(Lee County, FL) -- A Cape Coral woman paid for an oil change, got no oil, but did get a big change. That change turned her car into junk and left her calling our 4 In Your Corner TroubleShooter line for help.
The problem begins under the hood of Apryl Cross's car. In March, she went to a Fort Myers Wal-Mart for an oil change. She paid $18.98 and left that day with a sticker on the car saying the oil change had been done. Then her already financially unstable life broke down.
Apryl says her car froze up in the middle of the road. She had her Chevy Lumina towed to a mechanic. The mechanic checked her dipstick and what he saw told it all. He says there was no fresh oil, instead it was black and thick like molasses. The mechanic says that means the oil had been in there a while. According to mechanic Derrick Horton, Wal-Mart never changed her oil and that's why her car broke down.
Apryl called Wal-Mart and they sent out a mechanic to look at her car. According to Apryl, Wal-Mart said they have proof they did the oil change because they wrote down the mileage of the car on a sticker. Apryl says they always put the sticker on her car before changing the oil.
Without a car, Apryl was on a bumpy road. When Wal-Mart said they weren't going to do anything about it, she called 4 In Your Corner and the TroubleShooter called Wal-Mart's corporate office. In the meantime, Apryl had to put money down on a new car and struggled to pay her existing bills. $18.98 of her money caused more than $900 worth of problems.
After Fox 4 talked with Wal-Mart, the company made a big decision about its decision about Apryl. Wal-Mart paid back every penny and then some. The company gave her a check for almost $4,400. Apryl says Wal-Mart gave her much more than expected. She got the blue book value of her car which is more than $3,000 and $30 for every day since her car broke down. Apryl finally got her closure.
By appearances, this kind of thing happens a lot. Fox 4 spoke with a local attorney who says he gets calls all the time from people who believe they never received the oil change they paid for.
When you get an oil change, be sure to save any paperwork they give you. It's a good idea to check the dipstick yourself to make sure your car has oil. If problems develop, be persistent. As to speak to the boss, the boss's boss and the boss's boss's boss if you have to. That's the best chance you have of getting the company to do the right thing as Wal-Mart did. If that doesn't work, you may need some legal help or you can call the 4 In Your Corner TroubleShooter line. That number is 239-829-1118.
POSTED BY: MARISA MENDELSON, CONSUMER INVESTIGATOR / TROUBLESHOOTER
mmendelson@fox4now.com
Thursday, September 28, 2006
9:18:17 pm
