ComplaintsforMid-America TV and Appliance

• Initial Complaint

  12/01/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We had ordered a new refrigerator in January, 2021 but it was still back ordered. We decided to look at used models and purchased a used refrigerator from Mid America Appliance on October 30. We were told it worked fine. It was a ********* (what we wanted) with a 30-day warrantee. We took the refrigerator home (2 hours from *******). It was transported upright. It was not clean, so I cleaned it before we plugged it in. We unloaded it, set it up and waited. It was not making ice and the food was defrosting in the freezer. I moved everything into our old refrigerator and my husband, Jim, purchased 2 thermometers. After sitting empty, the refrigerator reached 40 degrees-barely safe; the freezer reached 28 degrees-freezing but not safe. Jim contacted the store and spoke to Tommy. We were told that we could bring it back in and they would look at it. Jim also told Tommy that the vegetable drawer electronics were not working. Tommy said, "You bought it as is, it just needs a new drawer." We loaded up the refrigerator and returned it on November 2. Tommy called Jim; we didn't have the icemaker switched "ON" and everything was working great. Jim went to ******* on November 8, and retrieved the refrigerator. We unloaded, set it up, still getting the same temperatures. It produced about 12 ice cubes in the top bin on Nov. 11. I called and spoke to Tommy. He was ****, raised his voice and told me his technician went completely over everything and it was in perfect working order when they had it. I listened until he finished then asked, "Are you calling me a liar?" I asked if I could ******** with the technician; perhaps it was something I was doing wrong. Again, he ranted saying the owner wouldn't allow ********. On November 18, I had my local appliance repairman look at it. He said this model is notoriously bad and ********* quit making it. He advised we return it, since it was under warrantee. Tommy wasn't cooperative. We bought a new one locally.

