Sears Kenmore Washer and Gas Dryer

Purchased: Sears Store - Ventura, California

Additionally: Below Letter sent to Sears Corporate Office in Illinois - Today's Date - to hopefully obtain closure.

September 28th, 2006

To Whom It May Concern,

This letter is to inform you of my recent unpleasant experience with a delivery/installation of a recently purchased washer and dryer and to further complain that no one has followed up with my original compliant via the telephone.

Very recent I purchased a Washer and Gas Dryer set from Sears and paid the additional $65.00 for Delivery and Installation. The Set was delivered on September 11, 2006.

Upon the delivery people leaving I proceeded to do a load of laundry and realized that the tub of the washer was not filling correctly. It would fill approx. one third of the way and the water kept on running but wasn't filling the tub. I checked the troubleshooting guide and read that the problem could be Improper Installation of the drain hose. IT WAS TOTALLY JAMMED DOWN INTO THE HOLE SO WOULDN'T CYCLE RIGHT AS THERE WAS NO AIR GAP. So my husband had to pull out the washer and adjust the drain hose. Upon pulling out the washer we also noticed the two washer lines for the hot and cold water were completely twisted up so he also fixed those.

I then noticed the next couple of days that the gas dryer was not drying clothes in an appropriate amount of time, the first two times I let it slide thinking a new dryer and all, the third load was a large bedspread so of course that would take longer. When the fourth load wouldn't dry appropriately and took twice as long as my old dryer which was over 14 years old I decided again to read the troubleshooting guide. The closest solution was a problem with the vent hose so AGAIN I had to have my husband pull out the dryer and check the hose. Imagine our horror when we discovered that the hose vent (a brand new one that I was told I had to purchase from your store) was WAY TOO LONG AND TWISTED AND CRIMPED AT BOTH ENDS AND EVEN IN THE MIDDLE leaving the hose completely unusable. I don't think I need to advise you what a SEVERE SAFETY HAZARD THIS WAS WITH POSSIBLY THE GAS NOT PROPERLY VENTING!! Thankfully we had saved our old vent hose and my husband hooked that one up and it has worked just fine since then.

Needless to say I immediately called our salesperson from Sears and explained the situation. He had me bring back the damaged vent hose to the store to obtain a credit which I did. He further instructed me to call Sears and register a complaint with a manager. When I called I was told I would not be able to speak to a manager so I left my complaint with the person answering the phone. I was told that someone would contact me in 5 working days for follow-up. I had not heard from anyone prior to returning the damaged part to Sears on Sept. 18th so myself and the salesperson called Customer Service from the store to again speak to a manager. Again we were told that that would not be possible. He left a message detailing my problems with the person who had answered the phone and was told that someone would contact me in a 24 hour period, more specifically that evening prior to 7pm. To this date I have never been contacted by Sears Customer Service for follow-up on my initial complaint.

This entire situation involving delivery and installation is appalling to me and the inconvenience and disruption to myself and my husband is inexcusable. When I paid the additional $65.00 for delivery and installation I expected to receive professionalism not to mention expert installation of my appliances. Delivery was preformed yes.........but Installation was Not. The Washer should of been fully tested before they left my premises and it WAS NOT and the Dryer Hose should of been cut to the appropriate size to fit our space but it WAS NOT thereby creating a very potential harmful situation. And what really angers me right now is that it has been over 2 weeks with no return phone call from the customer service department. DO YOU NOT CARE??

I have purchased **3** Major Appliances within the past 3 months from your store and I can safely say that I will NEVER purchase another thing from Sears in the future, WOULD NEVER refer any of my family and friends to Sears and will PROMPTLY CUT UP MY SEARS MASTERCARD immediately if this situation is not handled to my satisfaction.

Respectfully Submitted,

Catherine H. O'Sullivan

Oxnard, CA 93035