COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — When Cathy Roszell sold her home in Logan, Ohio, she left behind the washer and dryer she purchased from Sears. 

“The new owners own it. I just gave it to them,” said Roszell. “I still own the warranty for it.” 

That warranty came into play when Roszell got a call in May of last year from the new homeowner. 

“‘I have a problem with the motor in the washer.’ I said, ‘Okay, I’ll make the phone call,'” Roszell said. 

Roszell made a phone call to the number listed on her Sears Master Warranty Plan where she spoke with a representative to schedule a service appointment, but no one showed. 

“Then I get a text and an email saying, ‘No one was home because there is no such address,'” said Roszell. 

That’s because, Roszell said, there was a misunderstanding concerning the address. 

“So, I call again, and I asked for a supervisor.” 

And eventually, Roszell scheduled another appointment. This time, the technician arrived. He told Roszell the cost to repair the washer would be $385, and that she would have to pay, then call Sears to get her money back. 

“That warranty says, in this case, I would be reimbursed,” said Roszell. 

But since June of 2021, Roszell has called, emailed, even sent certified letters, and said she was repeatedly promised that she would be reimbursed. 

“And I don’t want to hear one more Sears rep say, ‘I give you my word.’ Because it’s worth a bowl of crackers.” 

As of March, Roszell had yet to see the money she was owed — until she called Better Call 4. 

Immediately after speaking with Roszell, Better Call 4 reached out to Transformco, the parent company of Sears. One week later, the complaint department sent this message: 

Hi Jennifer, 

I think we got this one all straightened out and now are only waiting for Ms. Roszell to receive the reimbursement check we have issued. Not sure if Ms. Roszell filled you in, but we figured out the third-party service provider we had contracted to run her service call created their own service order in their system as a cash call when the order we sent over to them had an error on it with her address. The proper process would have been to notify us so that we could send a corrected service order over to them. It might have delayed the service date just slightly but the way they handled delayed her much more. 

Also, I did say in my original email that the $139.00 was not tied to their charges but it was. At first, they just charged her an estimate and when she called in, an assumption was made that she was asking for reimbursement for an outside servicer that *she* had contracted. When that happens, we ask the servicer to call us from within the home for approval to over a preauthorization amount (for laundry appliances I think that is around $300.00). They did not understand that she paid someone *we* had contracted because those servicers are never supposed to collect any money from our customers. They reimbursed her for the estimate she paid them for (it was $138.08). 

It wasn’t until later that she paid for the service and that was the remainder that she was seeking to be reimbursed for. After she paid them for the repair, the other repair company is who told her she would get reimbursed. I know through emails that Ms. Roszell feels she spoke to us (Sears) but besides those two calls on the same day in July, we do not show any calls from her after that. I checked with our “overflow” department also, since they are the ones that arrange service through these third-party contractors, and they do not show any calls after that either. So, they had to have went to that repair provider. 

When they were contacted by that department I mentioned above, at first, they said they had not repaired Ms. Roszell’s washer but that was because they were looking under that wrong address. Once they looked under the right one, they found the order and they did give us all the details and confirmed what she had paid them. So, we have issued her a check for $386.00 and she is going to let us know if she encounters any issues in receiving it. 

I’ve done this over 18 years and just when I think I’ve seen everything… This was a new one for me. 

Thanks! 

Dana Shoulders 

TEAM MANAGER | REGULATORY COMPLAINTS 

TRANSFORMCO 

On April 7, Roszell told Better Call 4 she finally received a check for $385, thanks to Better Call 4. 

“I got it a week before what we thought we would. So, it’s been in the bank since last Monday,” said Roszell. “You guys just added your expertise, your clout… and I’m very thankful.”