Sears Auto Center Scams Another Consumer

On September 22, 2014 I went to Sears Auto Center in Glen Allen, VA (store 7511) for the FIRST time (also the LAST) just to get an oil change. A week and a half later my car started experiencing some issues so I took it to my dealership to be checked out, that is when they discovered my radiator cap was off and I was told that whomever dealt with it last either didn’t put it back on or didn’t secure it. I knew exactly whom that last entity was, Sears. I went back to Sears immediately after leaving my dealership and spoke with the manager Mac about the situation who Immediately apologized for the inconvenience. I also showed hmim the paperwork stating that due to the loss of coolant and it causing my engine to overheat that there may be engine damage. He said that they DO check the radiator fluids as a “courtesy service” and that he would make it right by reimbursing me what I had paid my dealership and that he would speak with the mechanic to make sure that nothing like this happened again and that he hoped I would consider coming back to them. A week later I was experiencing similar issues and decided to take it back to my dealership, I didn’t trust Sears to handle anything, they then let me know that my water pump was busted and there was indeed engine damage. I paid my $200 deductible to have my warranty cover the water pump but the engine damage was Sears’ liability to have to cover. I called Sears and again spoke with Mac who informed me that due to the extent of the repairs he had to file a claim with the insurance company Sedgwick to cover the repair costs and that they would also reimburse me my deductible. For weeks I dealt with an incompetent insurance company that did nothing to rectify the situation. They ultimately denied the claim DESPITE the fact that Mac/Sears took responsibility in the beginning KNOWING they had something to do with it. I even have a document typed by Mac stating that they had left the radiator cap off and he reimbursed my fees. So I couldn’t understand how the insurance company could deny a claim if the client admitted responsibility. I spoke with Mac in reference to the decision and they tried to pass the blame by saying my dealership did not run proper tests and now it is their fault. Unfortunately for Sears I have documentation from Mac stating they left off the radiator cap, I also have witnesses of my dealership that can attest to the fact that the causation expert that was sent to evaluate the damage did not follow up with anyone at the dealership, he did not ask questions, no true investigation was done by him or the claims adjuster. I also was told by a CURRENT employee/mechanic who works for Sears Auto Center that they are “taught how to rig cars so that they will have more issues and the customers Have to bring them back for more repairs.” This is very vital Especially in terms of having them subpoenaed to court if I take the lawsuit route which is PRECISELY where we are headed. I now have a blown head gasket and may need an entirely new motor thanks to their negligence and they are trying to turn the cheek and not do anything to correct their mistakes. I have not owned my car for even a YEAR and it was ruined by a careless mistake.

Aleasesa Bouton

Victory at last against Sears Auto and Tire Center at Florida Mall

A legal action was brought against Sears for the problems we encountered at the Florida Mall Sears in Orlando and manager Bob Parr. It was more than a year. Case was found in our favor. Sears settled in a case that involved their personnel charging for work that they did not perform, losing the car remote and house keys, causing a flat tire on our vehicle whereby the car had to be towed back to Sears.

If you are fighting Sears thieves as well, don’t stop fighting! Do a social media blitz and include @searscares and @sears at Twitter to gain support. File claims at RipOff Report and Consumer Affairs and UMVOX. We contacted the Attorney General in the state of Florida and got information as to the officer upon which to serve court papers. A police report was filed against Sears on the evening they perpetrated fraud and lost our keys. We won. But it took a lot of work and time, and the grace of God, because the Sears thieves are relentless to deny, ignore and cover up.

Sears Auto Center Florida Mall Took Money But Did Not Perform the Work

We now have additional verified documentation that proves work Sears Auto Center at the Florida Mall was to perform on our vehicle Sears did NOT do. Work Sears said they did on our vehicle in August 2012 and June 2013 was NOT done. After taking our car to another automotive center, the mechanics, yes CERTIFIED MECHANICS [unlike Sears non-certified salesmen who work on your vehicle] showed us and provided us with a printout of the items that show that what Sears was to have done was NOT done. Our case against Sears becomes more severe than simply their losing our keys and mounting tires they did not check.

Wanted: Single Females. The Blatant Misogyny of Sears and Sears Auto Towards Women Who Are Not Accompanied By Men

Amidst the debacle that we have been through with the Sears Corporation, who still remain silent and unaffected against our plight, it has made me recall back to a specific moment on the night our keys were lost/stolen by Sears personnel. It makes me wonder, what would have happened if a man were with us that night, or if we had a man in the family to fight this for us.

I will emphasize that at this point that night, we were asked to open our purses several times, and we complied. Several times, much to our embarrassment and humiliation to the rest of the customers in the store, we dumped our contents out onto the floor to show the staff and Manager Bob Parr that we did not have the keys.

