Wal-Mart Gave My Car Away to a Complete Stranger Off the Street!!!!!!!!!!

i HIGHLY recomend you take this up with the home office. contact me
via email and i can give you the home office phone number since that
store seriously SERIOUSLY screwed up. email me at
also, i am anti-wal-mart since i stopped working there. let me know
if i can be of help.

We all know that stretching the truth or not listing all the facts
make a good story. I feel that a company the size of Wal-Mart having
all the facts presented to them would make the best decision. Knowing
that a story like this would hit the press. Perhaps the facts are that
the guy who stole the vehicle just walked into their shop. Did not say
anything to anyone. Started the vehicle up and drove it out after
seeing that the work was completed or not yet begun. The video tapes
can and will only be released to authorities. Besides since the press
nor you have seen these tapes how can you state exactly what happened?
If you left your purse in your shopping cart unattended and someone
stole it does that make Wal-Mart liable? Do you move?

My suggestion to you is "get a lawyer".. This is totally ridiculous.
Wal-Mart is Notorious for making screwups and then tring to act like
its not a big deal. And since they refused to show you the tape then
they can be forced to show that same tape in court. Good Luck

I would get in touch with your State Attorney Generals Office, the
Better Business Bureau, but most importantly an attorney! You seem to
have a solid case against Walmart and I would get someone who is very
aggressive that will put the fear of God into them. Although it was
not too bright that you left them your personal info and house keys in
your car. There is an expression that states" Stupidity should be
painful". Apparently you are feeling a lot of pain now. Don't be
afraid to inflict pain on Walmart and the idiots there that caused
this.

Sounds fishy, Why didnt you just call the police!

Look, Wal mart is using a little trick that they teach all their
managers ( i know i used to be one ) Its called CYA. Cover Your A@#.
You can sue them! Okay, so you signed a form releasing them of
responsibility, but they are supposed to check ID or something before
giving your car away. My advice? Call 1-800-WalMart. Thats their
home office. Also ask for the district managers number at the
customer service desk. Call them both. Threaten to call your local
newspaper, and newstation, heck, tell them youre gonna call 20/20.
Whatever, they will cave, I'm telling you. C-A-V-E. If this story is
actually true (not saying I dont believe you, but they'll try to make
you look like a liar, and record every word you say, so be careful )
they will probably offer to settle with you. Get everything from them
in writing, tell them that you have documented days and dates and
times. THis will work lady, I promise. Good luck with your car. Oh
and BTW, i wouldnt trust wal mart wiht my car...ive seen wheels fall
off in the parking lot. JUST SAY NO!

Dear Martha


I really like that car that I found at Wal-mart. Was it yours. Sorry
I did not know that. Anyways I would have given it back, but i can't
because it is at the bottom of a lake. Long story, let's just say my
friends and I were driving it too fast and it served and landed in the
lake. The good news is we all survived, the bad news is we could not
rescue your car in time. Sorry.

signed

The car thief

Why didn't you report this to the Police as a stolen vehicle ??? Its
stolen - report it to the Police

You know what Marita, I believe you and I hope you win your fight
against Wal-Mart. I know you've gotten a lot of grief from several
posters here who don't believe you (and I'm not sure I believe you
heard one person say to the mechanic "how could you have given her
keys to the crack head that has been bugging us all day", that seems a
tad bit self serving) but I do believe this mechanic gave the keys to
the wrong person and now Wal-Mart is refusing to do anything about
it.

I think Wal-Mart should have left well enough alone, approved your
claim for the fair market value of your car (and only your car.
Wal-Mart is not responsible for the fact that you left telling items
in your car when leaving it in someone else's control).

Hopefully, Wal-Mart will see the light and pay you the proper damages
- the fair market value (blue book value) of your 1999 Black Pontiac
Grand Am.

Actually, what you probably should have done is have it replaced by
your insurance company and let the insurance company hire their
big-wig attorneys to fight Wal-Mart's big-wig attorneys. I hope your
retained attorney can handle these big corporate hot-shots, I'm sure
the insurance company's attorneys could have handled them.

I just wanted you to know that we went Saturday morning to have the
oil changed and the tires rotated. Luckily, one of the people working
there happens to know my husband and I real well. Also, thanks to
your situation, I told my husband, "they only get the van keys and
never all keys."

Hindsight is 20/20, but...

Why did you leave your house keys? I NEVER leave my house keys in the
car or give them to a mechanic. Never. I only leave my (surprise!)
car key.

