This is my story about trying to get my money back from Sears.com for a $237.26 order I placed in August of 2007 and never received. As of January 9, 2008 I have still not received my money back and was told today that I would have to wait another 30 days. I have also posted this at www.neversears.com  
 
Throughout this ordeal, I have dealt with some very nice and professional people at Sears.com Customer Service. Most of them appear as frustrated as I am about how long it has taken to get my money back. This does not excuse the hours I have spent on hold, the inconsistent stories, and the fact that it is January 2008 and I still don’t have my money back from an order in August 2007 that I never received.  
The chronology below is absolutely factual, and the facts have never been disputed by Sears. It is worth reading. Keep in mind that each call to Sears.com Customer Service involved at least 45 minutes of hold time while being passed from person to person. I provide this information so that other consumers can make an informed judgment before ordering from Sears.com. Here is the chronology:  
 
An order was placed on Sears.com on August 9, 2007 for two items totaling $237.26. The order number was 00833133000.A FedEx shipment notification was sent on August 16, 2007 stating the items have shipped (582379630565869).  
 
After a week, I called Sears Customer Service (800) 349-4358 to ask why the items have not been delivered. They said they did not know and that I should talk to FedEx.I called FedEx and they said the shipper would have to initiate a tracing actionI called Sears Customer Service again, and they said they said they would initiate a tracer, but it would take about two weeks. I heard nothing back from Sears. By this time, the time for me to dispute the credit card charge had expired. I trusted Sears to do the right thing and issue a credit because I never received the items I ordered.  
 
I called Sears Customer Service again on September 23, 2007 and talked with Julian. He said a tracer had been initiated, but there was nothing back on it.I called Sears Customer Service again several times in October, and was told that FedEx would have to reimburse Sears before Sears could reimburse me.  
 
I called Sears Customer Service again on November 9, 2007. They told me that they confirmed that “the vendor” confirmed that at least one of the items was never delivered. I then asked if they could at least give me my money back on the least expensive item while waiting for confirmation from “the vendor” that the second item was never delivered. They said they could not. They said I would have to wait 10 days and call back.  
 
I called Sears Customer Service again on November 19, 2007. I was told this time that Sears can’t issue a credit, “the vendor” has to issue a credit, and that a request for credit had been issued to “the vendor”. No credit was issued.  
 
I called Sears Customer Service again on November 28, 2007 and talked with Sue. She said that FedEx was still not responsive and that it would take another 14-28 days.  
 
I called Sears Customer Service again on December 10, 2007 and spoke with Christie. She said that there was a note in the system on the order that it would be “reviewed” on December 21st. I then asked to speak with a supervisor. The supervisor, Sharon, said that there was nothing she could do.I called Sears Customer Service again on December 26, 2007 and spoke with Laurie. She said a credit had been issued on December 14th. At this point, I thought I just had to wait a few days for it to show up in my credit card account.  
 
I called Sears Customer Service again on January 3, 2008 and talked with Kathleen, a supervisor. She said she did not see the December 14th credit Laurie spoke about, and that “the vendor” had to issue the credit. I told her I did not order from “the vendor”, and that Sears.com is who charged my credit card. She said it had been turned over to “The SRT” team who would work with “the vendor” to get the credit.  
 
I called Sears Customer Service again on January 4, 2008 and talked with Nicole, a supervisor. She said several requests for credit had been issued and they are still showing open. She said there is nothing else she could do. I then asked for a Manager. I was turned over to Tracy, another supervisor, who said that a request for credit was issued by Sharon in SRT on January 3, 2008 and that I would have to wait. I again asked to speak to a manager. Mamie, a manager, came on the line and said again that “the vendor” has to issue the credit, and that the matter has been elevated. She said that her system shows that the merchandise ordered has been back in the warehouse since August. She was very nice and said that it has been escalated and that it will take another 5-7 days.  
 
I e-mailed Sears Customer Care and received a response on January 4, 2008. The response said “As of today, a credit has not been issued. We do have people on the SRT team working to have a credit issued”.  
 
