— A class action lawsuit alleges Walmart Auto Care Centers closed and caused customers problems when receiving their lifetime tire balancing and rotation services.
Walmart provides auto and tire maintenance services at more than 2,500 Auto Care Centers in the U.S.
The plaintiff says he purchased Walmart's lifetime tire balance and rotation services in July 2018. The purchased “lifetime” balancing and rotation policy allegedly promised tire rotation and balance services every 7,500 miles for the life of the qualified tires.
However, the plaintiff says he tried to have his tires rotated and balanced at a Walmart Auto Care Center, but he was allegedly refused service at multiple Walmart store locations.
Walmart voluntarily closed the Auto Care Centers, allegedly leaving all U.S. customers unable to receive lifetime tire balancing and rotation services.
The class action lawsuit alleges Walmart shut down its Auto Care Centers across the U.S. in March 2020 and has failed to perform the services included in the lifetime tire balancing and rotation policy.
A March 18, 2020, statement posted to Walmart's website says changes were implemented due to the COVID-19 virus.
"Our people are working hard to have every part of the store ready to serve customers. To help support our people and focus on the most critical areas of the store right now, we will temporarily shut down our Auto Care Centers to allow those associates to focus on stocking and cleaning in the rest of the store." - Walmart
According to the plaintiff, he relied on Walmart's advertising for the lifetime tire balancing and rotation policy that said the agreement would continue through the life of the qualified tires. But the plaintiff claims Walmart's representations were false and misleading.
The Auto Care Center class action lawsuit includes all U.S. consumers who purchased lifetime tire balancing and rotation services from Walmart.
According to the lawsuit:
"Plaintiff’s and the Class members’ damages include, but are not limited to: amounts paid to Defendant for the promised services, the loss of the value in their tires, and damages suffered from purchasing replacement tires or tire services elsewhere."
The Walmart Auto Care Center lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California: Johnson, et al., v. Walmart, Inc.
The plaintiff is represented by Yoon Law, APC.
