Consumer Alert Re: Appliance Hospital

Below is a copy of a letter shared with Kelly's Home Center.  Unfortunately, the cost of damages has risen more after realizing that the carpet can't be salvaged and hardwood floors will require refnishing.  At this point, then, we're approaching twelve or fifteen thousand dollars in total repair costs.  A Better Business Bureau complaint has been filed, but we are letting our insurance company take the lead now.
  

We have been shopping at Kelly’s for many years now—just recently having purchased four new appliances--but I thought I’d share an explanation of why we will be avoiding your service contracts (and possibly Kelly’s altogether) in the future.

May 3rd turned out to be quite the unpleasant day.  We had contacted Appliance Hospital regarding our Kelly’s service contract for our Electrolux washing machine.  It was supposed to be a routine service contract repair.  After verifying that a new motor was required on our washer, the technician said he’d help me with tightening connections on the back of the machine.  When he said it was good to go, I didn’t give it any further thought.  Turns out that the connection between the hose and the washer itself was loose: very loose.  My wife and I left on some errands in Salem.  Our daughter called us later saying she heard weird water noises.  We had her check all around the washer, but she didn’t catch any problems.  We dismissed it—unfortunately.  Later in the evening, wet spots began to develop in the carpet in our bedroom (2nd floor) and living room below.  I was sure the dog had done something…  Then, my wife began poking around more carefully.  She noticed a bulging wall above the stairs, and she realized it was water.  I quickly switched the water off out front, and Kim poked holes trying to let it out.  Turned out that this was far too little, too late.

ServPlus arrived the next morning and began taking chunks of the interior away—cutting holes throughout the walls ceiling and setting up industrial fans.  Call me old fashioned, but I believe that when the thumbs up is given it means that all associated connections have been checked.

I spoke briefly with Todd at Kelly’s this afternoon, and he assured me that he’d be in touch about this distressing situation.  Sadly, Todd was not in touch with me, and never returned my message later in the afternoon. 

Over the years, we’ve spent thousands of dollars on quality appliances from Kelly’s.  It’s a shame our customer relationship may be ending on such a sour note.  We realize it wasn’t Kelly’s that failed to check the washer connections, but it was Kelly’s that utilized a sub-standard company such as Appliance Hospital.  To add insult to injury, Appliance Hospital cancelled the scheduled service call with us today to replace the defective motor—not that we were altogether comfortable about the prospect of their second visit.  They falsely alleged that we personally had threatened them with a lawsuit.  While our homeowner’s insurance company may decide to pursue civil remedies, we’re not particularly focused on that right now.  Instead, we’d like to get our house fixed—all $11,000+ in required repairs.   I hope you see, Kelly’s, that companies like Appliance Hospital fail to serve the interests of your customers, which means they don’t serve you well either.