CEO did his performance review. After a lull he said "No, that's done by the Board of Directors" another obvious lie. I asked again for his manager's name or to be transferred he said he couldn't because he didn't know his manager's phone number.

This has been the worst service experience of my life. I will never buy another Sears product and will warn everyone possible that they should consider my experience before spending hard earned money with Sears. After researching other people's complaints online I realized how much the service at Sears has degraded. As one person put it "They're not the same company your parents bought from". That is so true.

I worked at Sears scheduling service calls when I was working my way through college. In that entire time I was never asked to be transferred to a manager because this type of response was unheard of and wouldn't have been tolerated. Sears is one of the largest resellers of appliances in the world. To expect customers to wait 12 days to fix an in warranty refrigerator-freezer is ludicrous. To expect warranty customers to absorb the loss of food on top of that just throws salt in the wound. Don't do as I did and trust these jerks, you'll regret it just like I do.

MOORESTOWN NEW JERSEY -- In good faith, I purchased a new ref/freezer (defect) and had no service on three different dates, between the hours of 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm on 4/15/11, 4/20/11 and 04/25/11. All three dates I was assured and promised a repair service person to replace this gasket on the drawer/freezer. It is well over a month, 04/08/11, when I called to mention that the freezer is filled with frost all over the freezer. When I opened the drawer, the frost fell all over the floor. This has been gone on the entire month of April. I was promised and assured of service.

All three of these dates, has proven to be "no show" and not even a call from anyone, beginning with mgr. or a rep from the service dept. All calls that I have made have been empty promises and apologizes. This is not acceptable for me. I am a former employee of sears of twenty years (20 yrs.) my late wife and I have always purchased big ticket items from sears. They were always reliable. Today, I can honestly say, "i will never ever purchase another item from sears again. After all the empty promises and apologies I have had every time I initiated the calls to find out what has happened.

On one call, I was told, I was not even scheduled. I have lost all interest with sears and their guarantee that we will be out to fix your freezer. The gasket has been at my house all month of Apr. And still sits presently. I requested on April 25th to a rep. Miss **, if I could have the replacement ref/freezer delivered on 04/30/11 in the morning. I received a call tonight 04/29/11, that the del. Time is 2:30 to 4:30 pm. Reason, I will not be here in the Sat. Pm because I have to be at my church to set up for the 5:00 pm mass (catholic). Sunday, I will not be here all day, because I will be in a convent, to play for a mass and a communion breakfast after the mass.

I have never ever been so disgusted and fed-up with sears, that I can honestly say, that I will not deal with any product with sears again. I just cannot go through what I have endured this month because no one from sears has made any kind of effort to contact me and try to make good on this repair. Now the deliv. Date is all messed up too. My request for an am delivery went on deaf ears. I was told to call early tomorrow morning to see if a deliv. Can be made in the sam on this Sat. 04/30/11. I am anticipating, the same disappointment will result, just like the three dates for a repair.

I can promise, I will never, ever purchase any more products from sears again. I am extremely dissatisfied with this whole mess. I can understand why sears is not doing well with the business market. I won't have anything to do with sears again. This whole ordeal this past month has proven this to me, that I will take all my business elsewhere. An extremely dissatisfied and disappointed former customer.

RHODE ISLAND -- We had bought a washer, dryer and a freezer chest from Sears. All Kenmore products. Within 3 to 6 months' time one by one the products stop working.

1st - was the washer was hopping and make funny sound when I wash my clothes. I called Sears, they send the technician to take a look at it, but the tech person did not do anything, he just said "oh it's normal - nothing wrong" and he left. I call the Sears customer service again, I have to argue with them & finally they send tech, it's the same guy they send. He told me the same thing, nothing was resolve. With all this aggravation, Sears won't give me a new washer, they said will send another tech. This time a different guy, he did say something was wrong and they order me a brand new washer.

2nd - after the washer was done, the dryer was acting up, it was not drying my clothes, I have to hang dry all my clothes outside. I thought the guy did not connect it properly or something came lose, keep trying it, still the same thing, called Sears they keep saying will send tech, which takes them 2x finally to get it diagnose. It was the circuit board. They just change the circuit board, they won't replace a new dryer, said they stop making that model. Apparently you have to yell or argue with them to get your appliance fix.

Lastly - the chest freezer. It was working for 3 months, and today I went to go to the freezer to get something, I notice there is water on the door, when I open it some of my food in the freezer was already defrosted. Some of the food I have to throw it out. I looked at the manual and to see if we did not set the temp correctly. Everything was done as the manual. I call Sears, the representative (a guy) answer he ask where I put my freezer, he said it is my fault that the freezer does not work, he keep telling that I should look at the manual for the trouble shooting.

