Complaints.com

From: Message Author
Date: Tuesday, 31-Jan-06 08:01:25 CST

Business Info

Business: Sears and Roebuck and Icon Health and Fitness, Inc.

Problem: Refusal to honor warranty/Selling defective equipment

Product: Weider Platiunum XP 800

Details:

I purchased this exercise machine on 09-19-04. Approximately 3 months later, the weight mechanism stopped working and we called Sears for a service call. Te repairman informed us when he fixed the

machine that it had a design flaw and would continue to break periodically. The part costs $800 to replace. He suggested to Sears that they replace our machine with another brand and Sears refused.

The machine was fixed and did not break again until the beginning of January, 2006.

On this occassion, we were informed that it would take 3 weeks for the machine to be repaired. (Three weeks is an awfully long time for someone who is accustomed to exercising routinely.) On January 24, the day the repairs were supposed to be made, I called Sears (1-800-4-MY-HOME) and got a recording that the repairman would be out sometime between 8 AM - 5 PM. That's an impossible window for someone who works so I called around until I finally got the repairman. The repairman (name is Sterling?) informed me that he'd been in a meeting all morning and couldn't come out until after 5 PM. and that I would be responsible for the service costs on the machine because I didn't have an extended warranty. I read the entire "Full Ten-Year Warranty" to him and he said that he would call Product Repair (904-535-8126) to straighten things out. This repairman concurred with statements made by the first repairman that the machine has a design flaw and that it would continue to break. I missed my son's soccer game in order to be there when the repairman came. He never showed up and he never called or returned my calls.

When my husband called him the next day, he stated that he was not coming out because I told him that I would not pay for the service call. My husband read him the warranty agreement again and he suggested we call Connie Arnold at 1-800-4-MY-HOME number. We were told to call warranties. (800-827-6655 Unit 9508). When we called warranties, they agreed that we had a full ten year warranty and connected us back to repairs. Repairs stated that our warranty did not cover service. We read them the warranty and were told that ICON fitness printed the warranty and that they did not have to honor it.

The warranty reads as follows:

FULL TEN-YEAR WARRANTY

"For ten years from the date of purchase, if failure occurs due to defect in material or workmanship in this RESISTANCE SYSTEM EXERCISER , contact the nearest Sears Service Center throughout the United States and Sears will repair or replace the RESISTANCE SYSTEM EXERCISER, free of charge. The resistance bar will be replaced for the lifetime of the product.

This warranty does not apply when the RESISTANCE SYSTEM EXERCISER is used commercially or for rental purposes; or if damage is caused by freight damage, abuse, misuse, improper or abnormal usage or unauthorized repairs.

This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state.

Sears, Roebuck and Co., Dept 817 WA, Hoffman Estates, IL 60179

We've continued to be bounced from dept to dept-having called each of the following departments:

Protection Agreement: 800-827-6655

Parts: 352-338-1472

Customer Relations: 80054904505

Warranties: 800-827-6655

Product Repair: 904-535-8126

Home Repair: 1-800-4-MY-HOME

Finally, we went to our local Sears Outlet (an actual Sears store is about 60 miles away from us.) Jay Bracher from the store contacted the Jacksonville office and explained our problem. He xeroxed our warranty and faxed it in. We received a phone message three days later from Florence in this office. She left a number for us to return her call, which turned out to be the wrong number.

I've never been so disappointed in a product or a company.

B.Barker