I scheduled an appointment to repair my GE Dryer in Hempstead, NY and explained the issue was the timer needs to be replaced. The Sears representative on the phone that the cost for the visit is $165, however, the charge will be applied towards the cost of the repair not including the part. The service order number is **. On 4/3, the Sears tech showed up and confirmed the issue was the timer but stated the labor cost is always a minimum of $350 to $400 not including the part. The cost of the labor plus the part would then exceed or equal the cost of buying a new one. I explained to the tech that the Sears Customer representative never stated there is a minimum labor cost to repair equal to $350 to $400 not including the part, and if I was informed of this information, I would not have booked the appointment.
Sears Home Services should credit the charge of $129.71 since they are withholding information on what the base labor charge is to customers which is critical to making a financial cost effective decision on whether to book an appointment that has a $165 fee. The tech spends less than 5 minutes at your home, before they tell you the excessive base labor charge of $350 to $400. Hence, they are making $165 for less than 5 minutes of work which is a scam if done in the aggregate and multiple homes are done in one day.