Buying Batteries From Canadian Tire - Warranty Issues, Etc.

CT/Me/Owner/Lawguy is another pathetic example of what Crappy Owners have descended to, these days.

They keep saying they won't post here any more, but you just can't believe anything they write.

And now they have resumed mis-quoting consumers, and then complaining about things the consumers never said! How sad!

And, gush! After making all these misleading claims about having "the best warranty", they finally admitted that it doesn't apply to all batteries they sell!

Thanks for being honest for a change!

But really: what's the big deal? Others have already done their homework for them.

Are they providing the evidence they said they have, to prove that no other retailers in Canada have a "better warranty" (whatever that means)? Nope.

How about helping consumer get satisfaction on their warranties? Nope, no help there, either.

But at least customers are here to help each other, and give each other warnings.

Yup, we are just ordinary people, trying to help one another out.

Something the Angry/CT/Me/Law/Guy clearly doesn't like. Ha-ha!

So, keep up the good work, fellow consumers!

You're not even discussing batteries anymore, because you don't know them! You don't know the warranty process, the ONE document required to have a warranty honoured, or what any of this information looks like or conatins. So you've resorted to generics about your view of me being pathetic, despite the fact you don't know which store is mine, how it looks, how it performs etc.... again speaking with zero information.

Legitimate customer complaints ceased on this site 3 months ago, now it's just two yahoo's H8R & Challenger.

How about you go back to something atleast you had a tiny amount of knowledge about like the CPA or SGA even though you got most of that incorrect also. Atleast you bothered to read a it about that stuff, instead of talking through your hat like you've been doing in regards to this battery warranty topic.

You know, I sit here looking at increasing sales week after week. i look at great quarterly results. Then I look at this website being reduced to the two posters and me. Have you wondered why there is no life in this site anymore? Peroform CPR on this thing..... it's in cardiac arrest hahahaha
Way to go guys, you sunk your own child

Tips on Buying An Automotive Battery From Crappy Tire: #3

A new battery sitting on a store shelf can lose its charge and lose its capacity to recharge.

The date of manufacture is stamped on the the battery. If letters are used, A is probably for January, B is for February, and do on.

There may also be a second date stamped on the battery, which indicates the "charge by" date, when the store should have recharged it. You have no way of knowing if this has been done.

The Crappy People would obviously want to sell off the old, stale batteries first, so make sure you know what you are buying.

So, always buy one that hasn't yet reached the "recharge by" date, and is no more than 6 months old.

Owner 1 said:

Something is still missing here....story not complete i'm sure of it

If a customer self served a battery which is possible in some stores, when they returned for warranty, the stickers would still be intact on the battery instead of having been transferred to a warranty folder. With receipt in hand, and the required stickers, a warranty could easily be honoured.

I suspect not all details are present

Click to expand...

That is interesting you brought that up. I didn't even think about that. You're right tho. The battery would then have all the stickers still attached.

Only issue I would see is that the receipt itself would not indicate the specific battery rather just the product number. But with an explanation as to why the customer would have a battery that was not processed (warranty filled out and included), I would personally have make a warranty for them and included the receipt to the warranty pamphlet, then processed the warranty.

Some managers who are not enthusiastic into understanding what occurred COULD assume the battery was suspicious seeing how the customer has a battery without any warranty. Just a receipt for *A* battery but no proof of the actual battery in question.

But even then a date code could be offered or taking some time out to understand the situation and performing a little extra effort on the managers part to understand the mistake and correct it.

CT Challenger said:

Tips on Buying An Automotive Battery From Crappy Tire: #3

A new battery sitting on a store shelf can lose its charge and lose its capacity to recharge.

The date of manufacture is stamped on the the battery. If letters are used, A is probably for January, B is for February, and do on.

There may also be a second date stamped on the battery, which indicates the "charge by" date, when the store should have recharged it. You have no way of knowing if this has been done.

The Crappy People would obviously want to sell off the old, stale batteries first, so make sure you know what you are buying.

So, always buy one that hasn't yet reached the "recharge by" date, and is no more than 6 months old.

Click to expand...

