Hannah Hinton
New Member
- Jurisdiction
- Alabama
Hello,
I drive a 2012 Ford Focus and on October 28, 2015 I went to Walmart's tire center in Mobile, AL for an oil change because I was traveling out of town that weekend for Halloween. I currently attend college in this area so decided to take care of this in between classes. I took my car to Walmart and they said that they performed the oil change. I left and went to my next class which was less than 4 miles away and was in class for about two hours and proceeded to commute home which was about an hour away. I made it 28 miles and my car completely locked up and shut off after hearing a loud bang. I immediately called my insurance company and had my car towed to the nearest dealership.
I returned back to the walmart that night and spoke with the manager of the store because the tire center was already closed and they advised me to come back the next day to fill out an incident report.
I returned with my receipt and filed the incident report and had copies made of everything and they told me that someone would call me regarding my incident the next day. A week later, a claims department out of Arkansas calls me and tells me that they have to review the video to see if damage was done and if they were liable. I agreed because at that time I could not be 100% certain what the damage was. I then spoke with the mechanic at the dealership the next day and he confirmed that there was no oil put into my engine and it caused a hole to blow in my engine block. He also stated that it was a miracle that I was not hurt. I told this to my claims agent when he finally called back.
He told me that he had reviewed the video and that the technician was a manager and that he put oil into my car and then checked it 3 or 4 times, He barely would let me explain what the mechanic said and then told me if I sent that to him in writing that he would reopen my claim but as of right now he did not have enough evidence.
I have gotten proof of everything from the mechanic including a quote, what the damage to the engine was, melted pieces of my engine, tow truck info, and even the receipt that states my oil was full when my car came in and I have faxed this information in to him. Since I have done this he has not responded to my emails or answered my calls.
I have also tried to file this issue with my car insurance company because of the way that I was treated by the claims department. My adjuster went and assessed the damage and has also verify that Walmart was at fault and he also went to the store and spoke with the manager of the tire shop and was told that no such video was ever sent and that he did not know what my agent was talking about. My insurance company will not process the claim because they find Walmart at fault and thinks they should pay for it.
I have no idea how to proceed with this situation and would like some legal advice on what kind of lawyer that I would need. I am a college student as I have already said and this is my only means of transportation. I'm tired of getting the run around and would like to take legal action against this company. Also the claims manager at walmart said over and over that my engine was faulty and I should check and see if my car had a warranty. My car is three years old and I have never had any problems and I have always gotten regular oil changes.
I drive a 2012 Ford Focus and on October 28, 2015 I went to Walmart's tire center in Mobile, AL for an oil change because I was traveling out of town that weekend for Halloween. I currently attend college in this area so decided to take care of this in between classes. I took my car to Walmart and they said that they performed the oil change. I left and went to my next class which was less than 4 miles away and was in class for about two hours and proceeded to commute home which was about an hour away. I made it 28 miles and my car completely locked up and shut off after hearing a loud bang. I immediately called my insurance company and had my car towed to the nearest dealership.
I returned back to the walmart that night and spoke with the manager of the store because the tire center was already closed and they advised me to come back the next day to fill out an incident report.
I returned with my receipt and filed the incident report and had copies made of everything and they told me that someone would call me regarding my incident the next day. A week later, a claims department out of Arkansas calls me and tells me that they have to review the video to see if damage was done and if they were liable. I agreed because at that time I could not be 100% certain what the damage was. I then spoke with the mechanic at the dealership the next day and he confirmed that there was no oil put into my engine and it caused a hole to blow in my engine block. He also stated that it was a miracle that I was not hurt. I told this to my claims agent when he finally called back.
He told me that he had reviewed the video and that the technician was a manager and that he put oil into my car and then checked it 3 or 4 times, He barely would let me explain what the mechanic said and then told me if I sent that to him in writing that he would reopen my claim but as of right now he did not have enough evidence.
I have gotten proof of everything from the mechanic including a quote, what the damage to the engine was, melted pieces of my engine, tow truck info, and even the receipt that states my oil was full when my car came in and I have faxed this information in to him. Since I have done this he has not responded to my emails or answered my calls.
I have also tried to file this issue with my car insurance company because of the way that I was treated by the claims department. My adjuster went and assessed the damage and has also verify that Walmart was at fault and he also went to the store and spoke with the manager of the tire shop and was told that no such video was ever sent and that he did not know what my agent was talking about. My insurance company will not process the claim because they find Walmart at fault and thinks they should pay for it.
I have no idea how to proceed with this situation and would like some legal advice on what kind of lawyer that I would need. I am a college student as I have already said and this is my only means of transportation. I'm tired of getting the run around and would like to take legal action against this company. Also the claims manager at walmart said over and over that my engine was faulty and I should check and see if my car had a warranty. My car is three years old and I have never had any problems and I have always gotten regular oil changes.