I called Sears Customer Service again on January 9, 2008. I spoke with Heather, a supervisor, who was rude and said that her record shows that I said I would call every day until it was resolved. She said it has been elevated to “Don Bennett” and that I had been advised that it would take 30 more days. I told her last week I was told 5-7 days. She said there was nothing more Sears Customer Service could do.

I tried to buy a $1000.00 range from Sears.com. A day after I made the purchase, my credit card was charged, and my online order status was set to "processing". No calls, no emails, nothing to update me about my order. After reading all of the complaints here, I decided to call to find out about my order staus. Lisa, told me that the order was being "processed" well, DUH... I told her I needed more information than that and she could not give me any, I just had to wait 10 to 14 days to see if I received a email telling me to pick up my Range. (Bought online to be picked up at store)What a fraud! I went to the store where I am suppose to pick it up and they looked my order up on their computer and said the iteme will be in their store on the 7th of Dec. As of Dec 10, still no Range so I called Sears again. This time Rhonda said "it looks like the item "might" be in the store on the 16th. I told her thats not acceptable and I wanted to cancel the order. This is when I get the same scam as others about it taking 10 to 14 days to get my credit card charged back. BEWARE OF SEARS.COM!!! I am filing a complaint with my State's Attorney General office and with my credit card company about SEARS.COM. (I wish I had known about this site before I made my purchase) I buy almost everything online and this is my worst experience yet.  
 
Update! I finally received my range on 1-14-08. This was within the specified delivery time as stated on the website considering holidays and business days. I am going to upgrade my shoping expereience at Sears.com to neither satisfied or dis satisfied. What makes shopping here a bad experience is: 1) They charge your credit card as soon as you hit the buy button. 2) You don't receive a confirmation email as promised. 3) They leave you in limbo with no correspondence concerning the status of your order. 4)If you cancel your order, they make you wait 10 to 14 days for a charge back to your credit card. This is totaly un acceptable! I think they make a ton of money off of "floating" on customers orders. This practice should be outlawed. 5) I don't think Sears.com knows how to be a online merchant. I have to say, the item a purchased arrived in good condition and as specified.

This review was modified by its author, johnejones, on 1/15/08 8:12 PM.

Rather than restating the issue, I'll simply paste the e-mail that I sent to Sears:  
 
----------  
 
On January 8, 2008, I purchased four Craftsman flashlights via your website for pick-up at your Toms River, New Jersey location. I was notified via e-mail that my items were ready, and I arrived at the store that evening. Upon entering the pick-up area, I approached the computer and initiated the transaction. When I was about to scan the barcode, an employee asked me whether I was there for a pick-up. I informed him that I was. He then touched the screen to cancel the transaction and told me that he'd "be right with me." I waited for more than five minutes as he entered the back, returned with a large item that he was carrying to someone's car, and then assisted another customer. Tired of waiting, I resumed the computer transaction and scanned my barcode. The on-screen clock stopped when it reached 4:42, but the employee did not re-appear until more than a minute later. He then informed me that only one flashlight was in the back, so he would have to "check the floor" for more (and cancel the rest of my order if there were none). I then waited approximately another five minutes as he searched for three additional flashlights (which he eventually located).  
 
All told, I waited for more than fifteen minutes. As you have a policy guaranteeing service within five minutes (and the employee had clearly manipulated the process to register slightly less time in the computer system), I complained to a store manager, who immediately went to discuss the matter with the employee. She returned with a five-dollar coupon, but she also was accompanied by the employee in question. As other customers stared, he confronted me, claiming that I had actually pressed the "customer service" button (not the "merchandise pick-up" button). This was patently false, as I had just been prompted to scan my barcode when he stepped in and canceled the transaction. I explained this to the manager, but she sided with the employee (and spoke in a highly condescending tone). I continued to protest until the employee shouted "whatever, you got your coupon!" and stormed off. The manager then followed.  
 
Had I realized that I was to be put on trial (and accused of lying), I wouldn't have bothered to lodge the complaint. The five-dollar coupon certainly wasn't worth the embarrassment caused by this very public scene.  
 