Excellent, now you're truly providing valuable information to consumers, instead of blind bashing without information. Here's the details you need to know. The manufacturing date might be difficult to decipher. It is stamped into the casting of the battery case. The wet date (fill date) is clearly marked with a white date sticker. The recharge date will be on a round circular sticker.
Generally batteries are sold first in first out to avoid older ones being on the shelf. A lot of stores, though not all will drop a sold battery onto a charger/tester before it goes out the door to ensure it's got full charge before it lands in a customers vehicle.

Challenger - if you provide information like this to customers, with actual knowledge not speculation, you will actually gain some confidence in those you are trying to reach. We'd be happy to participate in a forum that helps customers make good decisions.


There's SO much more to it, that a well run service team can do to relay some expertise. As an example, you should coat the battery terminals with a bit of dielectric grease prior to install. It will create better connectivity and help repel moisture which leads to corrosion. (white/blue powder that builds up on the terminals) Alternatively a little bit of petroleum based lubricant will accomplish the same for moisture repellant. won't get that type of knowledge at Costco or Walmart I promise you that.

Actually, smart consumers don't give a rat's ass what the Crappy Owners say they think.

We've been lied to and insulted too many times.

Sorry - take your self-serving crap someplace else.

Thank You!

So, we are all still waiting for Angry/CT/Me/Liar/Guy to provide an exact definition of "the best warranty in the business".

And, still waiting for all the proof Angry/CT/Me/Liar/Guy claimed they had, that Crappy Tire has such a battery.

Or, should we all just lower the bar for our friend Angry/CT/Me/Liar/Guy? Should we only ask for proof of the claim, 'only retailer in all of Canada with a 10 year warranty'?

Not that it matters - Angry/CT/Me/Liar/Guy hasn't bothered to provide any proof of that, either.

And how about all those old claims? Like a "100% conviction rate" for customers who return products with the wrong receipt?

Yup, quite a reputable bunch of "owners", LOL!

Check out this thread for perspective on the type of people you are dealing with here:

https://www.canadiantiresucks.net/g...oyees-charges-convictions-investigations.html

Where or where are all of these "smart consumers" as you call them?

I don't see them posting here. H8R and Challenger have spent 4 months debating amongst themselves...and still losing LOL

You've taken your hate of Canadian Tire to a level you don't even understand anymore. You see the name or the red triangle and just freak out in anger. All your postings about consumers learning fast of CT's ways and how this is bad and that is bad is all unfounded. Every topic you begin on this site returns to the same under tone that you're trying to create....CT owners are liars etc.... you've spun ever thread from batteries to auto service to bicycles into CT owners are liars. Futile attempt at best.

Millions of Canadians have dozens of other shopping options in cities and towns from Ocean to Ocean....yet they CHOOSE Canadian Tire. DAILY. How do you explain that?

Speaking of threads, this one is pretty popular - over 8,000 views!

https://www.canadiantiresucks.net/g...y-do-ct-defenders-post-so-many-lies-here.html

It’s great to see consumers sharing their stories on web sites like this one, to warn others of the pitfalls of dealing with Crappy Tire.

The Crappy People don't like it, obviously, but social media is a good way to learn from the mistakes of those who shopped at The Red Triangle of Crap.

Tips on Buying An Automotive Battery From Crappy Tire: #4

A fully charged battery won’t freeze until the temperature becomes extremely cold. But as a battery becomes electrically drained, the fluid inside it will begin to freeze at warmer temperatures. This means that a battery that already won’t hold a charge (for instance, if it is defective), is more likely to become 'frozen'.

A frozen battery can’t be re-charged or even tested, so it will need to be thawed first.

There have been posts from store representatives, claiming that you can bring one of their frozen batteries back to Canadian Tire, and they’ll thaw it out and test it for you.

However, there are reports of Crappy Tire stores refusing to honour warranties, just because the battery froze (even though it may have only frozen because it was already defective). They’ve even refused to honour the warranty, just because it’s cold outside (without any evidence that the battery is actually ‘frozen’).

So, if your Crappy Tire battery fails in cold weather, make sure it isn’t frozen (i.e., the fluid inside it isn’t frozen solid). If the battery is frozen, thaw it in a warm location before letting anyone from Crappy Tire look at it. That way, it can be tested to see if a defect caused it to freeze in the first place.

