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Defective Washer Puts Owner Through Different Kind of Spin Cycle

Susan Herrera says a defective washer put her through the wringer

Susan Herrera said she waited for Black Friday last year to buy the new washer she had wanted.

She and her husband went to the Sears store in Chula Vista.

“And then we said since it’s Black Friday we went there knowing that Sears has a good product,” Susan told NBC 7 Responds.

She said she picked a larger washer so she could wash larger items such as bedspreads and comforters.

The washer she picked out came with a 30-day guarantee from Sears.

Two weeks later, Herrera was folding clothes when she noticed a dime-sized hole in her white sweatshirt. She said she kept folding her clothes and noticed more holes in her husband’s white t-shirts and socks.

“I think after 15 days we found that it's making holes on our, especially my husband’s t-shirts,” Herrera said.

She said she called Sears and told them about the holes, which was the beginning of a three-month-long game of phone tag.

“They said they were going to process it and they would contact me,” Herrera said. “No one contacted me.”

She said she called 12 times from November to late January and did not get a response.

“No one was calling me back and telling me what to do. I’m the one that kept calling,” Susan said. 

When she finally did get in touch with someone at Sears, she said the associate told her that the 30-day warranty had expired and there was nothing they could do.

That’s when she called NBC 7 Responds.

“It took one call to NBC and our problem was resolved,” Herrera said.

We contacted Sears and told them about Susan’s case. A few days later a Sears employee called Susan to tell her that they would be refunding her the $499 she had spent.

NBC 7 Responds reached out to Sears in Susan’s case. They sent the following statement.

"At Sears, our top priority is the satisfaction of our members. Our member solutions team has resolved the Herreras' situation by replacing their washing machine. We hope they will remain loyal Sears customers and Shop Your Way members."

Susan said she appreciates the fact that Sears decided to resolve the case but is disappointed it took her having to contact NBC 7 Responds to do so.

“It’s the principle,” Susan said during her interview with Responds. “That’s why I called Consumer Bob and I am so thankful that Consumer Bob and NBC were so friendly and so helpful.”

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