So with the recent hunt for a new fridge, a staff at Sears told me about the BC Hydro’s fridge buy-back program, and thought I’d look into it. For a fridge that measures between 10-24 cubic feet and is still working, BC Hydro will pick it up, recycle it, and give you $30 for it. (only when you call will you find out that you will get the check in the mail many weeks later)
Sears, along with many other appliance sellers will charge $25 to take back your old fridge when they deliver your new fridge. So, I thought this was a good deal that you actually get paid for something you don’t need and they will take it away for free. HOWEVER! There is a catch – like with any too-good-to-be-true story. 
When I called them, they told me that the staff can not set food in the building of the apartment. This meant that I would have to pull and push the fridge out of my suite, into the elevator, out to the lobby and somehow get it out onto the streets to the truck. I asked the building manager if there was a place that I could leave the fridge when the Sears delivery staff were here to drop off my new fridge. He said ‘no’. No fridge can be placed outside my suite. Even if I could, the fact that BC Hydro can not come right away, it would mean that the fridge be sitting there or in my living room for 5 days.
Also, they only pickup during business hours – 7:30am-4:30pm. How convenient! How are people who work 9-5 and can not get time off suppose to do this? Luckily, my office was flexible.
I did make an appointment, but once the Sears delivery staff were there, I just let them take my old fridge – and I’m really glad I did! The two built men had a tough time getting it out of my apartment! Not so much because of the weight, but because my kitchen and doorway is sooooo tiny and cramped. They ended up scratching the laminate flooring T_T….not happy about that…argh. Can I send in a complaint to Sears and get some discount? lol
After the old fridge was gone, I cancelled my pickup with BC Hydro. Buy-back program fail?
)