Sears customers told to continue paying for worthless extended warranties

Imagine making a purchase andbeing told it won't be delivered but you still have to pay.

Refuse to pay? Then you'll be getting a call from debt collectors.

That's what's happening to former Sears Canada customers now that the department store chain has gone out of business.

They're being forced to pay for extended warranties that are no longer being serviced.

Mike Albaniof Richmond Hill, Ont.,bought four high-end kitchen appliances from Sears in September 2015 and took delivery in March 2016.

He said he was encouraged to buy a 48-month extended warranty, at a cost of$724.28 includingHST, and that the salesperson told him if he didn't use the warranty, the amount would be refunded in Sears gift cards when itexpired.

At zero per cent interest, Albani decided he had nothing to lose and financed the total amount on his Sears credit card.

But then Sears announced it was closing its doors and informed customers they had to keep paying for extended warranties even though they would not be honoured.

At the time, Sears assured CBCNews that customers would be refunded for the cost of the extended warranties at the end of their financing term.

"Monthly payments will remain the same, but the amount equivalent to future payments for protection agreements will be reduced at the end of the obligation," a Sears spokesperson told CBCNews by email onOct. 9, 2017.

ButScotiabank, which now owns the Sears credit card accounts, is threatening to send Albani's account to collections.

'Just pay the bill'

Albanisaid he'swilling to payfor the warranty forthe seven months he owned the appliances while Sears was in business, and he wrote to Scotiabank on Oct. 31, 2017, enclosing a cheque for that amount. Buthe doesn't believe he should have to paythe remaining $618.48 for extendedwarranty coverage in the months after Sears went out of business.

"[Scotiabank] suggested I could just pay this and the issue would go away," he said. "The same with their collections company. They said, 'Just pay the bill and it will be no more of a headache.'"

Sears warranty customer calls customer service and gets an unexpected result.

6 years ago

Duration 0:30

Mike Albani attempts to call one of the numbers he was using to reach a Sears representative regarding the extended warranty he'd purchased.

Scotiabank is telling him his credit history is going to be damaged if he doesn'tpay at least a minimum bill for the extended warranty by Dec. 19.

Albani said he can't understand the ethics of charging for something that Sears acknowledged it would neverdeliver.

"I'd like Scotiabank [to] admit that they are not providing service," he said.

Scotiabank spokesperson Brynne Moore said in an email to CBCNews that the bank has no responsibility to provide serviceunder the extended warranty.

"When Scotiabank purchased the Chase/Sears' credit card operation in 2015, we did not purchase the extended warranties or any of the obligations associated with the warranties," Moore said.

"Those extended warranties and associated obligations are the responsibility of Sears."

She said customers will have to resolve the issue directly with Sears. But customers can't reach anyone at Sears now that the company is liquidating.

It's unknown how many extended warranties were impacted by Sears' closure, or the value of those warranties.

Calls kept coming

Holly MacIntosh and Alan Benninger of Dundee, N.S., faced a similar situation. Even after Sears said it would remove their extended warranty charges, they continued to be contacted by the company that held the account, Easy Financial.

For the past year they have received calls and emailsabout the extended warranty in some cases, accompanied by a statement showing their balance as zerotelling them their account will be sent to collections. Easy Financial also contacted Benninger's employer about the alleged outstanding amount.

The couple said they continued to make payments, on time, on their purchase (less the amount of the extended warranty), and in Februarythey wrote company, asking not to be contacted again. Butthe emailsand callskept coming.

CBCNews contacted Easy Financial last week. The company subsequently wrote off the remainder of the account, including the amountof their purchaseeven though the couple did not dispute owing that.Easy Financial has promised the couple will not hear from them again.

'We expect people to keep their word'

Chris MacDonald, who teaches ethics at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto'sRyerson University,said it's hard for people to understand these situations.

"Ethically, it makes sense to me, and I think it would make sense to the average consumer, to say, 'Look, you're buying up these warranty obligations, you're inheriting with it whatever legal obligations the company you're buying them from had,"' he said.

MacDonald said consumers trust the companies wherethey do business.

"We expect people to keep their word," he said.

But in cases of insolvency, there is no motivation for the company to do that because they're effectively gone from the marketplace.

He said it's unclear whether Sears' unkept promise to deduct the warranty amount was the result of questionable ethics, a communications issue or paperwork problem, but "it's pretty clearly unfair."

MacDonald said cases like this tend to erode consumer trust in business.

"It's the kind of story that amplifies the standard worries about what business is all about worries that companies are really only out for the bottom line and don't care that much about their customers so I think it's unfortunate in that way," he said

Out of pocketfor repairs

Albani says his appliances are now breaking down and he's paying for repairs out of pocket. He's been told it will cost up to $300 just to have someone come to his home and diagnose the problem.

But he isn't giving up his fight. He said he willpay Scotiabank to preserve his credit rating if he has to, but plans to take them to small claims court to recover the money.

"I don't think it's fair," Albani said, not just for himself but for many others who bought from Sears who arein the same situation.

"I don't think Scotiabank is treating anybody fair with any of this. It's not ethical to charge people for service that's not been provided now or in the future," Albani said.

On its website, the company handling the Sears liquidation,FTIConsulting, tells extended warranty holders they are considered"unsecured creditors" and they must wait for the courts to approve a claims process before learning their fate.