June 16, 2009
Sears Home Improvement Products, Inc.
P.O. Box 522290
Longwood, FL 32752-9963
Dear Sears Home Improvement Products (SHIP):
RE: Sears Home Improvement Marketing
Recently, we received one of your fliers in the mail, and I was shocked.
Just last year, we spent over $21,000 on new windows with Sears Home Improvement Products, or SHIP, (Reference Job # 7645053), and when we presented issues (detailed online at http://www.joeswelding.biz/Sears), we were brushed off.
On the advice of an attorney, we filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau BBB (see Complaint ID#: 94203528 online at https://chicago.app.bbb.org/complaint/view/94203528/c/se5x2o).
SHIP directed us to have our Homeowner’s insurance give an assessment of the damages, which we did. SHIP then turned around and stated that all of the damages should be forwarded to the Homeowner’s insurance company for any repairs. I quote:
“After further investigation it was found the alleged damage to the foundation of the home was not due to our HVAC installation. I spoke to Mr. Pool and suggested he file a claim with his homeowners insurance.”
This was not an HVAC issue, damages to the foundation were not all we had addressed, and our Homeowner’s insurance deductible is the standard 2% of the replacement cost of our home (our $150k house, built in 1955, has a replacement value of $290k, so our deductible is $5800). Further, our Homeowner’s insurance denied the claim because they knew it was caused by SHIP.
We submitted this information to the BBB, but the BBB closed the case and has failed to respond to any other attempts from us to contact them. I'm guessing Sears is pretty big in Chicago, so they pulled some strings.
We contacted a local attorney who informed us that we would have to file before we got to the 1-year mark (which was last February), as this was the time limit for construction liability issues. Days before February, we received a mysterious letter from our law firm stating that they were not pursuing the case and that we would have to find representation elsewhere. I’m guessing they were paid off, too.
Having no other form of protest, I include a link to SHIP’s poor quality and poor customer service in the signature file of every email that I send, and I have further spread links to several websites (MySpace, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.) and numerous forums. This is the only recourse I have, and I have been pleased at the responses I get from others telling me how shocked they are at SHIP and how helpful our detailed complaint with documented photos is for them. They typically go elsewhere for their home improvement projects.
I have no intention of using Sears, Diehard, Craftsman, Kenmore or K-Mart products again; and, I recommend to others every chance I get that they also avoid any Sears products.
Sincerely,
Joe Pool
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