- Report: #249122
Complaint Review: WalMart Tire & Lube - Stockbridge Georgia
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WalMart Tire & Lube
1400 Hudson Bridge Road Stockbridge, 30281 Georgia, U.S.A.
Phone:
770-474-0123
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WalMart Tire and Lube Ripoff Why is it necessary to have a camera to see if workersactually perform an oil change? Stockbridge Georgia
On Feb 11, 2007, my daughter and I had a near accident while traveling on I285 in Atlanta. I heard a sound under my hood and proceeded to pull over from the far left lane to the break down lane. No sooner than when I stopped, the car completely shut down. I contacted AAA and had my car towed to a mechanic in Rex, GA. It was late Sunday evening so I waited until Mon. AM and contacted GPS Auto. They did an insppection and said that my car was starved for oil and that as a result a piston was blown causing the engine to no longer be effective. I explained to the mechanic that I had my car serviced by Walmart a couple of weeks prior which included an oil change and tire rotation. He advised me to contact Walmart immediately.
I contacted Walmart immediately and spoke with the Service Center Manager (Shatree), she took a report over the phone. I explained that I beleived there was a possibility that although I paid for an oil change, I do not believe the oil was actually changed and as a result my car is inoperable. I described the young attendant that worked on my car and she confirmed by stating his name. She then told me that Walmart usually video tapes all oil changes and that they would review the tape but that the report would be turned over to Claims Mgmt Inc.(CMI) The company that handles cases like this.
I received a call the following day from the Claims Mgmt Rep. (Keith Hurst). Mr. Hurst stated an investigator would be sent out to inspect my car and a determination would be made to see if Walmart is liable for any damage. He stated that I would have to have my mechanic break the car down inorder for their inspector to do an inspection. I asked who would have to cover the cost and I was informed that I would but if it was found that Walmart was liable I would be reimbursed. In an effort to get the process going I agreed.
(The mechanic removed the valve cover and oil pan.at a cost @ 136.00). I am uncertain if this qualifies as breaking down the engine, but in discussing this matter with my brother who is a mechanic for American Airlines he stated he does not believe the inspector was able to get an acurate diagnosis by simply removing the valve cover. This was later confirmed by a GM inspector that I had a conversation with.)
I received a call the following day nce to indicate that Walmart is responsible for my alleged damages. The report states" there is no visible evidence to relate the failure to the oil service performed. What the report did not state is that the initial mileage reported on my receipt from Walmart was incorrect and also the signature on the rceipt does not belong to me. I have documented this information and sent it to the Better Business Bureau in GA. I thought that I would be able to speak with someone but the only thing that the BBB did was send this same information to the corporate office and it appears that the corporate office simply requested the information from Claims Mgmt. and they denied my claim once again without any further investigation and by relying on the same information. I had had several oil changes done by Walmart over the years and I had been a faithful customer for many years, this is a brand new Walmart and I am questioning the qualifications of the technicans that they are using in the Tire & Lube. I recently found this website and to learn that I am not the only person who has had major problems after something as basic as an oil change is appalling. More appalling is the fact that I drive a car whose engine is expensive to find ($3700-5000.00).
My car is still parked in my garage 3 months later and I am still paying the finance company. I was able to borrow a car for several weeks but now am stuck renting a car until I can purchase a cheap vehicle to get to work and back. To say this has caused a hardship is such an understatement. Some days I simply cry because I don't know how to get out of this nightmare. I have lost my car as a result to negligence and because places like Walmart don't really care for the consumer especially those wthout legal representation they continue to get richer and we continue to ignorantly support this tyrant.
There must be a reason why they feel the need to video tape their technicans to begin with.
Michelle
Rex, Georgia
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Wal-mart
I contacted Walmart immediately and spoke with the Service Center Manager (Shatree), she took a report over the phone. I explained that I beleived there was a possibility that although I paid for an oil change, I do not believe the oil was actually changed and as a result my car is inoperable. I described the young attendant that worked on my car and she confirmed by stating his name. She then told me that Walmart usually video tapes all oil changes and that they would review the tape but that the report would be turned over to Claims Mgmt Inc.(CMI) The company that handles cases like this.
I received a call the following day from the Claims Mgmt Rep. (Keith Hurst). Mr. Hurst stated an investigator would be sent out to inspect my car and a determination would be made to see if Walmart is liable for any damage. He stated that I would have to have my mechanic break the car down inorder for their inspector to do an inspection. I asked who would have to cover the cost and I was informed that I would but if it was found that Walmart was liable I would be reimbursed. In an effort to get the process going I agreed.
(The mechanic removed the valve cover and oil pan.at a cost @ 136.00). I am uncertain if this qualifies as breaking down the engine, but in discussing this matter with my brother who is a mechanic for American Airlines he stated he does not believe the inspector was able to get an acurate diagnosis by simply removing the valve cover. This was later confirmed by a GM inspector that I had a conversation with.)