"Wal-Mart preaches on customer service & satisfaction gaurantee
[sic]"

This doesn't extend to buying you a new car (or whatever it is that
you are demanding).

The more I read your posts and about what you're doing, the more I
want Wal-Mart to win this.

Granted, Walmart's employee might have given your keys to a stranger
and the car got stolen.

They should have immediately arranged for a rental car (that they pay
for) and given you enough money to replace your car at its current
value.

And perhaps thats what they wanted to do...

BUT, you had to have more, right? After all, Walmart always gets such
bad publicity, lets squeeze it for all we got.

WHO leaves a laptop in the car when dropping it off for repairs
????????????????????????

How convinient, though, I mean, you put that on the claim, right? Any
other valuables you just happend to leave in a car you dropped off?

And you MOVED????? Hehe, you wanted to go away and hide from the bad
man, yet here you are in the public eye, all scared.

You screamed after you found out your car was stolen? You were in a
"haze"? But yet....you overheard one mechanic say a certain sentence,
word by word, to another.

Guess the haze cleared long enough, right?

And you had to stay home from work for 2 weeks? Good lord, other
people don't get/take that long off when a loved one dies.

I'm sure you want money for that, too. And for the broken lease, for
the valuables in the car, for moving expenses, and lets not
forget....

DRUMROLLS !!!!!!!

PAIN AND SUFFERING

yes, you poor traumatized person, what a horrible horrible traumatic
experience you went through.

I'm sorry, something in your story strikes me wrong. Strikes me
GREEDY.

You put it out here on the internet, up for scrutiny. Up for "replies
and opinions"

Well, this is all in my humble opinion, not fact, and my opinion is
what I'm entitled to.

And thanks to fruitcake lawsuits such as this, everything gets ever
more expensive for the people that make their money rightfully.

I went to Walmart today to buy new wiper blades. As I was checking
out with the blades, the guy at the TLE counter told me that they'd
put them on for me if I wanted, but that it would take about 20
minutes before they could get to them. I decided to take him up on
it. About 45 minutes later, I checked out up front and went to the
back to get my car. A different guy was there. I told him my name
and that I needed the Blue Jeep, and he gave me my keys. No ID, no
License plate number, no nothing. I can honestly see how this could
happen there. I don't take my cars there for anything more detailed
than wiper blades or battery replacement though.

I find it interesting that you are demanding that Walmart accept
responsibility for their alleged negligence yet you don't state
specifically want you want. You claim that your vehicle was insured
so that should be taken care of by your insurance company. It was
100% your decision to move - - most people would have simply changed
their locks.

Yes - - Walmart "preaches on customer service and satisfaction
guarantee" - - but honestly, what allegedly happened to you doesn't
fall under those categories, does it.

I do not believe that you are dedicating your life to warn people
about Walmart - - so I'm curious - - what's the dollar amount you're
looking for to cover your losses?

I belive that when ever you take you car to Wal Mart or any other
facility for service, they should take a digital picture of both you
and the vehicle and keep it in their files for future references, so
that they have a "proof" record of you and your vehicle(s).
It's a lot better than how they do business now , by giving you that
little sticker with your service number on it. It would cut down on
their mistakes!

Martha Dear...change the locks don't move....it was careless of
Walmart indeed if they gave your vehicle to someone else. If this
happened they need to change their procedures for giving vehicles to
customers and perhaps pay for your locks to be changed! But there
again why would you give your house keys to anyone when making a
repair. Give thenm only the vehicle keys! I always remove my house
keys that way if someone working at the business is shady they cannot
make copies while you are waiting for the repair.

...about how horrible things are for you and how you want to warn
people about Wal-Mart.

First, this situation is NOT about how Wal-Mart treats their
customers. It isn't. Let me say that again: it isn't.

This is a matter that has a right way and a wrong way to deal with it.
You have insurance. It is the insurance company's responsibility to
investigate. There are legal matters and Wal-Mart is not going to
just do whatever you demand. What you are doing is called blackmail.
You know that?

You've yet to explain why someone who is so scared is so willing to
make herself so public.

You may have support. Lots of people hate Wal-Mart. Lots of people
don't care about rules, facts, or anything of the sort.

Why don't you just let the insurance company do the investigate THEY
need?

And, for goodness sakes, keep a low profile if you're really scared of
the Boogeyman.

On the other hand, if you really are someone who loves attention, then
more power to you.

As I've said before... you need help. This is not me trying to be
offensive. It's me saying that you've gone through trauma and are
acting in a very dangerous way. Someone is going to get hurt and it
needs to be stopped.

