A Consumer's War against CTC

Do you really know what the mechanics at the Canadian Tire Auto Service are doing to your car? (I)

On Jan 7, 2008, my car's condition was checked by a mechanic at the Tony Graham dealership:

(1) No vibration felt at highway speeds
(2) Checked for beating noise - nothing heard
(3) Inspected links at both front and rear - ok
(4) Checked wheel bearings - ok
(5) Only noise heard was normal tire noise

So, the results from this inspection on that day: no correction required at this time.

Car Mileage reading at this time: 167,827 km

Although I felt that my car was not performing as well as before, everything was in good condition from the mechanic's point of view.

My car's condition report on Jan , 2008

Do you really know what the mechanics at the Canadian Tire Auto Service are doing to your car? (II)
On Jan 14, 2008, I had my car checked again by a mechanic at the Tony Graham dealership.

The technician noted the following:
(1) Wrong axle currently in vehicle (right side)
(2) Right axle seal leaking (possibly caused by wrong axle)
(3) Right front wheel bearing noisy

As a result, the mechanic did a lot of work to fix my car.

Car Mileage reading at this time: 167,918 km

Compared to the mileage reading (167,827) on Jan 7, there were only 91 km used in 7 days. The difference includes the mileage I used to drive to both the Canadian Tire store and Tony Graham dealership and back, and also includes the mileage the mechanics used at both locations to test my car on the highway several times. Can you imagine what happened to my car?


Well, that is a little longer story about the Canadian Tire Auto Service !

My car's condition report on Jan 14, 2008

I installed new tires at Canadian Tire

Do you really know what the mechanics at the Canadian Tire Auto Service are doing to your car? (III)


I felt that my car was not performing as well on the highway as it had been before. On Jan 6, 2008, I went to the Canadian Tire Auto Service at Carling & Woodroffe in Ottawa and asked them to install two new tires for my car.

Check my receipt here

I installed new rims at Canadian Tire

Do you really know what the mechanics at the Canadian Tire Auto Service are doing to your car? (IV)

After having two new tires installed on Jan 6, 2008, I felt that my car's condition had not improved. On Jan 7, 2008, I went back to the Canadian Tire Auto Service at Carling & Woodroffe in Ottawa. The service advisor told me that I needed to install two new rims onto the new tires.

After they installed the new rims, I discovered a new problem: a constant beating noise from the front driver side wheel at any speed. That is one of the places where they installed the new tire and rim.

I thought that the mechanic at the Canadian Tire Auto Service had not solved my problem, but was actually generating more problems. I left Canadian Tire and drove my car directly to Tony Graham to ask the mechanic there to have a second look at my car. Therefore, I got my car's condition report on Jan 7, 2008

The mechanic at the Tony Graham dealership said that my car was in a condition that did not need any correction at the time.

Check my receipt here

What happend at Canadian Tire on Jan 13?


Do you really know what the mechanics at the Canadian Tire Auto Service are doing to your car? (V)

The beating noise from the front driver side kept annoying me yesterday (I only used my car on the weekend for grocery shopping). The mechanics at Tony Graham told me that I should go back to Canadian Tire if I really felt the car had such a problem with noise since the technicians there were the ones who installed new tires and rims for me.

On Jan 13, 2008, I went back to the Canadian Tire Auto Service at Carling & Woodroffe again!
====================
Date: Jan 13, 2008 (Sunday)
Place: Canadian Tire Store Auto Service at 2160 Carling Ave., Ottawa

