Thread: Buying Batteries From Canadian Tire - Warranty Issues, Etc.

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/pe....html#post2298

“they absolutely refused to refund my money because some small ID sticker was missing from the battery”
https://www.canadiantiresucks.net/ge....html#post3355

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.

Originally Posted by CT_MANAGER

Where exactly am I claiming customers are crooks?

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.