APPLIANCE PRO

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On March 4, 2013, we called Appliance Pro to repair or replace the electrical
igniter on our Maytag oven. They did the repairs and charged us $162.78.
Initially the oven seemed to work, but when we tried the self-cleaning oven
function on May 12, the oven began to spark and smoke, filling the kitchen with
smoke. This was a very dangerous situation which could have resulted in a house
fire.
We called Appliance Pro on May 13 again to come look at the problem, and learned
that the wiring harness was completely melted and that the gas valve assembly
needed to be replaced. They said they would order the part and return to fix
the stove. I called them the next week and got no answer. I called the week
after on May 27th and they said, ?We forgot about you.? I asked David to order
the part and fix the stove. On May 30th I called back to check on the status of
the part, and David said that he was ordering the part that day and that it
would take a few days for it to arrive.
I called back the following Tuesday, June 4th and he said that the part would be
in the next day and that they would come to the house to repair the oven at
4:30pm.
On June 5th, David came back to the house and replaced the gas valve assembly. As
he was working on the oven, my husband heard him mention to his assistant (who
had done the initial igniter repair) that he had pulled the harness wires out
too far during the initial repair, which is likely what caused the oven to
spark. David also told us we should not ever use the self-cleaning oven
function because this always causes problems. When he was repairing the oven,
my husband smelled gas when they turned the oven on, and David said that
because it?s a new part, it?s normal for there to be a gassy smell.
The initial charge for service and parts was $329, and my understanding was that
the part cost $240. I told him how disappointed I was in the service that his
company had provided, including the delays in returning calls, that they said
that they forgot about us, and that it had taken a month to get the gas valve
assembly installed during which time we were completely unable to use our oven. He said that it just takes awhile to order parts, and I said that no, it didn?t take a month, but that the part was only ordered the
week prior. He then called the distributor from whom he ordered the part and they confirmed
that it had indeed been ordered on May 30th. Initially I paid him the full
amount ($329) and told him that he could live with his conscience about the low
level of service he had provided to us. He went to his truck, and five minutes
later rang the doorbell and asked if it would make the situation better if he
only charged us $200 for the repair. I said that would make the situation
better. I took back the original check and wrote him a check for $200. On the
service check, David noted that the discount was due to ?our mess up.? At this
point, I assumed the problems had been fixed, but the gassy smell proved to be
problematic. 
Because of the summer heat, we didn?t use the oven for a month, but we continued to use
the rangetop. On July 1 we used the oven for the first time. The oven quickly
filled up with gas and the kitchen started to fill up with gas, and then all of
a sudden the oven ignited with a flash and a loud ?boom.? We immediately turned
off the oven. Again, this was another very dangerous situation which made me
concerned for my and my family?s safety.
I called Appliance Pro the next day and let them know how upset I was about the
unusability of my oven and asked what we could do about the situation. They
said they could come back and fix it again, or that they would pay for another
business to give us an assessment of the problem. Initially I scheduled a time
for Appliance Pro to come back, but I reconsidered and decided to call Maytag
directly to get the problem fixed. I cancelled that appointment with Appliance
Pro.
The next day, July 2, I spoke with a Maytag representative who said to immediately unplug
the stove and turn off the gas to the range. She issued a manufacturer?s
warranty on our nine-year-old stove and range, meaning that Maytag would cover
the cost of all service repairs and parts to fix the stove. They connected us with a reputable company which we will definitely use in the future. Their service repairman noted that the oven was bent in several places, and there was black
soot on the back of the oven where the wiring harness had burned. Specifically,
his notes read as follows: Gas fills up in oven when using bake, found wiring
harness spliced to bypass connector, not correct ignitor, bent mounting bracket
to bake ignitor, oven base screws and bracket (rh) missing. Ordering harness,
bake ignitor, bake burner, bracket, and screws.
Because many of these parts were unavailable, we had to purchase an entirely new oven, which Maytag sold to us at a discount because of our inconveniences.