8:00 am:
I told the service advisor about the problem with my car (lower beating noise coming from the front driver side wheel, at any speed).
9:20 am:
I saw mechanic (11) driving my car out for testing.
10:30 am:
The service advisor told me that the front passenger side driving axle was bent and that this was the cause of shaking on the highway. He advised me to change it.
I asked mechanic (11) about the noise problem, he said he heard nothing.
10:40 am:
I went out with the mechanic (11) to show him the noise.
11:20 am:
The mechanic (11) told me that he had checked the tires, balance, bearings, etc. and that everything was okay. When I asked him about the front driver side driving axle, he said the driver side axle was good.
11:25 am:
I signed on the work order to change the front passenger side driving axle.
2:00 pm:
I was told that the ordered part (axle) had arrived and that the mechanic was working on installing it.
3:50 pm:
I saw the mechanic (11) driving my car out for testing.
4:20 pm:
The advisor told me that my car had a lot of problems. First, the ordered axle was wrong; second, the front driver side driving axle was not good either. and both of them had to be replaced. I was given two choices:
(i) leave my car in the garage until it is fixed the next day (Monday).
(ii) reinstall the original front passenger side driving axle (the one that was taken out) and come back the next day.
I said I needed to talk to the mechanic first.
4:30 pm:
I asked mechanic (18) to show me the problem with the front driver side driving axle. He showed me the problem and said that the wheel on it was loose. I told the mechanic (18) that I really needed to use my car that night, and asked him two questions to address my concern:
(i) Had my car been damaged because of mechanic (11)'s mistake?
Mechanic (18) said NO.
(ii) If I had the original axle reinstalled, would my car return to its original condition?
Mechanic (18) said YES.
4:40 pm:
I went back to the advisor and told him that I had to use my car that night, so I wanted to have the original front passenger side driving axle reinstalled so that my car would be restored to its original condition. I said I would return to have my car fixed the next day.
5:00 pm:
Closing time, I got my car.
5:05 pm:
As I drove toward the highway entrance on Woodroffe Ave., I heard a really loud noise from the front passenger side, like an airplane passing beside me. I slowed my speed down to 30 km/h, kept it between 30-40 km/h (the airplane was still there!), flashed my emergency lights, and drove back home via a local route.

Check the work order on that day

...more coming soon...

What did Canadian Tire do to my car?

Date: Jan 14, 2008 (Monday)
Place: Tony Graham at 1855 Merivale Road, Ottawa
7:00 am:
I drove my car to the garage, left my car there for diagnosis, and asked them to check both front side driving axles.
Date: Jan. 16 2008 (Wednesday)
Place: Tony Graham at 1855 Merivale Road, Ottawa
7:00 am:
I picked up my car from the dealership. They did not touch the front driver side driving axle. They charged me CAD1030.79 total. I got my car's second condition report dated on Jan. 14, 2008
7:10 am:
I tested my car on both highway and local roads; the performance was good. The beating noise from the front driver side was still there, but was lower down than before.

Place: my lab at U'Ottawa
10:00 am:
I read the technical note on my receipt from Tony Graham, and found "wrong axle currently in vehicle (right side) ... leaking (possibly caused by wrong axle)...".
10:10 am:
I called Customer Service at Tony Graham regarding the "wrong axle currently in vehicle" issue.

Place: Tony Graham at 1855 Merivale Road, Ottawa
12:30 am
I went back to Tony Graham and spoke to the service advisor and the mechanic who discovered the wrong axle in my car. I bought back the wrong axle, and paid an additional CAD56.50.

Place: Canadian Tire Auto Service at 2160 Carling Ave. Ottawa
2:00 pm:
I went back to the Auto Service centre at Canadian Tire to speak to the manager. The manager was not there at that time. I left a copy of the receipt from Tony Graham with the service advisor, asking him to give it to the manager.
2:15 pm:
I left Canadian Tire in a very, very bad mood. The service advisor had treated me very badly: he said "I DON'T CARE!"

First negotiation with Canadian Tire

Date: Jan 16, 2008 (Thursday)
Place: my lab at U'Ottawa
10:00 am:
The manager of Canadian Tire Auto Service called me, I explained my story to him briefly. I used the words "your mechanic cheated me" and "they put my life in danger". He promised to check back with the two mechanics. I told him that I would be willing to show him the wrong axle taken out by the mechanic at Tony Graham.

Date: Jan 20, 2008 (Sunday)
Place: Home
8:50 pm:
I called the Canadian Tire Customer Relation line: 1-800-387-8803. A representative answered the call and listened to my story. I told her that I wanted to hear their response before moving on to the next step. She gave me a REF# 411-91218 and promised me to give me a response in two or three days.
Actually, I have no next step at all!