As a long-time Sears patron, I urge you to take steps to ensure that other customers don't face similar experiences in the future. In the meantime, I shall take my business elsewhere. Thank you for your time.

I recently purchased a wall oven from Sears Outlet in Ontario, CA, on January 4th. I received a phone call from the delivery depart saying that the delivery will be made on the coming Monday, January 7th. I made it sure that I stayed home to get the delivery but received a phone call on the last minute informing me that the delivery was cancelled. Since I did not receive any follow-up phone calls, I called the store and delivery department many times. When I called the store, they said that they did not have the product. When I called the delivery department, they said that the product was at the store. Anyway, they finally found out that the product was still at the store and informed me that the product would not get delivered to us until next Tuesday, January 15th. I wanted to cancel the order and get another one from other store since I would need the oven over the weekend, but both the store and the customer department told me that I would be subject to 15% restocking penalty. I would not mind paying the restocking fee if it were to be my fault but why do I have to pay for the restocking fee for your own mistakes? I called the Customer Service center to complain without avail. Although most of the people I talked during this ordeal was friendly and apologetic, the last service rep I talked to on the phone ware rather rude. It was too bad that I did not get her name. Rather than trying to help me out with the issue, she rudely cut me off while I was explaining the situations. She kept saying that she could cancel the order but I would be subject to the restocking fee. She did not show any signs of respect to customers. I was upset and I told her that I would spread the word around and put my recently experience on the web, so that everyone can see it. Her response was ‘That is right!!!’ Well. Apparently she did not mind getting her own company’s reputation tarnished. I am doing exactly what I told her what I would do. I hope that the restocking fee your company is forcing would worth more than your tarnished reputations I will spread around……

I ordered Microwave Trim kit on 10/06, in-store pickup. Never received a confirmation email for pick-up. I emailed sears.com in November and was told that this order was cancelled because of "processing error", and they'll credit the money back.  
After a month they still didn't credit the money back, so I called customer service. This time they told me that order was or will be delivered to the store and I should receive email when it will be ready for pickup. I waited few weeks but didn't receive any emails from sears.  
I called back again few weeks later, and they told me that they can't refund my money because they can't locate the merchandise. I don't think I should care where the merchandise is, if I never receive it, as they can see it in their system, or on order status page on sears.com. I asked to talk to supervisor, but was told that it will be 1 hour hold.  
So the bottom line is: 3 month after ordering it, I never received the order or my money back.

This review was modified by its author, irinam1, on 1/9/08 11:31 PM.

I placed an order for a $25 RC car on December 20th, in time for the guaranteed delivery of Christmas Eve (had to be purchased before 9am CST on the 21st). I received a tracking number in the first purchase confirmation email that didn't work. UPS had no record. I called on December 22nd to check on the status and also to receive a partial refund (the price had dropped $5 since I ordered it). I got the refund, but the girl couldn't figure out where the product was and was getting the same message from UPS that I was and put a tracer on the package. I was told I would receive a call from someone within 24 hours. No call. On December 26th, UPS finally says that they have received the billing information for the item. I called on the 30th and got a refund on my overnight shipping. Today, January 2nd, UPS still says that that the billing info has been received, but not shipped. I called and asked about the product. The first girl said she didn't know what was going on and would transfer me to a manager. Excellent, I like that idea. I end up getting transfered to the wrong department and they transfer me back. I just got off the phone with another guy that wasn't very nice. He tried to tell me they were out of stock. The website says they are in stock, and it has everyday since I ordered it. "I'm just telling you from my experience what it probably is." I don't want to hear a guess, tell me where the package is. He says he will put a tracer on it. There's already one on there that the previous girl confirmed. Screw it. I ask for a refund. He sounded a lot more willing to issue the refund than he did to help me out. I asked to speak to a manager after the refund was issued and he said it was an hour wait. Fine, I'll wait. 15 minutes into the wait, I get hung up on without speaking to a manager! I'm still waiting on my shipping refund. The price match refund went through in 2 hours.  
 
