On Feb 11, 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.
0 comments