I have to yell at him, when we bought the machine everything was install by them, and there is no way it is our fault. This freezer only 3 months old. He said will set up the appointment for me, however he stated that "if the tech goes to the house and if it is not the manufacture defect I have to pay the fees at least $95 for the tech to come out". I call back few hours later and ask them to just take back the freezer give me the money back or give me a new one. The customer service said they can't do that, they have to fix it 1st at least 1x, if can't be fix they will give me a new freezer.

She guarantee me that I will not get charge for the tech to come out. Well they will come out the 11 of August. Will find out what they say. Apparently when Sears advertise they do not follow or stick to it. Even on the back of the receipt it stated “if you are not satisfied for the products you can return or exchange it within 90 days as long as you have your receipt". My freezer this week exactly 90 days. You know what? They lie, they won't give you the money back or even exchanging it. This is the last time we are buying products from them. Sears sucks.

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA -- 12/26 - Bought a Kenmore freezer delivery scheduled for 12/27.

12/27 -- AM - Freezer did not arrive with some poor excuse about the weather. It was 70 degrees and sunny on that day in Pittsburgh. Rescheduled delivery for 12/28.

12/27 - Purchased an LG refrigerator, delivery scheduled for 12/28 along with freezer that never made it earlier in the day.

12/28 -- Delivery arrived, Freezer did not. Refrigerator was severely dented. Returned and new delivery scheduled for 1/3 for both items.

1/3 Freezer delivered but had dents in the side, took $110 Sears gift card in exchange of dent damage & after driver left, removed tape from key area and found a large dent on the key hole. Scheduled exchange for 1/5.

1/3 Refrigerator delivered but painted over scratches found in door! How can LG/Sears sell a product that has touch up paint over two large scratches?! Do you think someone wouldn't care? Exchange scheduled for 1/5.

1/3 talked to ** who appears very helpful. She confirmed the reschedule items for 1/5 and also ordered a “pink & shrink” which means they will inspect and shrink wrap each item prior to delivery. If items are damaged we would get a call. She was to transfer me to a supervisor **. ** promised my delivery would be after 4 PM on 1/5.

1/4 - 6 PM I got a phone call stating the system automatically scheduled for delivery between 12:30 and 2:30 on 1/5. What happened to the after 4 PM promise? I called a delivery specialist and was told no matter what the supervisor said my times could not be changed. I asked to speak to a supervisor. The delivery specialist told me that a supervisor would just tell me the same thing. I again asked to speak to a supervisor.

After 10 minutes of arguing about getting me a supervisor, she said she would get one, and then I went back into the waiting queue, only to be picked up by another delivery specialist 15 minutes later. I finally did get to talk to a supervisor, and he said he would e-mail the warehouse to move my delivery to the last stop of the day.

1/5 -- Driver called at 11:30 AM and said he is 30 minutes out. I explained that I was to be the last stop, and he basically told me that's not how it works. I explained that I talked to a supervisor and that it was to happen. He got an attitude and told me to call delivery to reschedule. I called and rescheduled the delivery for Tuesday 1/6. Hoping to get a later delivery slot. At 6 PM we got an automated call that delivery was scheduled for 11 AM. Wife talked to another delivery specialist and he said he was sorry, and that he would definitely schedule the delivery to be the last stop.

1/6 - My wife called off work for this delivery, since she was certain delivery would screw it up anyway, which they did. They arrived at the house at 11 AM. They only brought the refrigerator, no freezer! At least this time the refrigerator wasn't dented, scratched or mangled in any way.

1/6 -- Wife talked to a delivery specialist supervisor AGAIN to ask about the freezer. We again asked for late delivery, and again were promised, and again got a phone call at 6 PM stating a delivery time in early AM. Instead of fighting and getting empty promises I told my wife that I would make arrangements with my office to get there if they would give me an hour lead time.

1/7 -- Finally got my freezer at 11 AM, no late delivery of course, as was requested. It was not “pink & shrinked” as requested.

As of 1/7 -- This was the sixth scheduled delivery date. Both items had to be returned twice due to dents/scratches. There were a ton of broken promises, both with numerous delivery times, pink & shrink, etc. There was the sneakiness of Sears & LG trying to pass damaged product as new. I was on hold with customer service for a total of 10 hours relating to at least 7 calls. I was passed around within the Sears customer service line to many different people.

