Sears Automotive tries to charge you for work they don’t do!

More dissatisfied Sears Auto customers – from consumerist.com:

Here’s a story that illustrates how important it is to ask for documentation. Reader Jarome had already handed over his credit card to pay for an alignment on his car when he learned that the work hadn’t even been done:

I’ve been an avid reader of Consumerist for quite some time. Reading the good/bad experiences other readers had and the shortcomings of some companies is an eye opener. Unfortunately, my recent experience at a nearby Sears Automotive Department is worth mentioning. I’ve noticed my car would pull to the left while driving on a straight road. My initial thought was to get the wheels aligned. I decided to have it done at Sears.

I walked in on Saturday January 19th and explained the problem I was experiencing with my car. The gentleman at the front desk agreed that an alignment should be done. He took my information, as well as the cars information and verified with the mechanic because he said some BMW’s (I drive a ’95 525i) are more difficult to align then others. I drove my car into the garage and parked it from the third space from the far left. It was 10:30AM and I was told it would take approximately an hour to complete.

Read the full story at:

http://consumerist.com/2008/01/22/sears-automotive-tries-to-charge-you-for-work-they-didnt-do/

Photographs of only half of our key set returned to us at Sears Auto Center

On Tuesday, June 4, 2013, we came back to Sears Auto to pick up our vehicle at the time Sears told us the car would be ready.
We were handed this – see photo below.
My daughter inquired, “Where is the other half of our keychain”?
The key fob (remote or clicker that opens all of our car doors), the car key that opens the trunk and all doors, and our house key which were on a blue parachute clip all attached to the other half of this keychain had been detached and were MISSING!

This keychain is a two-part keychain:

• One half contained the “valet” key to the car
• The detachable second half contained three items: our house key, the key that opened the trunk and all the doors, and the key remote (clicker/fob) that opened all of the doors, and a blue parachute clip

When we were handed our keys, only  the “valet” key to the car was on the keychain. The detachable second part was gone, shown in the photograph below at the time we went back to pick up our vehicle after Sears was to be finished working.

At the onset that day, Sears Auto center mechanic Carlos and Bob Parr directed my daughter to pull the car into the bay. They also directed her to leave the keys in the ignition.

Either Bob, Carlos or a mechanic who worked on the car unclipped the keys to make it easier for them to have the part with the trunk key separate. They did not put the two parts back together.

My daughters and I walked through oil and grime to search throughout the Sears Auto Center maintenance areas for several hours, in technician areas, parking lot, trash cans in the front and maintenance areas, along with Bob Parr and two employees.

At one point Melanie brought to us a set of keys on a light blue clip and asked if these were our keys. I replied, “No.” She said, “These must be another customer’s keys.”

Sears Auto Center at Florida Mall loses customer keys

Email response from Sears August 2, 2013

Per Sears contact form online:

My Comments: Sears Automotive at Florida Mall lost my key fob, car key and house keys. I have had contact with Alyssa A. in Corporate. I had agreed to get an estimate from the car dealer for replacement. When I obtained that estimate and called her, she has failed to return my numerous calls now for weeks. I NEED to get my key fob and keys to my vehicle replaced, which Sears Automotive lost. I need telephone, address to file demand and/or complaint letter from Sears for same as soon as possible. Thank you.

Sears response August 2, 2013:

Thank you for your recent correspondence to Sears! We apologize for the issues that we
have caused to you. It seems that we have put you through a lot for no good reason. To
better assist you with your request please contact our Auto NCR at 1-800-526-3682. They
are able to handle the situations that occur in the auto center and can better assist you
in getting these issues resolved.
Again, we apologize for the inconvenience that we may have cause to you. Please contact our Auto National Customer Relations line as soon as possible so we can further assist you in getting this issue resolved.
Thanks,
Jessica J.
Automotive Care Specialists
1-888-819-6963
web@customerservice.sears.com

Call from Joe Oakes, Loss Prevention Manager

June 6, 2013, 12:09 pm

Joe Oakes states that he cannot see where anyone took the keys. However, when I reiterated that the keys were on the key chain when we were directed to leave the keys in the ignition by Carlos, he would only state that he did an investigation and no one TOOK our keys. He never would admit, however, that someone at Sears Auto lost the keys.
Joe Oakes directs me to take legal action.