I disagree with the explanation / grounds provided"November 17, 2016
Complaint Department
People Claim
P.O. Box 2531
Boone, North Carolina 28607
RE: Investigation of Complaint with Sears Holdings Corporation
Katrina Ferguson– File # - 2146642-138742
To Whom It May Concern:
We have completed the investigation regarding Ms. Ferguson's concerns with the availability of some items she wished to purchase.
As clarification, it appears that the item in question was being sold through one of our Marketplace vendors. As clarification, some time ago our online website began hosting other retailers through our Sears Marketplace program. The goal of our marketplace is to provide items that might not be available through our own online channels, so that we become a “one-stop” online shopping destination. Much like a well known online bookseller, we offer our own merchandise and then we also have choices available from third-party vendors. For any consumer that would like to restrict their purchases to Sears items or services specifically, there is a tab to display only Sears items and it is also set up as a choice to narrow the selections that initially pop up.
With that said, each vendor is responsible for the merchandise displayed and for providing customer support for any of their orders. However, the disclaimer on our website covering any errors due to pricing or description errors also encompasses any merchandise shown from our vendors. In the case of this item, it does not appear to be on the site any longer. We can only assume that the problem then was that the price Ms. Ferguson saw was erroneous or that the items had sold out by the time she decided to place the order with the increased shipping amount attached. Regardless our disclaimer addresses both scenarios and makes it clear that we would not be responsible for providing a substitute item for the same price.
As we noted, we have a very comprehensive disclaimer on our website that sets forth the terms and conditions of ordering from our site. With an online business it is possible for mistakes to occur or for customers to view an older description with a different price, which is why most online merchants have terms and conditions that are similar to ours. An incorrect sign posted in a store might only cause one sale to be made before the mistake can be corrected, with the store taking a loss on just one item if the price is substantially below their cost. When an incorrect price is posted on a website, there is the potential for thousands of orders to be placed before the mistake can be corrected. Most online retailers post similar terms of use, and we stand by our disclaimer. In case Ms. Ferguson may not have been familiar with our disclaimer, even though any access of our site is considered an acceptance of our terms of use, we have included below the portion that was pertinent to this situation:
“…Disclaimer
YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SEARS SITE, AND OF ANY USER CONTENT, INFORMATION, ADVICE, SERVICES, PRODUCTS, AND OTHER MATERIALS CONTAINED IN OR DESCRIBED ON THE SEARS SITE, IS ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK, AND THAT ALL SUCH INFORMATION AND MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. TO THE FULL EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY APPLICABLE LAW, WE MAKE NO, AND HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL, REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE AVAILABILITY, OPERATION AND/OR USE OF THE SEARS SITE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY USER CONTENT PROVIDED VIA THE SEARS SITE, AND ALL OTHER CONTENT, SERVICES, PRODUCTS, AND OTHER INFORMATION AND MATERIALS CONTAINED IN OR DESCRIBED ON THE SEARS SITE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND IMPLIED WARRANTIES ARISING FROM COURSE OF DEALING OR COURSE OF PERFORMANCE. IN ADDITION, WE DO NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT THE INFORMATION AND CONTENT ACCESSIBLE VIA THE SEARS SITE IS ACCURATE, COMPLETE OR CURRENT, AND WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS THEREIN OR FOR ANY ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES RESULTING FROM USE OF, INABILITY TO USE, OR RELIANCE ON ANY ASPECT OF THE SEARS SITE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO USER CONTENT AND ALL OTHER CONTENT, SERVICES, PRODUCTS, AND OTHER INFORMATION AND MATERIALS CONTAINED IN OR DESCRIBED ON THE SEARS SITE. FURTHER, WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES THAT THE SEARS SITE OR THE USER CONTENT WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR FREE OF ERRORS, VIRUSES, OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY ANY USER FROM US OR THE SEARS SITE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED HEREIN.
Placing an Order
…Pricing errors may occur on the Sears site from time to time, on items sold by Sears, or items sold by third party merchants on Sears Marketplace. Sears attempts to correct all pricing errors as soon as they are discovered, or as soon as Sears receives notice of an error. Sears reserves the right to cancel any orders containing pricing errors, with no further obligations to you, even after your receipt of an order confirmation or shipping notice from Sears. Any payments you make to Sears for orders that are cancelled due to pricing errors will be refunded.”
In closure, since the price shown was either not accurate or the merchandise sold out before Ms. Ferguson placed her order, we are unable to honor her request to receive a comparable item for the same price. If Ms. Ferguson would like to place a different order, we would be willing to provide her with a 10% discount as a courtesy. All she would need to do is send the new order number via email to the address listed below and a credit for the aforementioned 10% would be issued. As this decision is in accordance to our posted terms and conditions, we have closed our file.
We apologize for any issues or frustrations that Ms. Ferguson may have experienced with Sears Holdings Corporation. We do value our customers and strive for their complete satisfaction including a reasonable resolution of any complaints whenever possible. If you have any further questions or concerns, you are welcome to contact me via email at Tammie.Shurbet@searshc.com.
Sincerely,
Tammie Shurbet
Tammie Shurbet
Regulatory Complaints Specialist"