Here are some stories:

“they won't exchange or refund it, saying it's frozen etc”
Canadian Tire Wont honor the warranty on Battery. - RedFlagDeals.com Forums

“the warranty is void because you exposed it to freezing conditions”
Canadaintire Battery Warranty Story - RedFlagDeals.com Forums

The lesson is clear: if you made the mistake of buying a battery from Crappy Tire, you have to be very careful how you raise any warranty concerns. The Crappy People can use any excuse to deny a warranty claim.

CT scams like this happen all the time.

They'll say, "Easy Returns - Keep Your Receipt", but it isn't until something goes wrong that they'll tell you all the reasons you can't get a refund, or even an exchange, if you've changed your mind.

And if it's defective or it's been used by a previous customer, the store will say it can't be returned, no matter what the laws are in your province.

We've even seen clerks posting here saying, 'our policies aren't that bad, we refund and exchange pretty much everything', but naïve customers who believe that garbage find out the real agenda when they try to bring things back.

Here we see the same kind of scam for batteries. One store says, 'bring in your frozen battery', but another store will use any hint of freezing (even just a cold night) as an excuse to refuse a warranty claim. Nice going, Crappy People.

We now know what passes for "customer service" .... at the store Canadians graded F.

Tips on Buying an Automotive Battery from Crappy Tire: #5

The Sticker on the Battery

When Crappy Tire sells an automotive battery, there is supposed to be a sticker on the battery.

Customers have reported that Crappy Tire has refused to honour the battery warranty, simply because this sticker is missing, even if the customer has the original receipt and all the other warranty documents.

There is at least one report of a sticker not being applied when the battery was purchased, and of customers not being told at the time of purchase that the sticker is required for the warranty to be valid.

Basically, the sticker could have the same monetary value as the battery itself.

And in Canada, the sticker will be exposed to hot temperatures in the summer, freezing temperatures in the winter, snow, rain, water splashed up from puddles, car washes, maybe bumped around during battery boosts, possibly brushed into during oil changes or air filter changes.

If the battery had a 10-year warranty (if you are that lucky!), that means the sticker has to stay attached to the battery for a full decade, or you lose what’s left of your warranty.

(Maybe this isn’t good news, but the pro-rated value of the battery drops every year, so the value of the sticker drops, too. More on that later.)

Here are some posts from customers, to warn us of these issues:

“the paper work serial number did not match the one on the battery sticker...”
https://www.canadiantiresucks.net/personal-stories/33-when-warranty-isn-t-warranty-5.html#post2298

“they absolutely refused to refund my money because some small ID sticker was missing from the battery”
https://www.canadiantiresucks.net/g...rranty-no-refund-no-exchange-27.html#post3355

With the matching serial number what is to say that a customer simply picks up a battery from off the street in a back alley or one left outside a store and brings it in to get a new one.

This is no different than any other store. A requirement of proof of purchase and proof of ownership. No different that when you are driving a car and get pulled over. You better have your insurance and Drivers license to prove you are the owner of that vehicle and you have insurance otherwise there are consequences. In this case, Canadian Tire is still allowing for the battery to be returned if all of the rest of the conditions of the warranty terms are met by helping to satisfy the customer and at least all they do is pay at least 50% of the battery and their warranty starts over again.

We perform this adjustment because while the company cannot get credit for the battery, we can at least receive at least 1/2 of the batteries value and help the customer at the same time.

What is wrong with that? Canadian Tire is not telling customers they have NO options if you misplace your warranty (HOW can you lose your warranty if it's in your insurance btw, common sense).

Most Everything you buy has some type of warranty, computers, flat screen tv, your sofa.. All have certain terms to their warranty. If you wish to follow up on the warranty at some point, then ALL terms of the warranty have to be met in order to quality for what the warranty offers.

The warranty is fully described on your warranty pamphlet. It is given to the customer to hold onto for the life of the product, or when the product warranty expires.

Much less stress for customers if everyone read your warranty.

Warranties are also voided with abuse or neglect. If you don't take care of your battery, allow it to drain dead, don't clean off the corrosion, not have your car regularly serviced to prevent your charging system to overcharge or undercharge your battery, then the battery is not under warranty; Not a manufacture defect.

