Kenmore Elite Compressor Warranty Issue

[gtwysoul]

I came home Dec 10th to an unknown noise in my house. Traced it to my Kenmore Elite Refrigerator Model 795.71036010 (Made by LG). Pulling out the refrigerator the noise got really loud. With a flashlight it was clearly not the fan on the right but the compressor on left. The freezer wasn't cold despite the temp on the front at -4. The fridge was still cold. It was late around 7pm and Im not sure how long this had been broken. I unplugged the unit and waited an hour then plugged it back in and it was quite for abut 30 mins and back to making a noise.

Checking the manual showed there should be a 5 yr warranty on the compressor. I called 1800 4 MY HOME. The first lady said I had no warranty and had to call Kenmore. I called and she said the labor is not covered. She had to ask someone so I asked to speak with that person. I talked to JOE for about an hour. He repeated the no labor or housecall covered and said only the parts. (Research shows labor would be over 500$ as much as 1000$). I explained that I had an ongoing issue with a touchy icemaker after it was replaced a few months out from new. He assured me Sears wanted to make it right and would give me a 3 month warranty that they would email me a certificate to cover any and everything and I should get it by Monday...Today no email so I call. They have no idea about a warranty. Still arguing against the 5 yr Compressor Warranty. I get transferred twice and talk to Patrick and he sees the warranty and sets up for next Tuesday a house call. I have been with a working Refrigerator for 5 days now. All food downstairs in the Basement. Running up and down 10+ times a day to make breakfast, lunch and dinner. I would have made an appointment sooner but was told to wait until today for the 3 month warranty. Joe even said let them know what parts you need to save time.

Today no one can even find Joe to confirm. There are so many departments and I've called and been transfered again and again. Now it seems they will honor the 5 yr but I am SOL on the 3 month warranty I was promised. The last person even says I need my receipt to prove the date of purchase. The same date they have given each time I call but now I need proof. I did find an Oct 2014 revision to the warranty that excludes labor. I can see the confusion but I bought this new in 2011. 2700$ and it craps out just over 3 years. Seems that this LG isn't as good as the whirlpool kenmore I bought 10 years ago that is still going strong.

This doesn't seem right. I'm sure Sears is billing LG for the labor on their Compressor. I need a working refrigerator for Christmas. My mother in law passed in July and my wife is beside herself. The holidays are hard on her. For the first time in over a decade we will not be at her mother's for Christmas breakfast. We were to host this year to carry on the tradition and this big grey hulk is stuck in my kitchen. The doors were removed to get it up the stairs and into the kitchen. I can't afford to replace it and could get another one in here in the week we have left. I need a miracle and Sears has literally given me the run around. Each employee says something different and this whole ordeal is a joke. I bought an expensive Kenmore elite appliance and am regretting not taking my business elsewhere. It's also been suggested that I contact LG directly.

I'm a technical person and would do any repairs myself but this is beyond me. A sealed system repair that is covered should not be so hard. The manual says call for a free repair. This has been a nightmare and Sears has made it this way. I need the 3 month warranty I was promised and this refrigerator 100% by Christmas or a better model then this LG junk. There are thousands of people with the same issues on LG forums everywhere. Not sure what else to do. Maybe someone here can give me advice on how to proceed.

 

[rickgburton]

You're at Sears mercy as far as the ice maker. The ice maker has a 1 year warranty. That's pretty much cut and dry. If the ice maker fails on day 2 after being replaced and you wait one year and one day to report it, you're out of luck. Your machine has a five year parts and labor warranty regardless of any warranty revision that was issued after the date of purchase. The refrigerator was purchased in 2011 with the understanding the sealed system has a five year warranty including parts and labor. The United States Congress said if that warranty revision is not acceptable you can demand the purchase price be refunded in full. I think you'll find they will stick with the original warranty agreement and cover the labor. If you continue to get a run around by customer service, having an attorney make a call inquiring into the matter is usually enough to get the ball rolling. One note of caution here, be absolutely certain the problem is with the sealed system or you are responsible for any and all costs of any repair that's done.

 

[Jake]

This is a very common issue with Sears, trust me I worked for Sears from 2001-2005.

Too many departments and too many run arounds, I agree 100%!!!

You need to call 1-800-4-MYHOME then ask for customer relations to get to the bottom of this, if that fails go to your local Sears where you bought it from and ask to speak with the store manager.