Many customer service individuals were rude, with two of them telling me I couldn't talk to a delivery specialist supervisor. I tried to remain civil in discussions, but resorted to anger when this happened, and then finally got to talk to a supervisor. If this is what you call good customer service, no thanks... I'll buy my products elsewhere.

I will send this document to everyone I know. I will post it on numerous websites... and even turn what I consider fraud (Painted over scratches) into the attorney general... unless I get a call from a regional manager at Sears with an apology and what he is going to do for me. A free extended warranty on both products, or all future products I buy at Sears would go a long way.

WALDORF, MARYLAND -- I purchase a freezer with a temperature control on the outside that does not work. I contacted the store within seven days and was promised that I would get a new freezer. Later was told that they do not make the freezer anymore. No one call me, I had to drive to the store to find out the information. The store manager asked a salesman to set an appointment, which he did not. I end up contacting the office of the president and had an appointment scheduled.

BRANDON (WESTFIELD MALL), FLORIDA -- On friday april 16th 2010 we purchased a side by side fridge/freezer. We were told delivery would be saturday it was then changed to sunday. When the truck came the item was damaged and left leaving us without a fridge. Food was packed in ice all over the kitchen which we put back into the old fridge. By the next day it had spoiled. We went to sears and got the run around but an assistant manager promised delivery on tuesday of a temp so we could store our food.

On monday night the store manager called me not knowing anything about the food spoiling or the truck leaving. She insisted that I have proof of all the items in my fridge. Who the heck keeps foot receipts for more than a day??? She was rude and had not one ounce of care for my situation. Promises were made that a truck would be here in the morning. Morning comes with a 6:45 wakeup call saying that the truck was coming. At 7:15 a call saying no the truck isn' t coming. At 8:00, yes it's coming.

i called the sears hot line in ill and the guy says now it's not coming until thursday. We bought this item on friday have been without a fridge since sunday and now they are calling for my credit card number to put the charges on my account for a rebate but I do not have the item. Not one person has told us the truth and the store manager thinks i'm ripping her off for money for spoiled food. Where is the concern for me the customer? Not one person in that store in brandon, fl. Knows what the other has said or done. It is the most utterly disorganized store I have ever dealt with and now reading others reviews I fully understand why.

i can only try and warn the next innocent person not to buy = deal = or go into a sears store b/c they will lie to you and treat you awful. Words cannot describe how we have been treated and sears does not care about their customers at all. P. V of florida.

I was surprised to see so many negative reviews for the Sears Maintenance Agreement. We have had one ever since we purchased our first side-by-side refrigerator/freezer. After purchasing, we had constant problems with the ice maker and its door's access drop chute. It kept freezing and causing ice to form on the inside of the freezer. To make a long story short, after many service calls, Sears gave us a new refrigerator/freezer of our choice AND allowed us to keep the one we had purchased which we put into our garage.

The new one had an ice maker that worked (we chose the Sears brand this time). We did not need the ice maker on the original one, so having it work was no longer an issue. NINE YEARS LATER, we were contacted by Sears that the ice maker on the original product had been recalled and that we were entitled to a replacement at the expense of Sears which was done. In the meantime, the "drop chute" on the door still would not properly close. When the repairman came to put in the new ice maker, he was shocked to see paper towels stuffed into the drop chute and duct tape over the top of the entrance to the drop chute.

He was especially alarmed that the previous repairman had offered the paper towels and duct tape as the only "solution"; so, the new repairman decided to call his manager and complain. To make another long story short, Sears decided to give us credit toward the purchase of another Sears refrigerator/freezer. We chose a newer version with French doors at the top and a drawer freezer at the bottom and paid an additional $200 to get the largest version.

BOTTOM LINE -- except for the additional $200 we recently paid, we have THREE huge refrigerator/freezers for the paid price of one. We've even had one of them lose "freon" and been paid the agreement's maximum for the replacement of all of the food that we lost. We will NEVER be without maintenance agreements on our Sears products again. Those maintenance agreements were certainly much, much less costly than buying new appliances.

With three products, we were able to give one to our son and daughter-in-law and they were thrilled!!! They now have one in their garage the same as we do. The overflow availability is wonderful!!! My guess with those people who complain about these agreements is that they don't ask the right questions or don't try to use the agreements properly. Too bad for them because we think they're GREAT!!!

