We took our cars to WalMart Tire and Lube Express for the first time in March. We liked the sevice and took our 1991 Toyota Previa van for another oil change on 8/4/03. We were aware it had been awhile since it was changed.
The car had been there awhile and I went back to see what was taking so long. I was told someone would tell mme after they filed the claim. I waited and was told that at my last oil change, someone had stripped the oilpan screw and put in something called a helacoil to hold the screw in. I said you did the last oil chang and they said yes, we know.
I was taken to get a rental car and told it would probably be a week to replace the oilpan. The next day an adjuster from WalMart's Claims Management - they have their own claims service called and said to take the rental back they were not paying for the claim because it had been too long between oil changes and we must have had the oil changed somewhere else in the mean time. Also their seal was not on the oilpan screw on the bottom.
We pointed out that their seal was on the filter and their the oil change sticker with their name was on the window. They acknowledged that that was the case, but they still were not paying the claim because of how long it had been between oil changes - someone else must have tried to cahange the oil and botched it and blamed WalMart.
I said who woulld change the oil and not the filter or the sticker. They had no answer.
We filed a complaint with the PA Insurance Dept. They looked into the matter and we were told that WalMart is a self-insured entity and Claims Management, Inc. Is a claims administrator owned by WalMart. The Pa Insurance Dept. Doesn't extend to self-insured entities only with insurance companies licenced to do business with the Commonwealth of PA.
It's hard to prove you didn't have your oil changed somewhere else. It's our word against theirs and they know that.
The expense is large to have this fixed. We were hoping to keep the van till our son gets ut of college to help him move in and out of the dorm. It is very much a hardship financially. We have spend hundreds of dollars a month at WalMart but are now trying to go other places as much as possible.
0 comments