If all the above fails, then next stop is your State Attorney Generals Office: Virginia Attorney General - Consumer Protection

Jake

 

[gtwysoul]

Hello,
Today was the day for the house call and I'm sick in bed. An older gentleman from A&E comes out. My wife observed. He plugged in the Fridge for about 5 mins and it hadn't started the noises. He unplugged it and removed the back panel over the main pcb. He was on the phone with someone who was walking him through the test. He had said he was not familiar with these Linear Compressors. The guys told him it was a fuse whigh he checked. My wife said there was a loud pop. The guy here told the guy on the phone it couldn't be a fuse as it was working...somewhat. I came upstairs as he was finishing. He tells us it needs a control board to test. He didn't bring one. Cost 294$ but he will bring a compressor because it could be that. They want the 95$ house call and the 294$ for the board. If that's not it then the compressor is covered. He said the labor was not. I was not nice to him. I questioned his knowledge of this fridge and these compressors and he side stepped most questions with vague answers. I expressed what the lady said about the fridge being declared not fixable and replaced if the compressor was bad. He tells me that's not how it works. He does what he is told and they don't ever bring parts.

 

[Jake]

Did you call 1-800-4-MYHOME then ask for customer relations to get to the bottom of this? If that failed did you go to your local Sears where you bought it from and ask to speak with the store manager?

If you don't do what I suggest, you will be going around in circles forever I'm sorry to say!

Jake

 

[gtwysoul]

Thank you for the reply. I had filled out an online survey. After my first post I was contacted by a women in customer relations that had assured me she was taking ownership of my problem. She had reveiwed the calls I made. She was supposed to have a repair guy here sooner then today. She is the one that said it would be deemed unrepairable if it was the compressor. I tried to call her while the repair man was here. By the time he came and was done it was after hours central time. I left a message with her. She did not give me an indication I need to go into the store but I will. It seems I'm lost in the chain of command. I thought for certain that she would have at least noted these things. BTW I have called 1800 4 MY HOME at least six times. I can only think this repairman of 34 years who had never touched this model or a linear Compressor for that matter just solidifies my case by that nice loud pop. I am being treated like crap. Not sure making a fuss in the sears store will get me anywhere. What should I say?

 

[Jake]

BTW I have called 1800 4 MY HOME at least six times.

Yes, I know, but if you don't ask to speak with customer relations right off the bat, you will get nowhere.

Not sure making a fuss in the sears store will get me anywhere. What should I say?

Correct, don't make a fuss, just calmly explain to the store manager the entire situation and be polite.

Jake

 

[gtwysoul]

After not hearing back from the lady from Customer Relations I posted on MySears.com. I am cross posting the long message I'm almost certain they will delete.
Any advice is still appreciated. I had been sick even after Christmas and Working and taking care of my two boys while my wife works 55 hours a week. I did not go to the store and present this issue. I just haven't been able to.