In the report given to Corporate about this nightmare, employees falsely reported that we refused to open our purses! It is clear that this was untrue. It was a huge lie orchestrated by Sears personnel to protect employees and Sears. We opened our bags for the police that night when we called the Orange County sheriff to report this and showed we did not have the keys.

As Sears staff were looking for the keys and I was sitting in the waiting room, looking through my purse yet again, there was a woman with her husband and kids. They were in and out of the center in a matter of minutes to pick up their car. The husband took care of everything, and the staff treated him with courtesy and respect, totally different from how we were treated, and have been treated since.He was treated better than I had ever seen other women being treated at Sears Auto when they are not accompanied by a man. Before that night, I had observed other female customers (including myself and my family) who brought their car in the same time we were there for our car to be serviced. They were met with condescending dialog and rude attitudes by staff. The reason was evident – they are females who would be easily influenced about what to do about their cars. They should be willing to pay more since they are females and clearly know nothing about cars.

We experienced this with our oil change in August 2012, when Sears personnel tried to sell us $400 of services, services we did not need we came to find out. Sears and Sears Auto business model is to operate on 1950s gender roles that women don’t know anything about cars. They make women the prime target for a rude experience and for paying more than when a male customer comes to have their cars serviced.@Searscares on Twitter only confirms that Sears only cares when a man is involved. I have been following Sears customer complaints, despite @searscares blocking me from following them directly. Most of the customers who express satisfaction with Sears customer service admit that they had their husbands, boyfriends, brothers, etc. call customer service to remedy the situation. No further discourse or conflict is mentioned.

Yet, there we were – A family of three women whose keys were stolen or lost at Sears Auto of the Florida Mall. Humiliated and embarrassed by the staff and especially by Melanie and Bob Parr in person, and by Joe Oakes, Chris and Cory over the telephone, who all did nothing to remedy our situation. By filing their lies in their “one-sided” investigations, their mechanic Moises liked, Bob Parr, Joe Oakes — they all painted us in an unflattering light that we live this nightmare with our vehicle every time my sister and I have to get in it to go anywhere!

Not only were the male staff rude but the mall security, also men, were rude to us and did nothing but further aggravate the situation. And it seems that we are not alone in our theory. Reports and reviews filed on numerous internet resources by other females who take their cars in to Sears Auto, are objected to rude staff and more problems with their
car than what they wanted fixed because they are by themselves.

Corporate continues to ignore us despite our numerous outreach via e-mails, Twitter feeds, phone calls and this online journal in attempts to get someone to resolve the only thing we asked — reimbursement of the estimate provided to get our keys and car remote replaced from the car dealer. We still have received nothing.

We have responded to complaints – Sears closes without remedy.
We have provided our email addresses, our telephone numbers – NOTHING.
My mother wrote a letter to Bob Parr – no response.

I wonder yet again, what would have happened if we had a man that night or the following day, when the tire was found completely flat in our driveway. Or when we had to go back to Sears Auto and when Manager Bob Parr decided to replace our new tire (now flat because Sears Auto doesn’t check tires or the tire pressure if they mount tires not purchased at Sears) with another customer’s used discarded tire, which is considered a safety violation against Sears policy as admitted by Bob Parr himself.

Ironically. maybe this whole nightmare would be over by now because of our patriarchal society. Because of society and companies like Sears, a female cannot get their car repaired without the company thinking that they can squeeze a few more dollars out of them because of their gender.

And if Sears is reading this, then prove me wrong. Reach out to us and remedy this situation once and for all.

This is Sears.

Another drive, another day to fill the tire with air

As the garbage tire that Bob Parr of Sears Auto Center Florida Mall saw fit to put on our vehicle is now so badly losing air each day, it must be replaced.

So the new tire, that one that I gave Sears in June 2013, where is that?

On June 4, 2013, Sears mounted tires on our vehicle. But because I did not buy the tires from Sears, per Chris, Cory and Bob of Sears Auto Center Florida Mall, it is Sears policy that they do NOT check the tires or check the tire pressure when they mount them FROM A CUSTOMER WHO DOES NOT BUY THOSE TIRES FROM SEARS!

Because Sears does not check the tire pressure, about two miles down the highway after leaving Sears after 9:00 pm that June 4 night, one tire began going flat on the way home, and subsequently went completely flat. The car was towed back to Sears. Sears no longer had my two old tires that they removed so Sears decided to put a discarded tire from another customer on our vehicle.

Now, every day for several days in a row, we are noticing low tire pressure, with the light coming on the dashboard. So, the tire is filled with air again.

We will have to buy another new tire. But today, my daughters have to drive 4 hours on it

Sears puts customers in harm’s way with its negligent behavior. Then they do everything they can to cover it up from corporate Sears — from lying in their reports to corporate and loss prevention, to covering up for the negligence of their “mechanics,’ ” from taunting us to file a lawsuit to ignoring any contact with us about this matter.