A Granbury woman who was just trying to buy a part for her lawnmower instead ended up with a bunch of headaches.
Here's the problem: Carrie Hadley has a new lawnmower, but no way to attach an old leaf blower. So she ordered a part from a Sears Hometown and Outlet Store in Fort Worth.
Hadley said she checked her email that night and received one saying her order was canceled for nonpayment. There was money in her checking account, so Hadley didn't understand why there was a problem. She called and spoke to customer service, who told her she hadn't paid.
"I said 'I have my sales receipt right in front of me,'" she recalled. "[They said] 'Well that must've been a mistake, you didn't pay.' I said, ' Well, it posted to my account pending.' [They said] 'Well that won't post.'"
The payment posted three days later.
"I called them back and I said, 'Now it's posted. You have my money. Could I have it back?'" Hadley said.
Three months — and many more calls and emails — later, Hadley still hadn't received her refund. So she contacted NBC5 Responds.
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"I don't take advantage of people and I don't want to be taken advantage of," she said. "If it had been their money, I'd be willing to hand it to them. But it wasn't their money."
She still needs that lawnmower part, but we're happy to report she got her money back, $157.40.
We reached out to Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores. They told us:
"This transaction involved a few different divisions within the Sears network, and an error occurred due to a bridging issue from our POS system to the computer. That problem didn't allow our system to release the funds to the customer. The incident has since been escalated to the appropriate teams to prevent future similar issues."
Hadley did all the right things with her consumer problem. She kept her receipts, she got proof from her bank in writing and she kept detailed lists of every one she contacted. And when all that went nowhere, she called NBC 5 Responds.
