Our hotline provides a sure-fire way to detect patterns of problems. The CFA database helps us track when lots of viewers call in either about the same issue or the same company. One example is Sears.
"Every appliance in my house is from Sears. I rely on Sears. I've trusted it for years, so it was rather disappointing to have had this experience," said Meredith Friedman of Ardmore.
Friedman is talking about the experience her family had with their heating and air conditioning unit, which stopped working last summer.
"So we contacted Sears to come out and take a look at it," said Friedman.
The unit needed a new compressor, but Friedman said Sears ordered the one, but then couldn't track down that re-ordered compressor.
"Call For Action was there when we needed them and made a really big difference," she said.
Sears is no stranger to our CFA volunteers. In 2007, Call For Action received 71 complaints about Sears, primarily about problems getting their appliances serviced or repaired.
CFA volunteer Susan took one case from a woman who needed her gas range fixed.
"And every time she made an appointment, they didn't show up," she said.
After CFA got involved, her gas range finally got fixed. The same thing happened with Meredith Friedman's situation.
"I called Call For Action and I talked to Scotty, and he was fantastic. He got right on it," said Friedman.
Sears told Action News, "We are aggressively working to bring our service levels in line with our customers' expectations. We sincerely apologize… We are taking steps to improve service times in your area (that includes hiring) additional technicians."
If you have a consumer issue you'd like help getting resolved, call 1-866-WPVI-CFA. That's 1-866-978-4232. The hotline is staffed Monday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. You can also e-mail Call For Action by clicking here.
