#724:
Vanesesa P.:
On Mar 26, 2015, I brought my vehicle to Canadian Tire Red Deer North to be serviced. My trunk latch wouldn't close, causing the indicator light to drain my battery overnight. I was quoted $385.00 and told it would take a week to get the part, so I left my vehicle with them.
Then, a customer walked in, took the keys to my vehicle from the counter, and drove away in my car. Canadian Tire did not notice. A service employee called me days later to confirm my appointment at a later date. When I pointed out that since they had my car, they could fix it anytime and call me when it was ready for pickup, she said, "Oh, don't you have it? We thought you had already picked it up." I told her that I hadn't picked it up nor asked anyone else to do so on my behalf. I asked her to check the lot and let me know whether my car was there as soon as possible, and she agreed to do so. Three hours later, having heard nothing, I called back and spoke to the same employee, who had not yet checked the lot. She asked, "Oh, do you want me to do that right now?" I said, "Um, yes please, I need to know whether or not I need to file a police report for my stolen car." This time after hanging up, she actually did check the lot, and called me back 20 minutes later to confirm that my car was missing. She had alerted the service manager, Jeff Pahl, who was not in that day.
I immediately reported my vehicle missing to the police. On April 13, 2015, my vehicle was recovered by a tow truck driver in a nearby town. The keys were not with the vehicle. Lorraine Bouchard, the representative from Canadian Tire's insurance company, Claims Pro, advised me to have the vehicle towed to Gary Moe Hyundai in Red Deer, which I arranged. When it arrived, I inspected my vehicle, which looked exactly the same as before I dropped it off at Canadian Tire, except for a scratch on the rear bumper. However, the insurance company's appraiser assessed the damages on my vehicle at $2,144.09, the value at $1,996.00, and concluded that it must be written off as salvage. $1,056.99 of the assessed damages were due to the bumper scratch, the other damages being the original trunk latch issue, and the replacement of all locks due to the key being unrecovered. On June 2, 2015 ClaimsPro offered me a settlement of $1,796.40 for my car, and kicked me out of the rental car I had been in for only 6 days.
I tried to reason with ClaimsPro. I told Lorraine that I didn't need the bumper replaced, that my car looked perfectly fine. I said that the vehicle only needed the trunk latch fixed for $385.00 and some new keys cut, and I would be back on the road. This would not only save ClaimsPro money, but would save me the trouble of having to buy a new car. Lorraine would not listen to me. She insisted that I needed to make a decision immediately, as the tow truck driver and rental company needed to be paid, and she "needed to get this file off her desk." I explained to Lorraine that although I am just a "file" to her, this was a major life decision for me. I mentioned that I had been dealing with issues in other areas of my life as well, having been on medical leave from work when the incident occurred. I asked for more time to allow me to understand all of my options and get some professional advice before making a decision. Lorraine continued to harass me on a regular basis, stating that Gary Moe Hyundai had demanded that the vehicle be moved immediately from their lot, and that they would be charging lot holding fees, which she wouldn't pay.
On June 16, 2015 I called Gary Moe Hyundai, and spoke to Hugh. I explained that I was having difficulties coming to an agreement with the insurance company, and asked if it was alright if my car remained on the lot a bit longer. Hugh said it was perfectly fine. I said, "Are you sure, because my insurance told me that you're demanding it to be moved immediately." He said, "I'm the executive manager here, and I can make these kinds of decisions. Don't worry, it's perfectly fine." I thanked him and hung up, relieved that I still had some time to decide what I should do.
The next day, June 17, 2015, Lorraine called my boyfriend to say that she had received a notice from Gary Moe Hyundai, "in all capital letters stating that the vehicle must be moved immediately," and that the dealership was charging a daily holding fee for the vehicle. He advised Lorraine that I had just spoken to the dealership yesterday, who confirmed that my vehicle could remain there at no charge. Lorraine told him that she was trying to "hunt Vanessa down to get this matter resolved," and that she "wasn't angry, but needed to speak to me urgently to resolve this matter." She continued to harass us several more times before finally calling the dealership for herself and confirming that the vehicle did not need to be moved. I insisted on seeing the notice that Gary Moe Hyundai had allegedly sent to Lorraine, but she told me that it was "privileged information," and refused to forward it to me.
I told Lorraine that I was very unhappy with the way I was being treated, that I didn't believe the appraiser's assessment was reasonable, and that I did not believe that she ever did receive a notice from Gary Moe Hyundai. On July 24, 2015, I insisted that Lorraine either send me the notice, or her manager's contact information. I received no response. Several weeks later, Lorraine sent me a notice stating that ClaimsPro had done their due diligence, that their settlement offer had expired, and that I had two years to take legal action against Canadian Tire if I wished to do so.