Date: Jan 21, 2008 (Monday)
Place: my lab at U'Ottawa
10:30 am:
A representative from Canadian Tire's head office called me in response to my complaint. He asked to check the axle I bought back, and said that the axle in question was the one originally belonging to my car.
I asked him if this was Canadian Tire's final response, and he said YES.
3:30 pm:
I got a call from Linda at the local Canadian Tire (613-725-3111 ext 600), but I was not there to receive the call.
3:50 pm:
I got a call from the Legal Aid Office at U'Ottawa, the person who assisted me said his supervisor advised me to have a meeting with Canadian Tire first to see if we could resolve the problem.
He also mentioned that my car is an old car, and that it is thus a little complicated to prove that the car was in good condition before the problems occurred.
I told him that my receipt from Tony Graham had indicated that my car was in good condition just one week before the problem.
4:00 pm:
I returned Linda's call. She said that the axle I had retrieved from Tony Graham was the axle originally belonging to my car, and that Canadian Tire was not at fault at all. She gave me the same answer as had the representative from the head office.

Second negotiation with Canadian Tire

Date: Jan 22, 2008 (Tuesday)
Place: Home
8:30 am:
I called Consumer Protection Canada, 1-800-.....
A representative advised me to go to small claims court to solve the problem, and said that I do not need a lawyer.


Date: Jan 23, 2008 (Wednesday)
Place: Home
8:30 am:
I called the Canadian Tire Customer Relations line again. I added more supporting documents to show my car's condition before Jan 13.

Place: my lab at U'Ottawa
2:30 pm:
I faxed all of the receipts I had to Canadian Tire Customer Relations.
4:30 am:
I got a call from the Canadian Tire store at 2160 Carling Ave. Ottawa. The representative said that the mechanic did not install the wrong axle into my car, and she told me to "deal with it with your lawyer".

===============================

I cannot afford a lawyer, and I don't have much available time to pursue this complaint, either.

Even if I have the time to go to the small claims court and win, what kind of result can I expect? I would get back a thousand dollars, but Canadian Tire would continue treating customers like this?

I don't want to go to the small claims court. Canadian Tire should be judged according to PART III UNFAIR PRACTICES in the Consumer Protection Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, CHAPTER 30, Schedule A.

I started a war!

Jan 26, 2008 (Sunday)

I found another web page Canadian Tire Corporation, LimitedWeb Reporting Site . I considered that it is an online version of Canadian Tire Customer Relation line. I submitted my brief story and my blog link. I wrote:

"... since you have given me the final answer, I consider it is final. I am not writing this for begging compensation, but for announcing a war. A war between a vulnerable, individual consumer and a big giant. You may not notice it for now, but it has been started, and it will last ... "

A Consumer?s War Continues ...

I registered two domain names
www.canadiantireliar.com
www.liarliarcanadiantire.com

Thanks for the valuable idea I got from this great web site

(...one more left... coming soon)

I sent Legal Notice to Canadian Tire

I sent Legal Notice to Canadian Tire. It is not a legal red tape, because it is done by myself. It may even amuse you in some way
====================
Date: JANUARY 29, 2008

Dear Legal Representative of Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited:

I had a very bad experience with Canadian Tire Auto Service (2160 Carling Ave, Ottawa) on Sunday, January 13, 2008. They installed an incorrect front driving axle on the passenger side of my car. After I asked them to restore my car to its original condition, they left the wrong axle in my car and let me drive home.

The wrong axle was found and taken out by another mechanic at a dealership immediately the next day. I picked up my car at that dealership and bought back the wrong axle on Jan 16, 2008.

The entire story and the proofs of my car's condition before and after this incident occurred are available on my blog at HTTP://unfair-practice.blogspot.com/. You can also found further documentation of my case by reviewing Ref# 411-91218 in your Customer Relation department or by checking my car maintenance record at the Canadian Tire Auto Service (2160 Carling Ave, Ottawa, Ontario).

I need to make regular trips to Toronto to visit my wife and friends. After this problem occurred, I have been scared of driving long distances using my car. I am worried that my car might have incurred some potential damages that are not yet noticeable and that I will lose control while driving on the highway someday.

The following are the persons related to this case who represented the Canadian Tire Corporation in dealing with Work Order 289007 on Jan. 13, 2008 and should be held responsible:

1. The representative of Canadian Tire Customer Relation who took care of the Ref# 411-91218 of the complaint.
2. The manager of the Canadian Tire store (2160 Carling Ave, Ottawa, Ontario);
3. The manager of the Auto Service at the Canadian Tire store (2160 Carling Ave, Ottawa, Ontario);
4. The service advisor (Wadin) at Canadian Tire store (2160 Carling Ave, Ottawa, Ontario);
5. The mechanic 11 at Canadian Tire store (2160 Carling Ave, Ottawa, Ontario) who installed the wrong axle into my car;
6. The mechanic 18 at Canadian Tire store (2160 Carling Ave, Ottawa, Ontario) who left the wrong axle in my car.