I don't even know if I will continue to buy from Sears' brick and mortar stores. Kmart carries Craftsman now. No need to go into Sears again. Sears.com? NEVER AGAIN!!

I purchased an LCD TV (Sharp 46" model #LC46D43U) for a very good price on Nov 23rd from www.sears.com. I payed $65 extra to have it delivered to my house on Nov 25th. The day comes and goes, and I don't receive the TV. Of course, my credit card gets charged the full price of 1064.99. I call support and they tell me that the TV is out of stock and will be available on Dec 6th (Wednesday). I tell the agent that I can't get it delivered on a weekday, so I schedule it for Dec 8th (Saturday). Again, the day comes and goes, and no TV. I call again, they tell me the TV will be available on Dec 17th (Monday). I tell that new agent that I will just pick it up in the store. So I call again on Dec 14th (Friday). This time they tell me the TV is no longer available at all. At this point I ask her what I can do and if I can get a similar TV. She says that I will get an offer for a similar TV. I call again on Dec 15th and the agent tells me she put me in a queue and that I will get a call about a replacement TV within 24 hours. So I don't receive the call of course, and so I give them a call on Dec 17th to ask them about the offer. The agent tells me that she can't make an offer to me and that she is going to forward it to the supervisor and that they will give me a call within another 24 hours. At this point I was very doubtful. I finally get a call today, Dec 18th, almost a month after the TV was supposed to be delivered to my house. This is what the supervisor tells me (almost word for word): "I am sorry, we don't carry this TV anymore. What we have done is credit your card for the amount. I can give you a 10% discount on any TV that we carry." So I ask him if they can give me a similar model instead of the one that they promised me, because that is what I was promised. Get this, the guy has the nerve to say that a similar model is nearly $1000 more ($1999) and that with the 10% I would have paid over $800 more than the TV that they promised me (no doubt still a lot more than the same model at a different store). I've called several more times since then, each time getting told different things. One agent tells me the order got canceled (why?). One agent told me I can get a similar TV for the same price (plus a 10% discount for my troubles, time and money wasted). One told me I can pay more for a similar TV, almost twice as much. I cant believe a big company such as sears has the nerve to waste my time, to waste my money, to pull a bait and switch on me.

I placed the order online because they had an online $5 off special and free shipping. I saw these discounts on all the pages of my checkout and on the "Confirm Order" page. However, when I got my receipt via email (like 12 hours later) I did not have the $5 off or free shipping ($6). I them and they confirmed that I did not get those and they gave me a credit (5-10 days until it will post). The lady was nice about it so I did not cancel my order.  
 
I waited for 4 days for my item to ship and even though it was in stock when I ordered it, I found out is was going to take 5 days to ship it. So my order was going to arrive in 10-14 days rather than the 5-9 I was led to believe. I canceled the order because I was going to be gone during the delivery window and I was still upset about being overcharged.  
 
Update:  
The item showed up even though I canceled the order and I never got a refund. I guess the lady lied about canceling the order. I returned the item in the store.  
 
I'm done with Sears.com. They can't seem to figure out how to charge the correct amount, ship in a reasonable amount of time, or cancel the order and take care of the customer when there are problems.

This review was modified by its author, mihalik, on 1/4/08 10:52 AM.

Bought a Kenmore whole-house water filter (actually an Aquapure AP801) from Sears store, came without cartridge. Salesman looked up and told me the cartridges were available from Sears Parts. Called Sears Parts, rep couldn't find the cartridge listed on the filter box but did find a 2-pak via the xxx.xxxxxx number listed in the manual that came with the filter. Ordered that but not the correct cartridge. Called Sears Parts (800-469-4663) and was told the shipment was too small for them to issue a pickup for it. I had to send it back and they would issue me a refund for the item & shipping. What a total waste of time.

Totally incompetent on-line vendor.  
 
I first placed an order for an HD DVP Player for in-store pickup, got my ready-for-pickup email next day, came to the store and it wasn't available.  
 
The store personnel were nice, trying to make things right but couldn't do anything.  
 
