Sears to Guarantee Buyers of Appliances
Bloomberg has not one but two videos about Sears’ new Buyer Protection Program. The Associated Press also reported on the program. The program sounds a lot like what some car companies are doing by providing consumers with a backstop in the event that they lose their jobs within a certain time frame of making a purchase. Hyundai especially has been able to maintain its sales better than competitors in part because of its Assurance Plan.
The free program, which starts Monday and runs through Aug. 1, covers appliance purchases of more than $399 made on a Sears card by cardholders who lose their job. Cardholders must have held a full-time job for at least 60 days when the appliance was purchased.
If a customer loses his or her job, the program will credit 1/12th of the purchase price to the account for each month the cardholder is out of work. If the person is still out of work one year after the purchase, he or she will receive an account credit for what’s left of the purchase amount and get to keep the appliance without any further payment obligations.