The following are my questions about this incident. Please answer them within three months starting from the date printed at the beginning of this notice.

1. Did the mechanics at the Canadian Tire Auto Service (2160 Carling Ave. Ottawa, Ontario) install the wrong front passenger side driving axle in my car on Jan. 13, 2008?
2. Did the mechanics' installation of this axle at the Canadian Tire Auto Service (2160 Carling Ave. Ottawa, Ontario) on Jan. 13, 2008 damage my car?
3. Did the mechanics at the Canadian Tire Auto Service (2160 Carling Ave. Ottawa, Ontario) leave the wrong front passenger side driving axle in my car as a result of only a temporary completion of the work done on Jan. 13, 2008?
4. Did the mechanics' practice endanger my life by allowing me to drive an unsafe vehicle after the 5:00pm closing time on Jan. 13, 2008 and in the days that followed?
5. Did the manager at the Auto Service of the Canadian Tire store (2160 Carling Ave. Ottawa, Ontario) investigate my case fairly?
6. Did the representative at the Canadian Tire head office who took care of my case (Customer Relation line: 1-800-387-8803, Ref# 411-91218) investigate my case fairly and completely?
7. Are the representatives at the Canadian Tire head office tolerating unfair business practices exercised by any individual store operated in the name of Canadian Tire?
8. Is Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited tolerating unfair business practices exercised by any individual store operated in the name of Canadian Tire?

The following are the actions you should commence immediately:

1. Commence an investigation into any possibly unfair practices in place at
all stores operated in the name of Canadian Tire nationally and internationally (if any) immediately.
2. Publish a monthly progress report of this investigation via the mainstream media nation-wide and in each province in Canada.
3. Apologize to me personally for the case I described at the beginning of this notice by sending me an official letter in the name of Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited, with the signature of the legal representative of Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited.
4. Apologize to me publicly for the case I described at the beginning of this notice by publishing an apology in the mainstream media in the province of Ontario.
5. Publish the results of the investigation into the responsibilities of the employees mentioned in this notice to a major media in the province of Ontario.
6. A compensation of CAD $xxxxx for the damages done to my car should be made payable to me.
7. A compensation of CAD $xxxxx for car rental expenses for long distance driving over the next ten years should be made payable to me.
8. A penalty of CAD $xxxxxx as stipulated under the Consumer Protection Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 30, Sched. A should be made payable to me.

Action 1 should be commenced within three months starting from the date printed at the beginning of this notice.

At least the first report of Action 2 should be published within three months starting from the date printed at the beginning of this notice.

Actions 3 to 8 should be fulfilled within three months starting from the date printed at the beginning of this notice.


Regards,



ChickenOnTable
............................
................
..............
==================================
The notice has been successfully delivered!

what next? I don't know, patience values more than courage

I got a email from CTC

from Canadian Tire customerservice
reply-to customerservice
to ?????@gmail.com,
date Feb 4, 2008 4:48 PM
subject Re: New email created on Mon Feb 04 13:42:55 PST 2008



Dear Mr. ?????,

Thank you for your recent letter which I have faxed to the general manager at the Carling Avenue Canadian Tire store who spoke with you a few weeks ago. The general manager has responded back to Canadian Tire Corporate Customer Relations stating that she will not be responding back to you regarding your letter as she has already spoken with you. However, the general manager will give your letter to Mr. C. H. the Canadian Tire Associate Dealer at the Carling Avenue store for his review. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond.

Regards,

xxxxxxxxxx
Automotive Case Management Representative

---On 02/04/2008,

This email was created in response to an external action.

Internal Reference [1115740]

If you wanted to get serious, I'd suggest getting a real lawyer to help you. Otherwise it is just another rambling complaint. In civil courts, this would be settled under "Tort Law". You should check your claim against these conditions and see how it feels to you:

Usually, people claim negligence as the reason for a Tort.
The plaintiff must establish four elements in order to win on a negligence theory: (1) Defendant owed a duty of care to plaintiff; (2) Defendant breached that duty of care; (3) Plaintiff was injured because of that breach; and (4) the injury would not have occurred but for the behavior of Defendant.

