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In Sep. 2009 I was visiting Perth, Ontario and my battery conked out. I got in touch with CAA and they sent a guy over to start it. He checked and told me that the battery was almost dead. The nearest place to go to for a new battery, he said, was Canadian Tire, a couple of kilometers away. I drove there and asked for a good brand; they told me they only sold their own Motomasters. I had no choice at that point, other than driving a long way to another town, like Ottawa, and run the risk of the car stalling on the way. So, I agreed, and they installed the battery, which had a sticker saying " 2 Year free replacement".
Come Nov. 2010 and I'm having starting problems again. I look for the reciept from Perth but can't find it. I call them and they confirm that I did get a new battery in Sep. 2009, but added that I got it for free. It was my lucky day blah blah blah. I said how is that possible, why would you give me a new battery and let me drive away?
So, I go to my Bank ( RBC ) and they dig out the records for Sep. 2009 and there it was, the $ 139 plus which had been paid to Canadian Tire. I called back and faxed the proof of payment and only then did they confirm that I had paid.
When my battery finally gave way in Nov. 2010 ( barely 15 months later ) I called CAA again, and they sent someone over within 5 minutes. He checked the battery and said it was almost dead. I got Canadian Tire at Perth to fax proof of purchase to the Canadian Tire at Yonge and Church. I go along and they charge me $ 74.33, just over 50% of what the new battery had cost me.
I thought "FREE" meant "FREE". Not so with Canadian Tire. The fine print said that parts were free, not labor. So how did it work out to $ 74. About 20 bucks was the labor charge, taking the old battery out and putting a new one in. The other $ 50 was for checking the old battery, to confirm that it was bad. Not only did they not trust the customer, they also didn't trust CAA ( a Canadian, not a foreign organisation ).
Why on earth would I go in for a battery change, if it was working fine.
The second point, the replacement battery that they've installed only has a warranty for 9 months, since the first one lasted 15 months. So, I guess if this one conks out in 6 months, they will charge me another $ 74 and give me a new one, with a 3 month warranty.
What kind of people are these guys? I feel like using a lot of expletives, but I shall refrain.
The other experience I've had with them, is taking the car in for an oil change, and while I am waiting in the waiting room, some guy comes up to me and says the oil cap is missing. I tell him that is impossible. How could I have been driving the car around for thousands of kilometers without the oil cap. He tells me to buy a new cap. I said I'm doing nothing of the sort. So, after some back and forth, he goes back in. My car emerges after 15 minutes, ready to go. I ask what happened and the answer: Well, there's this new guy, he had misplaced the cap and he found it.
Not one ounce of decency, to say we are sorry.
I thought it was a good idea to buy Canadian and promote Canadian businesses, but Canadian Tire's policy I think, is to destroy any customer base.
For now I think I will not add another horrifying story about them, told to me by a friend.
What recourse do I have? Any advice would be welcome.
Something seems to be missing from this.. You said you didn't have your warranty but faxed over the bank summary. This would not be acceptable as ONLY a service work order and/or warranty pamplet actually contains the physical matching serial number.
Warranty is not only based on WHEN the battery was purchased but matching the SERIAL NUMBER. When you buy a battery, the matching serial number is either recorded (if on service work order) or torn off and put on the warranty.
NOW.. that would explain the 50% charge. To help out the customer without a matching serial number for the battery (as long as the rest of the warranty terms are obeyed) the customer only pays a min of 50% of what the battery would cost new. They would then get a NEW REFRESHED warranty for the battery they are replacing with.
This is where this story doesn't make sense. They would not have returned the battery without the matching serial number. And if they made you pay 50% due to helping out the customer without the serial number, you would NOT be prorated for the new battery but in fact your new replacement battery warranty would be RESET to NEW.
NOW... According to you, you received the replaced battery for FREE back in 2009. This would because it was under the FREE REPLACEMENT PERIOD. Now if you are having to PAY, you either:
1. OVER the free replacement period (hense the PRO-RATE part of the warranty total warranty total)
2. Didn't have the matching serial number and so they DATE CODED IT via the stamping on the battery itself.
The labor of installing/removing the battery is specified on the warranty that it is not covered.
There is two different kind of car battery like there is two different kind of car tire. There is the summer battery who is the best battery when the temperature outside is never below zero celcius or 32 fahrenheit and there is the winter battery who is the best battery when the temperature outside is never over 15 celcius or 65 fahrenheit. Then it should be mandatory to a car battery to print on the plastic of the battery the corresponding symbol if it is a summer battery it is a logo of a sun if it is a winter battery it is a logo of a snow flake. Then the summer battery have to be store in a garage where the temperature is never below zero celcius or 32 fahrenheit and the winter battery have to be store in a garage where the temperature is never over 15 celcius or 65 fahrenheit . It should be the law and it should be respected for everybody . The law is who sell battery have to offer battery with the corresponding logo at the corresponding climate everytime of the year and without any error accepted. The customer should be always on rule with the good battery at the good period of the year if arrested on highway should get ticket if the battery do not corresponding the good climate.
I have been a manager at Canadian Tire (4 stores) for 9 years and I have to honestly say that I've never heard of any Summer/Winter logo on a battery before; at least they don't have any in our neck of the woods. Could be a regulation in the colder climates but where we are, the temperature never goes below -5 or so..
Our updated e-Learning that is required out of all of our employee's and management team have no mention of this so again I believe this must be regional based.
It should be mandatory to fix the appropriate climate and season and real freezing temperature on every battery sold everywhere in the whole world. The sticker on the battery is not true but there is supposedly a significant information on that way. By example right now I already buy a summer battery it should be crank +18 celcius crank +1 celcius and store below +1 celcius this is the basic information and the Ampere should be at the factory with a 710-900 so what industrial charger is brand new charged but will probably be never over 60 Ampere when charged at the second time. I paid 130 $CDN for this summer battery it is the Eliminator with the red-orange flash should be label summer battery with a sun symbol. The second example that I succeed to get the same similar battery but winter battery it should be crank 0 celcius crank -18 celcius and store after +1 celcius and under ( I still don't know exactly but imagine ) -40 celcius. this is the basic information and the Ampere should be at the factory with a 710-900 so what industrial charger is brand new charged but will probably be never over 30 Ampere when charged at a second time. I paid 370 $CDN for this winter battery it is the Eliminator with AGM pure lead with the blue top should be label winter battery with a mountain and a snow flake symbol. We should get every single battery with the two different type of technology for sale at every car dealers. There is specialist laboratory for the car battery analysis.