I then arranged to have my vehicle towed from Gary Moe Hyundai to my home. When I called the dealership to explain to that the insurance company had taken back their settlement offer, and that I would probably not be getting my vehicle fixed through them after all, Kendall was sympathetic and understanding. I asked her if there were any fees owing for storing my vehicle on the lot, and she said, "Not at all, it was no problem, all it did was sit there. Why would we charge you for that?" When I offered to come down to meet the tow truck driver, she told me that there was no need, and that she would direct him to my car for me. I am very grateful to Hugh and Kendall at Gary Moe Hyundai.
On Aug 27, 2015, Key Towing brought my vehicle to my house. The tow truck driver was very sympathetic, listened to my whole story, and could not believe what had happened. I told him that I was considering taking the insurance offer and paying the salvage fee to keep my vehicle, and attempting to fix it myself. He said, "No no no, you don't want to do that, you would need to pass a salvage inspection in order to get it insured again, and there's no way your car would pass. They completely rip it apart and look for any reason not to put it back on the road." I had had no idea, and thanked him for telling me this. He told me that I should call Canadian Tire and ask Jeff to settle the matter. If that didn't work, he said that I could call Accessible Lock and Key, who would cut me a new ignition key in about 5 minutes for a couple hundred bucks. He said that my trunk latch could be fixed easily as well.
I next called Canadian Tire and spoke with Jeff Pahl. I told him that his insurance company had offered me an unreasonable settlement, and that they were trying to write off my vehicle which I believed was completely unnecessary. I told him that I would like to come in to the store and sit down with him to discuss possible options to get this matter settled. Jeff was completely unsympathetic and seemed to be confused as to why I was even calling. In a condescending tone he said that I obviously didn't understand how these situations worked. He told me that this is the way it goes with insurance claims, that they only pay what the vehicle was worth, and that if I wanted more money, unfortunately I was out of luck. I told Jeff that I had not ever asked for more money, that all I wanted was to get my vehicle back on the road, which it should have been 7 months ago. I said that this was not a regular insurance situation where I was the victim of a random crime, that it was due to Canadian Tire's negligence, leaving keys unattended on the counter, that resulted in my car being stolen. I said that his service employees did not even notice it missing. He said, "Yeah, we did!" I began to explain to Jeff that his employee had told me herself that they thought I had already picked up my car. Jeff then said, "I am ending this conversation, and you can deal directly with our insurance company." I said that he had no right to end the conversation, and that he needed to take responsibility for his mistake, or else I would be going to local radio stations and newspapers to share my story, causing him to lose business. Jeff told me to go ahead. I then asked to speak with Don Murray, the owner of Canadian Tire North. Jeff refused to give me his number and said coldly, "you can call the main switchboard line and ask for Don." I hung up.
Next, I called Accessible Lock and Key and spoke with Walter. I was still shaking with rage and indignation at Jeff's treatment of me when I called, but within minutes Walter's playful banter had me smiling. He told me that he could cut me 2 new ignition keys for $200. When I mentioned the trunk latch issue, he said "Oh sure, I can fix that too, sounds real easy, I bet I can do it in about five minutes." I was in disbelief. Walter told me that he would see me in 45 minutes, and exactly 45 minutes later, he arrived. He and his partner took apart my trunk, joking good-naturedly while they worked, and managed to fix the latch using only common household tools. They also cut me two new keys. When we tested the keys in the ignition, the battery was dead, so Walter gave me a boost on his way out. The bill was $200. Walter joked to his partner, "Canadian Tire quoted her at $385 to fix the trunk, and we just fixed it for free. I think we're getting ripped off, don't you?" They talked with me afterwards for 20 minutes, giving me various recommendations to local mechanics for future car issues, before heading home for the day.
After 7 months of stress dealing with insurance companies, tow truck drivers, and dealerships, 7 months of making my way around by carpool, bus, or bicycle, 7 months of trying to convince Canadian Tire and ClaimsPro that my vehicle did not need to be written off, my car is now back on the road and running fine, thanks to Accessible Lock and Key. If Canadian Tire had been reasonable, they could have ignored the bumper damage as I requested, paid only $200, and had me back on the road 6 months ago. Instead, they chose to place the blame on me, the victim, and refused to take responsibility for their negligence.
I never once received an apology from any representative from Canadian Tire or from their insurance company, Claimspro. Needless to say,
I will never again shop at Canadian Tire Red Deer North, and I hope that anyone who reads this won't, either.
Vehicle Stolen From Canadian Tire - 106.7 The Drive