So the key would be, did they have a duty to install the correct axle in your car (if you paid for it, you could probably say yes, but since I don't know if you actually did pay them, I can't comment)

Did they breach that duty (it would appear so if what you say is true, but it also looks like they put the old one back on)

Were you injured (doesn't sound like it; this could ruin your case)

If you were injured, is it only because of the axle issue and no other contributing factors.

mastercraft said:

If you wanted to get serious, I'd suggest getting a real lawyer to help you. Otherwise it is just another rambling complaint. In civil courts, this would be settled under "Tort Law". You should check your claim against these conditions and see how it feels to you:

Usually, people claim negligence as the reason for a Tort.
The plaintiff must establish four elements in order to win on a negligence theory: (1) Defendant owed a duty of care to plaintiff; (2) Defendant breached that duty of care; (3) Plaintiff was injured because of that breach; and (4) the injury would not have occurred but for the behavior of Defendant.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your advice and concern. I am a student, can't afford a lawyer. Anyway, I sent a "legal notice" to CTC, I wanna leave a chance to myself in the future. You can consider my story as another "rambling complaint", but I'd rather see it as a warning to others. After reading my story, I hope people would think about it twice before driving their car to CTC's garage.

mastercraft said:

So the key would be, did they have a duty to install the correct axle in your car (if you paid for it, you could probably say yes, but since I don't know if you actually did pay them, I can't comment)

Click to expand...

I went to check the noise problem coming from front driver side wheel of my car at 8:00am on Jan 13, because they installed new rims and tires for me 7 days before. They asked me to change the front passenger side axle. They ordered the wrong axle (shown on the work order), installed it into my car and tested on the highway (on Jan 23, CTC said they did nothing to my car on that day), then, they told me that both front sides axles had to be changed, and it was too late for them to order axles. They said they can reinstall the original axle into my car, and promised me that my car was not damaged by their mistakes. I promised them to come back next day. I got back my car and left CTC at 5:00pm (closing time) on Jan 13, I did not pay them on that day.

mastercraft said:

Did they breach that duty (it would appear so if what you say is true, but it also looks like they put the old one back on)

Click to expand...

- My car was checked by Tony Graham on Jan 7 (receipt from Tony Graham on Jan 7), they said it was in good condition.
- After 7 days and 91km mileage used, The axle in my car after 5:00pm on Jan 13. became a wrong axle (my receipt from Tony Graham on Jan 14), and it was the cause of that huge noise.

mastercraft said:

Were you injured (doesn't sound like it; this could ruin your case)

Click to expand...

I was scared by that huge noise, not injured

mastercraft said:

If you were injured, is it only because of the axle issue and no other contributing factors.

Click to expand...

I am interested in how this story panned out. Did you get a call from the owner?

I know the story is old but something that jumped to mind right away was the front axle that you believe was originally in your vehicle. If it was out of an old car, it would show the signs of wear and would be proof positive that they left the new axle installed.
Why would CTC install a new axle in your car and then leave it in without charging you? They would be absorbing the costs of the new axle which is highly unlikely.

Interesting story but I would love to hear how it ended. I have an idea...

FormerGM said:

I am interested in how this story panned out. Did you get a call from the owner?

I know the story is old but something that jumped to mind right away was the front axle that you believe was originally in your vehicle. If it was out of an old car, it would show the signs of wear and would be proof positive that they left the new axle installed.
Why would CTC install a new axle in your car and then leave it in without charging you? They would be absorbing the costs of the new axle which is highly unlikely.

Interesting story but I would love to hear how it ended. I have an idea...

Click to expand...

Thanks so much for your concern. There is nothing new about this story. I am trying to get rid of it, and get back to my normal life.
I have several pics of that axle, here is the link:What Has Canadian Tire Done to Your Car?, read the only post in June.
If you need further detail about this axle, feel free to contact me. I'd like to clear out any question you have from my side.

I so sorry about your experience.I wanna know how much you paid for the laborI(tires changing & axle changing)

rockhydra said:

I so sorry about your experience.I wanna know how much you paid for the laborI(tires changing & axle changing)

Click to expand...

Total around CAD1500.00, I did not pay for what they did to my car on that day, but I had to pay to fix everything they did.

thx for your question and
thx for keeping my story here to warn everybody else

Are you aware of how stupid every single one of you sounds...?

El Penetrado said:

Are you aware of how stupid every single one of you sounds...?

Click to expand...

Apparently not that stupid; You took the time to reply, didn't you?