I was contacted by a new member of your team and after being questioned extensively and repeatedly told that she was trying to help me Fenique K. has caused nothing but frustration. Christine Riggle a Sales and Services Team Manager promised to do everything she could to help resolve my problem. She was very helpful and assuring that she was on the case. Fenique K. says she has taken over and is in charge of helping me but has done nothing of the sort. I spoke over several days via email but was not getting anywhere. Eventually was offered a discount on the repair that was already promised to be free of charge. She had very little information but was quick to dispel the myth that I believed I had any kind of warranty. I would have understood had the denial been consistent. Over the course of 30 mins she came up with several reasons to deny the warranty. The first was simply that there was only one year even though the manual states 5yrs. Then she explains when the ice maker was fixed 3 months after purchase that was my one and only free repair. Then the excuse was that the compressor was not part of the sealed refrigerant system the manual says was covered. After that I just kept getting interupted and talked over with the same line that I have no warranty. I did not purchase one and that was that. I questioned further what had happened to Christine Riggle. Was she fired or just silenced by this new person from Sears who was trying to help me. I was sure that Christine Riggle would have contacted me some time but Fenique K. assured me that she had spoken with her for long time about my case. I repeated the same information that I had given in the post above. That she was so upset by the way I had been treated, talked to and lied to that she was willing to make sure personally that things were corrected. It seems that she may have overstepped what she was allowed to offer. An hour conversation with many apologies and promises have all disappeared. Fenique K has the final word. I know this because she told me. I asked to speak to her supervisor and she explained that she was the manager. I inquired about her boss, who she says is the director, but told I am not able to speak with him. He will not call or contact me. Someone else at the same department says that he does not talk to customers. I said you don't have a company without customers but was simply transferred back to Fenique K. This time after asking her why she kept changing her reasons she said that she never told me the compressor was not part of the sealed refrigerant system. I then asked her if her phone calls were recorded. Silence and then she says that she doesnt think so. I asked again to speak to her boss or another manager and was denied this request. I was told to email her with a request and her bosses would see the email. That has been done along with the promise to send documentation of each person I spoke to and the times and dates as well as a summary of each of the conversations. I never in a millions years expected to have to start over with Fenique K. She says over and over she had reviewed the case but with each bit of information I was able to provide admist her interupting me you could hear the surprise at this new information. I requested her to recount these notes on my account, something other people had no problem doing. She would not. I asked what was said by the tech who damaged my refrigerator but did say it was the compressor and she would not say. For some reason she now wants to send another tech to diagnois the issue. I even accused her of simply telling him to say it wasnt the compressor. She assured me that they would never do this. Hard to tell with all the lies and broken promises I have had over the past 3 weeks. I asked if there would be a Sears representative present with the tech and she said why. I said so the next guy doesn't break something else or cover up the previous damage. She told me she would send a senior tech. She is supposed to contact the manager of the tech and see why he did not note everything that happened on Dec 23rd. I am reading my above post and am not sure why it took a few emails and a conversation to have her look into the information I clearly provided. All of this research could have already been done but yet was not. I was even accused of cancelling a second tech that came on Dec 30th. The tech on the 23rd could not leave my house soon enough after damaging the control board. He never said he was coming back or that it would be the 30th. I only received an email to fill out a survey about my service on the 30th days later. I clicked to fill it out and it said it was invalid. I don't know why I thought going to MySEARS and posting would help. Fenique K the Social Media Member Experience Manager has not helped in any way. So much frustration has been caused by her taking over my case that I regret even posting here. The damage has been done. I thought Sears and Kenmore would honor their KENMORE ELITE LIMITED WARRANTY. Until now it had been barely in dispute about the repair being coverd just that it was the compressor that was bad. I can only say that Fenique K had about 15 ways to tell me NO and not one of them was the same short of her repeated statement that I have no warranty. I do have my manual that clearly states a 5 year warranty. It is in English and while it is a limited warranty all exclusions are clearly listed. As my wife put it they are simply loosing a customer. I purchased a $1500 Kenmore/Whirpool in 2005 and it has been trouble free the whole time. I purchased a $2799 Kenmore Elite Refrigerator for $1700 (On 30% Sale I can't Reproduce) and a $1000 Kenmore Elite Dishwasher for $500 at the same sale. We had planned to buy a $1500 cooktop and two seperate ovens but would be fool to spend anymore money on the fantasy that is Kenmore Elite. Simply a badge over another product with a warranty they won't stand behing. I guess my mistake was not purchasing the super extended protection plan that many customers have said did not cover their compressor problem. They were only given $500 toward a new refrigerator. This is because they did not purchase a Kenmore Elite but a regular name brand. The warranty I describe is not only in my manual and other manuals but online for their current $2700 refrigerators as well. It really depends on where you look but there is a revision that clearly states labor is not covered on the Sealed Unit or the Compressors. It is clear in English. That is not what it says in my manual under the section WARRANTY. That was revised on Febuary 2014 not October 2014 as I had posted above. I am simply asking for them to honor their own warranty. Its funny that Fenique K even told me once or twice that the warranty if any that I didn't have was via the manufacturer yet my manual says Kenmore Elite at the top and Sears Brands Management Corporation, Hoffman Estates, IL 60179 at the bottom. If Sears want to pay LG to build a Refrigerator for them that is between Sears and LG or Kenmore but I purchased this Refrigerator at Sears as their Kenmore brand and would never have been aware LG was even involved had the icemaker not broken shortly after purchase and the tech inform me my Refrigerator was made by LG. Sears/Kenmore continued the excuse while I waited 29 days for the part to be available. The tech says all these LG ice makers break. He personally attested to the number of calls he had been on with these defective ice makers. I wasn't happy then to have no ice from my new expensive refrigerator I was still making payments on while Sears passed the buck to LG. Guess who makes the compressor in my Kenmore Refrigerator LG. A new product that LG touts as better, makes less noise and even comes with a 10 year warranty (of course they only cover the part). $254 Compressor on Searsparts website that needs about 1000$ worth of equipment to install. They will put it in for the low price of around $700.00. That tech that damaged my control board says they are easy to install. Guess thats why some people have had 2-3 or more compressors installed on the same refrigerator. Refurbished Part? or the techs installing them? Job security? Industry wide statistics say that a replaced compressor fails at a rate of 4 times faster then the original. That is unheard of!! I am expected to pay almost half of the price paid for this refrigerator just to repair it this time. That is even with the 30% discount. Who in their right mind would pay 15000$ to fix a 30000$ car or 25$ to repair a 50$ toaster. That same money put toward a new appliance would at least carry a 1 year warranty. This can't be the only answer. Go to any website and find it full of complaints about these new linear compressors. I'm pretty certain that this post will disapear like so many other reviews on other sites that are not favorable. I will repost this on other forums. I can only hope this time that Fenique K's bosses are reading this and reach out to resolve this issue. I only have a few options left and I just want a working refrigerator that I'm not worried is gonna break again. I can only think how much fun it would be to get the compressor replaced a second time or any other part of the sealed system that fails.

 

[Jake]

I need time to read all this, and it would be easier to read in paragraphs.

Like your first post.

Jake