ComplaintsforRussell's of Neillsville

• Initial Complaint

  07/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  I purchased a refrigerator from Russells of Neillsville. The unit was delivered March 2023.The unit was defective from the beginning. Freezer thaws and refreezes, runs constantly, has condensation on the exterior doors, ice maker drips water, frost build ** in the freezer, excessive condensation in the refrigerator side and the unit is very noisy.Russells has made 4 service calls so far, replacing fans, thermostats..etc. Their work has not improved the unit at all. Now they claim the unit needs new doors and seals, which involves a 4-6 week time period to get installed.In the meantime, the freezer portion of the unit is unusable, the food freezes and thaws constantly, ruining the food. We've had to throw out many items that were most likely unsafe to consume.I requested to have the unit replaced or my money refunded. Russells of Neillsville refuses to do either option. They claim Maytag doesn't allow for refunds or replacement.

  Business response

  08/11/2023

  The ****'s purchased a special order Maytag Side by Side fridge from ** in February of 2022. The fridge was delivered on February 28th, 2023. According to our records the ****'s called on April 18th,2023 stating that the fridge was very loud and running all the time. Our service technician went down to their house on April 19th, 2023 to diagnose the issue; he determined that a new condenser fan motor was needed. He returned to the store and ordered the part. Numerous calls were made and voicemails left to try and set up a time to install the replacement part, but we did not hear back from the ****** until the middle of June when they stopped in the store to inquire about the status of the part. They were informed that the part was in and we set up a service call for June 19th, 2023. On the 19th when our service technician got to the house no one was home, he tried calling them, but no one answered and he left a voicemail. The next time we heard from them was in the early part of July when they came in the store again asking about the status of the fridge. ************ stated that the fridge is still doing the same things and keeps freezing/thawing food and being very loud; he mentioned that he does not trust the fridge and wants to have a replacement fridge. We explained that we have been in contact with **************** line *********************** from the beginning and, unfortunately, we need to follow the steps/process they have in order to have the fridge replaced. Our service technician went back down to the ****'s home on July 11th to replace the condenser fan motor, in the process of replacing the motor he realized that the thermistor also needed to be replaced. He came back to the store and ordered the part. The thermistor came was delivered to us on July 12th and a service call was set up for July 13th, 2023 to install the part. The new thermistor was installed on July 13th, 2023. On July 19th, 2023 the ****'s came back into the store to ask about the status, our appliance manager stated that it would be best if the ****'s would make a call to Whirlpool to try and expedite the process (we often have better luck with Whirlpool responding to customers faster than dealers). Our appliance manager offered to help with the phone call while they were in the store. While on the phone with Whirlpool it was stated that the ****'s would need to have ************** (who is certified through Whirlpool) come back down to their house. A service call was set up for July 20th; when our service technician was down at their house he called the tech line again and was advised that the next step to solve the freezing/thawing issue would be to replace the doors. With the model fridge that the ****'s bought there is no ability to realign the doors without replacing both the hinges and the doors. The tech line stated that in the meantime you could apply a bead of silicone around the freezer door jam to help provide an extra seal. Our service technician came back to the store and ordered the hinges through a parts supplier (they were delivered on August 4th) and the doors were ordered through Whirlpool with a lead time of 4-6 weeks, unfortunately as of this time the doors have not arrived. After ordering the parts we reached back out to the customer to inform him of the lead time and offered to bring him a store loaner fridge (basic top freezer refrigerator) in the meantime, but because it was not the same model he had he did not want it and hung up on our appliance manager. At this time we do not have an ETA for the replacement doors. ..

  Customer response

  08/21/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  [Please type your response here.]
  We appreciate the offer of a loaner unit but unfortunately, the basic unit offered has no water supply and filter function. In our circumstance, the filter in the refrigerator is absolutely necessary to provide a final filter of the sketchy well water we have to deal with.

  It has been over four months now of living with a freezer that cannot reliably keep frozen food safe. We had to purchase a stand alone chest freezer to accommodate our needs.

  Russell's on several attempts, tried to repair the unit but ultimately failed to do so. Additionally, the response from Russell's neglected to address the damaged cooling fins in the freezer portion of the unit. A reputable dealer would have replaced this obviously defective freezer / refrigerator a long time ago.

  Again, we renew our request for an exchange or refund of this defective appliance.

  Regards,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  11/02/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  August 2022 had kitchen floors redone, paid the down payment of around $700. When work was completed, there was still a divot in front of the sink. Called to have this fixed, took two weeks to get a response. Russell's said they would send someone to look at it. Took another week for that, was told they would speak with their boss. Another person stopped by, said he had tried to call me, never got these calls or voicemails. Another two weeks passed. Called again, spoke with the flooring manager and was told I still had an outstanding balance, I said I would pay when the floors were fixed. Three workers came over another week or so later and only put a s**** in through the basement floors, telling me that the floor was actually rotted, and if the s**** didn't work a whole new floor would need to be put in. Spoke to their boss about this, asking why he didn't bother to check the underlayment when he came to quote the work, with him saying that they normally don't do that, again requesting payment. I said I wanted a discount as the floor was not fully fixed, he said he would look into it. Checked my credit card balance, saw that they pulled out the rest of the payment, still have a divot in the kitchen floor. In total, it was a $1200 job for uncomplete work.The individuals who gave me the quote for the floors, and those I spoke to on the phone were condescending and unable to take responsibility for their poor work. I want the divot actually fixed in my kitchen and a partial refund for the hassle of getting this done, or a full refund so I can get someone else to fix the work they did not complete.

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