  Business response

  01/10/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/12/10) */ On October 29th, 2021 a USED ********* French Door Refrigerator that was running on the floor was purchased by a Mr. Jim ****** (invoice ***** in our system) and was picked up and transported back to their home we were told was 2+ hours away. The customer followed up a couple of days later saying the refrigerator was now not cooling nor was it making ice. The customer was instructed to bring the appliance in for service since we are a local appliance dealer specific to ******* and could not provide service in their area. The customers did so and when the unit was brought in it was determined by our head technicians that: A) The unit was not cooling because the customers took the doors off the refrigerator during the initial installation and did not reinstall them correctly, this resulted in the center door guide not lining up properly and a gap was left in the doors allowing warm air into the refrigerator. B) The Ice and water did not work as the customer never switched the ice maker start button to start leaving it off during the time they had it. The customer also made mention of a missing door bin and a board display for the two center drawers, but the unit was used and sold as is with these parts missing. The temperatures in all these compartments temped out at our store just fine when Mr. ****** brought it in and AFTER we fixed the mis-installed doors. The refrigerator temp had tested at 35-38 degrees in the refrigerator over the time it was in store for repair, at 38 degrees in the two center drawers over that same time, and at -5 to 0 degrees in the freezer over that time. We never detected any issues. Mr. ****** was informed that he could pick the refrigerator up and he did so around the 8th of November. A couple of days later Cristy ****** called to say that the refrigerator was still not working though it had made ice. Basic troubleshooting was attempted and we questioned her about temps and settings in the home vs what was here in store and she became **** and demanded to "********" with a technician. This was something we do not unfortunately offer and when that was explained to Cristy she became angry and demanded that we do so questioning why it wasn't something we did before the call was ended with no resolution. The final call Cristy ****** made was to notify the owner that she was going to report us to the BBB, that she had a tech come out and tell her to "put ice cream in the freezer and if it didn't freeze the fridge was bad and the unit was a notorious model" (no recalls on this model were listed. If her local tech couldn't fix the machine that cannot be on us), and that she was going to let everyone know what a bad company we were before she hung up leaving us no time to respond. - We will NOT offer a refund on this appliance. When it was tested by our staff it was working with the only issues we EVER saw being caused by the customers (improper installation) - We CAN offer a replacement USED or NEW appliance equal to the purchase price (***) but the customer must bring the old fridge to us in order to exchange and finalize the deal. - We can PICKUP and swap the current unit for an additional cost based on the customers exact address for delivery. Consumer Response /* (***0, 7, 2021/12/15) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I appreciate the response from Mid America, it affirms why we decided to turn them in. They seem to be stuck in their story that hoovers at the truth but fails to ever land there. The first example I'll site regarding this transaction was either an intentional maneuver to try and belittle us into submission, or it was the manager's inability to comprehend a basic statement that was delivered no less than a half dozen times. 1. Upon getting the appliance home, it was obvious it would need to have all the doors removed in order for it to fit through our main door coming into our home. I shared that with Tom. We carefully reassembled it and meticulously aligned the doors, carefully and correctly. We allowed the refrigerator to run a few days before we decided to contact Tom. Because it had a warranty, I asked if someone would come and look it over. He said no, they did not travel that far and we would need to bring it back to their store in *******. He also told me that "we should have thought about that when we went out of town to buy a refrigerator." We took it back and they were going to look it over. I had an appointment with a medical specialist, so the only inconvenience to bringing it back was disassembling the unit completely again so my wife and I could get it back out of the house and load it on our trailer. This is the part that defines their customer service void by proving they do not listen to their customer, OR they don't really care what the customer tells them. I explained to Tom no less than a half dozen times (he is lying if he denies it, or it proves my earlier point) we put it quickly back together on the trailer to transport it. We were only concerned with keeping the parts in place. We did not attempt to put it back together perfectly with all parts fitting and sealing properly. We just put it back together well enough that it would ride and be assembled so that all the parts were kept together in their rightful place. Please note again, we (my wife and I) disassembled the unit by removing the doors to get it back out of our home and loaded on the trailer. This was not in any fashion the way it was assembled and aligned in our home. I explained this over and over. They put the blame on us for not setting the doors up correctly, and clearly this should not be that hard for Tom to understand if he would have listened, or even now if he rereads this a few times. 2. I told him the door unit control below the upper left hand door (if facing the unit) would not work, and it wouldn't make ice. First he explained that it was a used unit and was sold as is, but I feel the "as is" should include disclosure that the unit does not fully function as designed. Knowing what didn't work ahead of purchasing the unit would have had an impact on our choice. Tom explained that it was an insignificant feature and that the area of the unit would function and cool just fine. He explained it was a $*** part they were not going to replace and had made that decision prior to selling it. Several times he mentioned that the owner made that decision. True, we did not turn the ice maker on, because nobody shared with us anything about that or the electronic functions on the outside of the door where the ice and water are dispensed. Thank goodness for *******, but some instruction and help would have exhibited a little customer service. Sadly, the unit never cooled to the level of making ice in our home. 3. Since the unit was not ready to come home that evening when we left town, we asked that they keep the unit and verify it was working well. He explained that they have a "Master Technician Repairman" who looked it over and the only thing they discovered was a small water leak which they fixed. That was a Friday, and Monday I called Tom and he stated what all the temps were showing in each area of the unit, all acceptable. I took time