On April 25th, 2011, I went to the Wal-Mart store at 2801 Northwestern Ave, West Lafayette, Indiana, to have a tire replaced that had been cut in a spree by an individual/individuals who was/were, apparently, unhappy about the outcome of a Purdue basketball game.
The tire that was placed on my car, however, had a slow, steady leak that got worse with time. I took my car to the Wal-Mart store that is on Commerce Drive in Lafayette, Indiana, at that time and stopped in to have it checked. I was informed at that time that it was a faulty valve stem which they attempted to charge me $15 dollars for (I successfully argued that if it was a faulty valve stem or if it was incorrectly installed that I should not have to cover that expense). This did not correct the problem so I took it back, again, and was told, again, that it was yet another faulty valve stem which they, again, replaced at no cost.
Once again this did not fix the problem and the tire went nearly flat as I was en route to an appointment at the VA hospital in Danville, Illinois. I was able to stop the car without damaging the tire as it still had 15lbs of pressure when I removed it from my car. I hurriedly inspected the tire after Id removed it and found nothing apparent to be the cause.
I quickly installed my donut, went to my appointment (late) and then drove back to the Wal-Mart store on Commerce Drive, again, to attempt to get to the heart of this problem. It was at this time that the tech who had removed my tire from the rim twice by this time to replace the valve stems, informed me that I had picked a nail up in my sidewall, yet, contrary to their standard operating procedures, this tech failed to present me with my tire to show me this alleged nail and I did not contest that at the time as I just wanted my car to be right so I could get to where I needed to be as I was late, again, for an appointment because of this continuing problem.
Therefore, I had to buy yet another new tire. Only this new tire, also, would not hold air and I was eventually told by this same technician that my rim had developed rust around the valve stem area and that I needed a new rim something he failed to notice every other time. This tech, in order to replace the valve stem and discover the alleged rusted out nature of the area around my valve stem on the rim, once again removed the tire from the rim and, this time, tooled the area around the valve stem opening to eliminate the alleged rust, and if he didn't damage the bead the first or the second time he removed it to replace the valve stems he did so at this time (which I find dubious) or, more likely, he further exacerbated the problem as I was now putting air in its daily to get to where I needed to be.
When I returned to the Wal-Mart store on Commerce Drive, yet again, the technician that had mounted the tire and replaced the valve stems was not present. The tech that was present removed my tire so that it could be placed on my new rim and discovered that there was an installation error that had damaged the bead on my tire. Therefore, it wasn't the valve stems or the alleged rust that had allegedly developed near the valve stem. It was human error and/or outright negligence.
The tech that informed me it was the rust stipulated that he had removed that rust from around the valve stem area and patched it in a way that should allow it to hold air until such time as I was able to procure a new rim. However, upon inspection of the valve stem area of my old rim I discovered that there was not sufficient rust present to justify the technicians claim and it was a 70 mile round trip that took me to Monticello, Indiana, where I could find a good, used rim. All for a trip I didn't need to make, fuel I didn't need to burn, and a rim I apparently didn't need to buy.
So due to seeming incompetence at both Wal-Mart stores in this area, but chiefly due to the incompetence of the tech who repeatedly failed to diagnose the problem with my tire, and his repeated removal of my tire to replace valve stems that weren't the problem, and due to the fact that he seems to have lied to me to cover his mistakes, I had to buy a tire that I should not have had to buy, put 75 miles on my car to buy a rim I did not need, missed several doctor appointments, and had to deal with the uneasiness of driving a vehicle that might have a blowout at any time.
I now believe that there never was a nail in my tire as he failed to comply with what was/is standard operating procedures by showing me evidence that supported his claim, that he knew he had damaged my tire, and that he didn't want to own up to having damaged it to his superiors so he concocted this story that caused me to put these unnecessary miles on my car and caused me to buy a tire and a rim I did not need.
If this is true, and I have come to believe that it is, he also put what he knew to be a damaged tire back on my car to cover his mistakes and subsequently put me in a situation where I could have placed myself, my family/passengers, and other drivers at risk had I had a blow-out going down the highway. For this reason I feel as my personal safety and the safety of my passengers as well as others on the road was purposely placed in jeopardy simply because this individual didn't want to admit he screwed up.
Therefore I feel as though I have been violated by the automotive department at the Wal-Mart on Commerce Drive as this individual, essentially, purposely put his hand in my wallet by making a false claim that was made for no other reason than to keep him from appearing incompetent and caused me to eat the tire he damaged as well as a rim I did not need, and the fuel I didn't need to burn as well as the time I didn't need to waste enduring this entire fiasco.
This technician therefore, put his hand into my wallet for no good reason other than to cover for his ineptitude. Had I walked into Wal-Mart and put my hand in their wallet by trying to take something without paying for it I would have been prosecuted for theft. When I pointed this out to Ron (asst mgr, last name unknown as are all the others who work there as they refuse to supply this information) and explained to him that this is what I feel his employee had done to me, I told him that I expected that employee to be fired. He then proceeded to tell me that they would most certainly not fire him but rather would coach this technician so that this would not happen to anyone else.
This, also, has caused me to feel violated as I would have been prosecuted and his employee is going to be coached but then by acting as he did this employee did improve the bottom line for Wal-Mart so, apparently they see him as an asset. So they greet you in the front, and throw you to the wolves in the back.
I also find their offers of a $14, $40, and $50 gift cards insulting as I am out more than that and the money I was forced to spend at Wal-Mart (as well as several other unnecessary expenses) because of this less than professional individual, could have been spent anywhere, yet they wanted to compensate me in a way that would force me to spend my money at their stores.
This is wholly offensive to me. The actions of this technician, in all probability, knowingly placed myself and others in jeopardy by covering for his mistakes. Management then compounded this by refusing to discipline an employee that, essentially, stole from me - and then to be offered a $14, $40, and then $50 gift card rather than compensating me for my actual losses is also insulting and as far as I'm concerned is tantamount to adding insult to injury. For these reasons I am seeking the maximum this court allows for actual damages and for the maltreatment by both the technician and the actions of management who didn't seem to care that I had been ripped off.
Furthermore, since I feel this technician willfully covered his mistakes to keep from appearing inept, he stole from me and I would like to ask this court to recommend that he be prosecuted for theft, and since the manager, Ron, was made fully aware of my concerns about this and has flatly refused to discipline this individual I would also like to ask this court to extend that charge to him so that corporate Wal-Mart will get the message that when they rip off their customers that they will face the same kind of prosecution as I would if I had ripped them off.