That's like paying for a weight loss clinic and were guaranteed to lose at least 30 pounds in 30 days (certain eating restrictions must be met). You come back 30 days later and want your money back, or complain that you GAINED weight when you all along were also eating fast food at the local McDonalds.

I agree Canadian Tire needs work on many things, but sorry I honestly feel this complaint is not at all creditable or warrantable when the customer HAS the warranty at time of purchase and like anything else with a warranty, has rules to follow or the warranty is not valid.

Translation:

Crappy Tire thinks customers are crooks, so it's OK for Crappy Tire to rip them off.

For instance, if the little sticker fell off the battery after a few years, it's OK to deny a warranty claim.

Consumers have been warned!

Translation? Where exactly am I claiming customers are crooks? Where are we ripping a customer off if you lost your warranty and we are offering you full warrantly for only a min of 1/2 the cost of the battery rather than completely denying any options?

So I take it you drive with no insurance papers nor drivers license because the police officer who pulls you over has no right to require proof of ownership and insurance? Then when you are issued a fine and your car is taken away that you feel it's in your best interest to claim the police officer is at fault because you didn't have your paperwork? Interesting..

In all the batteries i've ever had, i've never once had my battery in a condition in which the battery vent sticker was anywhere close to coming off.

CT_MANAGER said:

Where exactly am I claiming customers are crooks?

Click to expand...

Is CTManager even serious with this?

They claimed "a customer simply picks up a battery from off the street in a back alley or one left outside a store and brings it in to get a new one."

I suppose they'll do some dodging and weaving, about how that's what they said, but it wasn't what they meant, LOL!

It's the kind of BS you'll hear when you take back the defective battery they sold you, and they try to dig up a reason not to honour the warranty.

Consumers have been warned!

Well, at least the Crappy Manager has agreed that the absence of a sticker on the battery (he says it's a “battery vent sticker”) could be used as an excuse to deny a legitimate warranty claim.

Sounds like a legitimate complaint to me, if the sticker was never put on in the first place, or peeled off during an engine shampooing, boost, etc.

But, we already knew that – thanks just the same, Crappy Manager!

And then the Crappy Manager decided to ramble on with some random, patronizing advice:

- Keep proof of insurance and your driver’s license with you when you drive.
- Keep your warranty papers in a safe place.
- Don’t abuse your possessions.
- Don’t eat too much fast food.

I suppose next he’ll advise us to exercise for 30 minutes a day, and get our prostate checked annually.

But what does this have to do with the sticker they want to put on the batteries they sell?

Absolutely nothing.

You would be an excellent newspaper reporter seeing how everyone here takes everything out of context just to try and prove themselves correct.

The question as to why we need the proof of purchase was answered. The reply above was the obvious and was merely a statement of needing proof that the customer owns the battery themselves.

If if that is how you are going to take it, then why don't you look at it this way. Then you can claim that EVERY single store out there that gives you a receipt is for what? To prove you didn't STEAL IT? Is that how you are going to take it?

People on here need to grow up.

I said that batteries are declined if the warranty is not met. (Warranty in hand with receipt for proof of ownership, and matching serial number, and the original purchaser of the battery). And if you don't have one or more of these, we MAKE AN EXCEPTION to allow you to still get a battery but the battery is date coded and the customer pays least 1/2 the cost of the battery and receipts the new battery with the warranty started over again.

Now HOW is that ripping customers off when the customer understands that warranty has guides that must be met in order to be valid? Or are you going to claim Canadian Tire is the only store in the world that has a Warranty? Perhaps you'll claim you never heard of a warranty before?

Once again, people need to read before they type.

What does the Vent sticker have to do with warranty you say? As I've said before, the vent sticker is the MATCHING SERIAL NUMBER. If you look on a battery there is a sticker on the top of one of the vent caps (usually the left). On that sticker is the SERIAL NUMBER of the battery. On the warranty the warranty indicates that a MATCHING SERIAL NUMBER is part of the requirements.

That is similar to a VIN number on a car; a unique number for that battery. That serial must be present for any of the rest of the terms to begin to be met. That serial number then would match the sticker (another sticker with the same serial number) that was removed from the battery at purchase and placed on the warranty papers itself).

That is where the vent sticker comes from. As a result, YES it is very important if you want your warranty.