off work to go back and get the unit that late afternoon. As Tom stated earlier in this deal (#1, end of first paragraph) "we should have thought about that when we went out of town to buy a refrigerator." Not that anyone at Mid America would have cared, but there is not a place in our entire county that carries *********, so we did think about that and we really had no in-town choice. I had also asked that they verify for me that at least the wiring to the non-functioning $*** control unit worked should I decide to replace the unit. I was never told whether they would, but I know that when I did replace the unit it still did not work. When I arrived, he showed me the upper ice bin was full of ice. We never saw proof of the temps, he just read them off to me. I wanted to believe that the unit made the ice and therefore never questioned it. I wanted this unit to work for us. We brought it home, disassembled it, my wife and I got it back into the house, reassembled it and let it sit for a few hours before plugging it in. We bought temp gauges to put inside both the freezer and refrigerator compartments. We also put a new plastic piece on the bottom to cover the wheels and used an OEM piece (yes, bought as is); we bought a shelf as it was missing one (yes, bought as is); we put a new door and control unit on (the $*** piece they mentioned) and I now hoped it had been checked out, as requested, but it turned out to not be the unit at all (yes, bought as is). After several days it finally produced about 12 ice cubes in the upper bin, nothing in the bottom. Strangely the temps were still not in the safe ranges according to our purchased temp gauges. So, to satisfy Tom who could not grasp that idea that we had simply stuck the doors back on when we returned it (see #1, second paragraph, 4th sentence), we decided to call and ask if their Master Technician would just quickly verify that the doors were aligned properly. We could do this by ******** or ****, at which he was vehemently opposed and refused, stating it was not their policy to do that. I seriously doubt they have that in a policy, but agree that if it is their stand they should have it in a policy and disclose that in writing. In less than one minute, their Master Technician could have at least verified the doors since we knew that would be their "go to." Tom was **** and even asked my wife why she was calling instead of me since he had explained this to me before. She told him I was at work and she was at home and could easily ******** with the Master Technician if they would please do that. They refused, and then stated that the owner said they were done with this, the unit was working when it left their store. So, we lined up a reputable appliance repair technician to make a service call and see if we could figure out what was all wrong with this appliance. The technician (who did not represent himself, nor did his employer represent that he was a Master Technician) told us these units had a history of problems and are no longer made. Yes, he did state that the thermometer in the freezer was registering "Not Safe" even though the food felt frozen. He stated we could easily verify the freezer's ability by placing ice cream in the freezer and see if it stays hard (safe) or melts (not safe). He indicated it would likely be very costly to try and figure out and fix everything that is possibly wrong with it but said he would come back if we wanted him to. At this point we decided to try working through Mid American Appliance since we had already invested in a trip to ******* and back to purchase it (270 miles round trip), a trip to return it (270 miles again), and a trip to pick it up again (270 miles), plus the items we bought for it. My wife called and asked to speak to the owner, since Tom had on numerous occasions mentioned the owner's decisions on this deal. He would not give her a name or contact number but did offer to take a message. She left a message for the owner (Tom claimed he was writing it down to give to the owner) and since she was not calling to engage in a conversation with Tom, she felt she could hang up after she had stated her message. My wife does not raise her voice and is not rude unless she feels verbally attacked and disrespected at a high level. We feel Mid America did not sell the appliance "as described" and should stand behind their word that the appliance worked and was safe. We still expect a full refund. *** Jim and Cristy ****** Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2021/12/21) */ Per our warranty (written very plainly in English for all to read) we are a USED appliance seller. If your purchase has an issue (with it being used, this can happen) you must bring it in store for service or you may exchange it for an item of equal value compared to what you paid. All sales are final. No refunds will be given. An In store credit may be given for item returns. This refrigerator worked for almost an entire week in store under the eye of, not a "Master Technician Repairman" but a licensed tech with an HVAC Masters and a Type -1 cert who showed us the temps were good. We were able to show the customer the thermometers pulled out from the machine with the temps on them as well as the ice maker filled to the top and everything looked good to both staff and the customer at the time of pickup. (The machine will not fil a bucket with ice if it is not getting to temp). The only time this unit did not work was in the customers home both times, after they installed the appliance. They SAW it working here. It didn't work there. Every issue we found in the unit was repaired and it was running just fine when it left our store. Again we say all we will offer is the chance to bring the unit in to have it repaired or they may exchange it for an item of similar value per our warranty. No refunds will be given. All sales are final. If the customer wishes to correspond further they may call the store and speak with the manager or bring the appliance in to work towards a resolution. If they cannot do this then we wish them the best of luck. Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2022/01/02) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) This is exactly the runaround we got while it was under warranty. Whenever we spoke to the manager, he was **** and interrupted us as we tried to explain and ask for help. The only resolution he offered was to bring it back in. While in the store, the refrigerator had some ice in the bin; as was the case at our home. Even though the store sells "used" appliances, a customer expects the appliance to be in working order. When we were told it was our fault that it wasn't cooling properly we hired an appliance repairman to inspect the setup. He affirmed that we had the doors installed correctly. If we had done our due diligence, researched the business, looked at other customer ratings and comments we would definitely have taken our business elsewhere. This is NOT the first time a customer has been disgruntled. While other customers may have been bullied into not reporting or threatened with court action, we stand firm. Mid America is not treating people honestly and needs to be held accountable.

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