Thread regarding Sears layoffs

1wwn- We are not morons, Eddie said we don't need any more customers. I'm just following his lead.

I'd advise checking with HHGregg customers to see how their coverage is being handled now that they are no longer in business. It is my understanding that when CompUSA went under, the government stepped in to make sure that any businesses offering extended warranties or protection programs had funds set aside and protected to cover up to 7 years of service, and all product manufacturers also had to have replacement parts available for up to 7 years as well. I do own a few Kenmore products and have protection agreements on those items, but there isn't a Kenmore plant anywhere. My Kenmore dishwasher is made by Whirlpool, my Kenmore refrigerator is made by Frigidaire, and my Kenmore front-load washer is made by LG. I do know that A&E not only services products purchased at Sears, but also other big box retailers as well. It's definitely an unsettling situation, but as another person had stated, get the contract in the PA booklet from Sears and read through that.

Good chance that both warranties and protection plans...err protection scams will be null and void. Sears, not the manufacturer administers the warranties for Kenmore. No one would buy that responsibility, even if they buy the brand. Fisker automobiles are an example. Protection plans harder to say as most retailers use a 3rd party to administer these so that party maintains responsibility long after the retailer is dead. That's not the case with Sears. Anyone with a warranty or protection scam might well end up being just another creditor.

"At this point, after reading all your responses, there is way too many ifs and I will just be forced to look for a different model and somewhere where it may be more stable/predictable".

Good decision. You should be able to find a better price somewhere other than Sears and not have to worry about what happens when SHC retail goes out of business. The way things are going it seems very unlikely Sears will be around to cover a 5 year warranty.

@1wwn. You have the same morals as Eddie Lampert. Reflect on that.

Check out what happens with Sears Canada, might give insight as to what will happen in the US.

1wwn- It is not that we are sending potential customers away, it is the problem some of us have on this board called morals and ethics. You see some of us really care about our fellow employees and customers. We see the handwriting on the wall and have heard all the lies and manipulation about "transformation" but have experienced everything but "transformation". We have sat in numerous meetings about customer (member) service, WOW experiences, "serve, delight, and engage" (registered trademark), SYW, credit cards, PA's, And have only experienced layoffs, store closings, hours cut, declining store maintenance, antiquated equipment, dangerous working conditions, mental stress, physical exhaustion, belittlement, meeting metrics that have nothing to do with sales, member services or WOW experiences (unless you count when members come into the store and say, "WOW this place is a dump).

So by telling the truth we are actually helping a member, we are giving them a "WOW" experience (they will say "WOW, I'm glad I didn't buy that PA or it would be worthless now") and we are "serving, delighting and engaging" the member as they SYW (if their way is getting a good deal and not getting ripped so that SHC can get a little cash flow)

Oh yeah, don't buy the PA, too much risk and even today a hassle to get service in a timely manner.

Great job morons!!! just send the remaining potential customers away, hope you enjoy unemployment for being a total douche and not supporting the company that is currently supporting you. Sears may s--- but they are still putting food on my table so until the next best thing comes along I'm not gonna b!tch slap the hand that feeds me..

Thank you all for your responses. I am the original poster. My broken 11 year old fridge is the reason I was in rush, I wanted a specific model as a replacement and I was not able to find it locally anywhere except at Sears.

At this point, after reading all your responses, there is way too many ifs and I will just be forced to look for a different model and somewhere where it may be more stable/predictable.

Thanks again!

A judge will set aside remaining assets to pay another Company to do the warranty work you paid for in advance. There are assets on the books set aside to pay the warranty work

Sears loves to sell these "warranties" but I would recommend just buying elsewhere. I am telling you from experience as a former employee, wait times for service are just the worst... when your fridge goes out it is unrealistic that you wait a week to two weeks for a tech to come out before they even order the part needed!!! Do yourself a favor, make your investme with a company that doesn't have all these "ifs"

Why not wait a little bit and not buy the extended warranty right away if you are worried? We bought all new appliances......probably around $5000 in total between laundry, refrigerator, stove, and dishwasher. What happens is after you buy them you are sent reminders to buy the extended warranties. You could make the decision then. And even if something ever happened to Sears, some company would buy the Kenmore brand and service the appliances.

warranties are only for poor folks. Fact.

Who do you think would be taking responsibility for Kenmore warranties? Almost guaranteed some little-known Asian manufacturer will buy the rights to the name with 0 support for anything new much less supporting existing products.

The kenmore manufacturers warranties are in no way comparable to the protection plans. It is very unlikely a company will take responsibility for PAs unless someone buys A&E as a whole. However the responsibility for a PA is significantly more than manufacturing warranties, should anything happen.

As the other poster said, you're supposed to be taken care of however bankruptcy pretty much puts everything up in the air.

If you believe anyone that your warranty will last a day beyond bankruptcy you are a fool.

Sometimes the warranties are picked up by another company. For instance, Sears bankrupts and sells off Kenmore very cheap. The company that buys the Kenmore name usually picks up responsibility for all related warranties as well.

SUPPOSEDLY when sears goes bankrupt someone must still honor the contracts. All of the protection plan stuff goes through A&E, rather than the retail portion of the corporation. With that said, A&E is still part of Sears holdings so it's still over the fire when it comes to bankruptcy. The contracts will probably be honored somehow but it just seems like a really messy situation waiting to happen.

The protection plans aren't really worth it though. You're basically isolating yourself to only deal with sears when it comes to repairs and such. That means you'll probably be on a waiting list when it comes to getting repairs as opposed to calling someone local and having your problem looked at immediately. And that's only IF you have a significant problem in 5 years.

My personal opinion is that there are too many 'ifs' for the protection plan being worth it. I recommend you get the PA booklet and read through it before you make your decision as to if it'll be worth it to you or not. Consider what you're really buying.

to answer your question seras re-insurnace is supposed to cover the warranties. The reality is that in previous cases the warranties will deafult when the company does. As the poster said below buy from somewhere else- as an aside extra warranties are rarely worth the money..

what "expensive" appliance can be so magical that you can't wait for more than 48 hrs for a delivery and NOT have to worry if the appliance will be covered by a Sears warranty - most high ticket items are covered by a manfacturers warranty for possibly up to 5 yr

On the flip side you can always be a good Sears soldier and take your chances as NOBODY can know if Sears warranties or PA's will be valid for coverage in the coming yrs