WEST JEFFERSON, NORTH CAROLINA -- I purchased a Kenmore freezer in July 2007 with a 1-year warranty. My last Kenmore freezer lasted 30 years without needing a repair, so we followed the advice of financial advisers and did not purchase additional warranty protection. On returning from a day out of the house on 9/27/07 I heard a loud sound coming from the freezer, and the temperature read 40 degrees! The door was securely closed, I hadn't opened it in a few days, and until now there was no indication of any problem.

I unplugged it, waited a minute, and re-plugged it. The noise stopped and there was just a hum -the compressor didn't appear to be running. On opening the freezer I found many foods were already thawing. It contained the entire summer's garden harvest, as well as a month's supply of meat. I moved the meat to the freezer compartment of the refrigerator, but had no space for all the vegetables and baked goods. I loaded it with Ice and cold-packs from my other freezer, but I had to wait until morning to phone for service.

The temperature in the morning was still 40 deg., refrigerator temperature. Everything had thawed, but at least it was still cool so the food could be salvaged with quick service. At 7:30 AM I phoned Sears' repair service, where perky ** informed me that my repair appointment would be 5 days from now! When I objected she said they could put me on a 'wait list' in case there's a cancellation. I inquired whether, on their 10/4 visit, the repair technician would haul away the then-spoiled harvest of my summer's labor, she sweetly replied that she didn't know, and wished me a nice day!

I had expected that a major supplier of home appliances would have emergency service available for such critical items as refrigerators and freezers. I'm really angry with this situation.

NEW HOPE, PHILADELPHIA AREA, PENNSYLVANIA -- I have had service contracts from Sears on all our appliances in the home (mostly Sears products) for around 10 years and spend around $2000. Per year. I have never had a claim except for an occasional refrigerator plastic drawer broken. Sometime in August this year our Sears chest freezer failed and I didn't realize it until I went to get some food out of it and found all the rotten food in the freezer. I called Sears and after several changed appointments and no shows the repair person arrived and replaced a small part and the freezer was running.

Prior to him coming I cleaned out the rotten food. When I made a claim for the spoiled food claim I was refused and had to spend lots of time complaining and offering proof of spoiled food and complaining to the executive offices and calling their press relations (I am a writer in the consumer electronics field) before they would authorize the claim. Furthermore a terrible smell was present in the freezer and again after several no shows and cancelled appointments a serviceman arrived and told me it would be impossible to eliminate the smell as the rotten food had penetrated the insulation and the freezer would have to be replaced.

I was told by the repair office that the serviceman was wrong and scheduled another appointment with the same delays and cancelled appointments that I had previously experienced. This serviceman had the same diagnosis. I have made many calls to different Sears service people and they refuse to replace the freezer or send anyone to try to correct the problem. They claim "We don't replace for smell". The freezer is useless as the smell is terrible. I tried to call Sears executive offices but they have a phone screening in place and when I give the machine my name and phone number no one calls back.

I have stopped paying on my Sears credit card which I now find out was bought by Citibank Visa and they care less about my Sears problem and are now dunning me by calling every 3 or 4 days demanding payment. Sears has been bought by Kmart and the employees I talk to blame Kmart for the recent terrible service. STAY AWAY FROM SEARS OR KMART.

I now plan to sue Sears for the cost of a new freezer and for damages due to my loss of time and use of the freezer and for the unused portion of my service contract. I will at a great expense have the freezer delivered to the court to smell and have news coverage of the event from local newspapers. I will videotape the event and put it up on Youtube. Perhaps Sears would like to comment on that. Let's hear from others who have had a similar experience with Sears. You can comment on this site or email me at **.

FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA -- Just wanted to warn people to be aware that this particular brand of refrigerator (it's called a Kenmore but apparently it is a Whirlpool manufactured in Mexico) is a real lemon. We bought one from Sears in 2006 and immediately began to have problems with it. It would shut off for no particular reason, Sears would come and repair it, then it would happen again a month or two later. Finally, after documenting all the problems and repairs, Sears gave us a new one.

We bought the two year warranty and all was well until just after the two year mark, when the same problems began again. Unfortunately for us, the warranty had expired and we had not extended it again (the hundreds of dollars Sears wants for its warranties seem excessive). It died on us and, after Sears sent out a repair person (for free) to see if it was a compressor (in which case they would have repaired it for free), they determined it was the computer board, which was not covered under an extended manufacturer's warranty.

In sum, a very expensive and frustrating experience and one that you wouldn't think you'd have to undergo when you pay 1400 dollars for a major appliance. Sears said they couldn't refund any of our money, but offered to give us 30 percent off another refrigerator, to which we said "no thanks." We're done with Sears.