Giving them another chance, I placed 2 more orders later. One was reported as shipped, one week after order date. The 2nd one is still in processing after 2 weeks, no status email, no ship date, no answer for query email.  
 
I'm pretty sure that'd be my last order from this vendor.  

This review was modified by its author, v99, on 12/8/07 1:54 PM.

I am very dissatisfied with my recent order from Sears.com. I ordered 2 electrical drills on sale. Then 3 days after purchase received email that they are not available to be picked up in the store I had chosen. I called, they changed it to be picked up in another store much further than the original one. They said that they could not send via mail – it must be store pick up. When I received the new e-mail, the price was much higher than on my original purchase. I called; they assured me the correct price will be charged on my credit card account and I should not worry just check my statement. They charged me the much higher price - I checked several times, no correction occurred. I tried calling them again on the phone and after a half an hour wait the person said they cannot lookup this order. I tried to return the items in another Sears store which is closer to me. They said they cannot return them there - I have to go to the store where I picked up the items. The “manager” claims that this is because it was Sears.com order. I think they provide completely inadequate service. So now I have to drive back to the other Sears store, waste another hour, and hope they will refund my money.

Ordered a TV online at sears.com for store pickup and it was supposed to be in the store by 24th November. On 26th November, I called up the customer care(!!) number and requested them to cancel the order. They mentioned that I need to call the store for cancellation. I called the store and they asked me to call sears.com for cancellation. On 28th I got an email from sears stating that the order will not be available in the store before December 11th. I again called the sears.com customer care and they mentioned that they cannot cancel the order till the order arrives in the store (that is 2 more weeks). Sears has my money held up in ransom and will not refund till the TV ships to the store. This is absurd. What if the TV shipment keeps getting postponed? Do they have a right to hold my money this way?

FRAUD- Advertised sale items with free shipping-Bogus Offers-Smells of Bait and Switch...  
 
Advertised free shipping, but products are out of stock for free delivery option (planned avoidance of shipping cost by Sears). Selected store pick-up because web site indicated that distant store had items in stock and local store was out of stock. Two days pass before receiving email that they are backed up in processing orders. Two more days pass (total of 4 days) and receive email that product is out of stock at all local stores and that they canceled my order. So much for crappy "Sears" which is no longer the quality and satisfaction department store chain that it once was. Oh how the mighty have fallen... RIP  
 
AVOID "sears.com" at ALL COST .... Online sales are fraudulent and advertised free shipping non existent.

Ordered an on-sale Kenmore washer at approx. 3:30am Fri., 11/23--requested delivery for following Mon. (11/26) Never got my e-mail confirmation so called sears.com 11/25 (spent 2 hrs on phone--waiting for a real person--getting switched from one number to another. Spoke to a supervisor who told me that the machine would come as scheduled (also got my e-mail confrmation). No evening call about delivery--spent more time Mon. being told one story after another as to the reason why--everyone had a different spin--not in stock, order not processed, etc. Even tried to blame AMEX (called AmEx and was told Sears.com ran a test charge of $1 at 3:38am Fri. but did not put through the real charge until 2:11am on the 25th--thus slowing down the whole ordering process). Still no delivery phone call last night (11/26)--called this am and was told delivery is for tomorrow. Ha-we'll see. Only one person with whom I spoke really seemed to try--his name is Bob. All of the others come up with stories. I am so disgusted with the service that I am about ready to go elsewhere. By the way, my local Sears store has the same model availble but it is no longer on sale--tried to get Sears.com to arrange for that machine at sale price but was refused. I was offered free delivery when I inquired about some sort of compensation for the aggravation--free delivery--but there is a rebate for the delivery charge so not a valid offer in my opinion. Wish that I had read this site before ordering--thought it would be great to take advantage of Thanksgiving sales without enduring the hassle of the malls. Learned my lesson--could have had my washer already.

Horrible. Ordered 3 items. They never sent an order confirmation or set up delivery. I called customer service many times, got all kinds of conflicting and ridiculous answers. Finally got an e-mail that said they received my order, but it hadn't processed correctly. Never got the items, but at least my CC wasn't charged.