I took my 1996 Chevy Caprice Classic in on May 13th for an oil change. The next day I drove it to work and home and then ran to the local mini mart. While I was gone my son noticed a puddle on the drive way. When I got home he pointed it out to me, I touched it, smelled it and realized it was fresh oil.
By this time, I had put over 90 miles on the car. So I jacked the car up and realized there was a new puddle forming already. I reached under the car and touched the drain plug and it was loose. As I grabbed it to turn it, I realized it was just spinning in place that the plug had been stripped.
I called Wal Mart but the manager, Chris had left for the day. I called Chris the next day and he said that he would review the "video tapes" and also drive the 35 miles to our house to take pictures. Later that day he determined that it was too much money for him to pay out of the store account and that he would have to send it to their "insurance" Claims Management.
The next day he called us with claim #, and the claim person's name: Anita Potts and her phone # 1 800 527 0566 ext 20601. She did call us the following day, assuring us that we would have an answer by the end of the week. Well, we got an answer, but 3 weeks later and after much running around.
We first received a phone call on a Saturday from Ms Potts stating that our "claim" had been denied, no explanation, but we could call her the following Tuesday for an explanation. When we called, her voice mail indicated she would be out of the office for a week and a half. I had to request 3 different supervisors before I got one that wasn't on vacation for the next week.
But, "Brain" told me they were denying our claim because they were not the last ones to touch our car. Because I looked under the car, and touched the drain plug and simply turned it, I might have been the one to cause the damage, even though the oil was already draining out all over my driveway!
Dholliday
keystone, Iowa
U.S.A.