I received a call the following day nce to indicate that Walmart is responsible for my alleged damages. The report states" there is no visible evidence to relate the failure to the oil service performed. What the report did not state is that the initial mileage reported on my receipt from Walmart was incorrect and also the signature on the rceipt does not belong to me. I have documented this information and sent it to the Better Business Bureau in GA. I thought that I would be able to speak with someone but the only thing that the BBB did was send this same information to the corporate office and it appears that the corporate office simply requested the information from Claims Mgmt. and they denied my claim once again without any further investigation and by relying on the same information. I had had several oil changes done by Walmart over the years and I had been a faithful customer for many years, this is a brand new Walmart and I am questioning the qualifications of the technicans that they are using in the Tire & Lube. I recently found this website and to learn that I am not the only person who has had major problems after something as basic as an oil change is appalling. More appalling is the fact that I drive a car whose engine is expensive to find ($3700-5000.00).
My car is still parked in my garage 3 months later and I am still paying the finance company. I was able to borrow a car for several weeks but now am stuck renting a car until I can purchase a cheap vehicle to get to work and back. To say this has caused a hardship is such an understatement. Some days I simply cry because I don't know how to get out of this nightmare. I have lost my car as a result to negligence and because places like Walmart don't really care for the consumer especially those wthout legal representation they continue to get richer and we continue to ignorantly support this tyrant.
There must be a reason why they feel the need to video tape their technicans to begin with.
Michelle
Rex, Georgia
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Wal-mart
5 Updates & Rebuttals
Mechanicgtr
Mechanicsburg,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
Lawyer
#2UPDATE EX-employee responds
Wed, April 15, 2009
Your only recourse is to talk to a lawyer. There are some non-profit legal groups out there, they may be worth looking into. We don't really have alot of info to go on here so it's kinda hard to say what happened exactly. You also need to get the Attorney General's office involved as well. NOTE: Unless there is a new policy in effect, WalMart does not tape their oil changes. What they should do, however, is close their TLE dept. They've had so many complaints. Good luck.
Mechanicgtr
Mechanicsburg,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
Lawyer
#3UPDATE EX-employee responds
Wed, April 15, 2009
Your only recourse is to talk to a lawyer. There are some non-profit legal groups out there, they may be worth looking into. We don't really have alot of info to go on here so it's kinda hard to say what happened exactly. You also need to get the Attorney General's office involved as well. NOTE: Unless there is a new policy in effect, WalMart does not tape their oil changes. What they should do, however, is close their TLE dept. They've had so many complaints. Good luck.
Mechanicgtr
Mechanicsburg,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
Lawyer
#4UPDATE EX-employee responds
Wed, April 15, 2009
Your only recourse is to talk to a lawyer. There are some non-profit legal groups out there, they may be worth looking into. We don't really have alot of info to go on here so it's kinda hard to say what happened exactly. You also need to get the Attorney General's office involved as well. NOTE: Unless there is a new policy in effect, WalMart does not tape their oil changes. What they should do, however, is close their TLE dept. They've had so many complaints. Good luck.
Herold
Sedlia,Missouri,
U.S.A.
walmart screwed up
#5UPDATE EX-employee responds
Sat, June 16, 2007
being an ex employee of wal mart, I am well aware of how incompantant some of the t.l.e. department workers can be. I worked for Wal mart for three years and during those three years I remember several different times that the people doing the oil changes forgot to put either the oil, oil filter, or the oil pan nut back on or in the car completly. I do not know all of the complete circumstances I'm sure but to those nay sayers but as an old employee of store 1161 I can back this ladies story up because I have seen this happen to other people
Steve
Bradenton,Florida,
U.S.A.
Michelle, your claim does not make sense.
#6Consumer Suggestion
Sat, May 19, 2007
Michelle, You left out some pertinent information here, but based on what you stated, Wal Mart is NOT at fault here. I am a qualified mechanic, and there are only 3 main reasons that would cause your engine to lock up. 1. Lack of oil, being at least 2 quarts low, or in excess of 10,000 miles, etc. 2. Contaminants in your oil that ate up your bearings, etc. 3. Overheat. The only way WalMart would be at fault here is if they put a very incompatible fluid in your engine, like brake fluid or the like, or a very wrong viscosity. Or, if they did not refill it at all after draining your oil out. You never mentioned what type of car it is or when you had the last oil change done [in miles]. This is very important. Also how old is the vehicle and how many miles are on it are very important factors, also left out. You also stated that the oil change was done a couple of weeks prior to this incident. This leads me to believe that you just drive the car and never look under the hood, like checking the oil, etc. Gas and go, right? It sounds like you had a tired engine and the oil pump quit. That would cause oil starvation and engine lock up. It can happen very fast at highway speeds. It is a normal failure and has absolutely nothing to do with an oil change. It sounds like just another case of blaming the last person who worked on it.