So... Call you insurance company and call your doctor for a mental
health referral. If your company has an EAP, call them NOW.

I all can think is "WHAT!??"
You actually moved because of this?
Did you file a police report? What did the police say? Does your
lawyer recommend posting about this on a website?

Can I ask you just one question, Martha?

If you are so afraid for your safety and wellbeing over this incident
that you needed to move, why are you taking your concerns public?

Seems to me if you were truly that frightened, you'd stay secluded
rather than calling more attention to yourself.

Furthermore, did you not have insurance on this car? Insurance should
have covered the cost of your car to replace it if it was indeed
stolen as you reported. Then WalMart would have had no option but to
accept responsibility. They had possession of your car and an
obligation to ensure it was returned to it's rightful owner while it
was on their property and in their care.

Trust me when I say that if you a) have insurance and b) filed a
claim, the results would be far different. The insurance isn't about
to lose the cost of a replacement car just because WalMart says they
can't help that someone stole it off their lot!

My suspicion (and I can only guess at this because I was not there) is
that the car was indeed stolen as you claim. WalMart told you to file
a claim with your insurance that you didn't have.

So to trump up the stakes you are making a big publicity play by going
on the local news and writing letters through PFB stating that you are
now so afraid for your safety. & now because of WalMart's negligence
you had to move in addition to losing your car. All to try and brow
beat them into covering the cost of your stolen car that you probably
never had insurance on.

I hate to be such a Negative Nelly about this, but the facts just
don't add up.

go to a real mechanic that is paid to care...

the police can find the car. change your locks on your doors, there is
sheer stupidity in moving just because someone knows your address. my
neighbor knows my address and i really don't know him too well.... i
should move...

most likely someone that stole your car will not be driving past your
house in it to stalk you, they have no reason to and if they did they
would probably give up once they saw your locks were changed...

this can happen anywhere, the gas station, any other mechanic, etc.
don't blame wal-mart because you were away from YOUR car.

I understand that sorting out legit complaints from the false ones can
be tricky. However, I must say that it saddens me that many were so
quick to judge this person before addressing the issue. To denounce
one's complaint so quickly seems wrong to me, and in my humble opinion
not what this site wishes to accomplish.

Even if this complaint was untrue. . .good suggestions and helpful
advice are always useful. . .yes, even in fictitous events. Someone
will read them. It is clear to me, we should be spending more time
dealing with the nature of the issue and less time on attacking the
individual. Otherwise, we will end up sowing what we reap. If we
invest most of our time judging the character of the person and not
the issues. . .this will be become nothing more than a high school
popularity contest.

This is only one viewpoint. . .and it is meant to convey a general
outside perspective. I hope this is helpful, and I hope this
particular thread illustrates this sobering thought.

Sorry we on the Police dept have not caught the bad guy.....by the way
I am the officer who did your third report...Good luck.....

Well if this story is true, then the person now knows your first and
last name and he can track you down, he can easily track you down, you
better get your name changed, get a face job and move far away,
because now he knows your first and last name and can find out where
you live.

I am not trying to scare you, but if this guy has all your information
before you moved, he could use the same information to find were you
are now. If he sees you protesting, he could follow you home. But I
don't think he would do this. It is even possible the person who
called you was just some punk that saw you on the news and thought it
would be funny. If you know where to look online (I don't) you can
get ANYTHING about anyone.

While I don't think you should have moved, that was your choice. You
could have changed the locks (which it sounds like you did) AND change
your phone number. If you have business cards in the car, change the
number on them (after notifying your clients of the number change).
You could have saved your self a LOT of time and money this way. I
think you spoke too soon and didn't think things through before you
moved.

And before you say something about being afraid, that I would do the
same thing, I study Criminology, I know about the "Horrors" that are
out there. Trust me, if this guy wanted to get you, he would have all
ready.

I'm never in the right place at the right time! I could have had a new
car!

i've never heard of any store giving someone's car to a complete
stranger...

This is why I always take my car to REAL mechanics. You go cheap, you
get what you pay for.

This is one of the letters that I want to say is fake but then we are
talking about Walmart here.So anything is possible.

I thought this was a troll but after reading the article... I believe
it.

I have one thing to say... people keep saying that it was stupid of
her to break her lease and move... I would have done the exact same
thing if I had simply been renting a place. My peace of mind would be
well worth the $1000 to break the lease. I suffer from severe anxiety
and would not be able to sleep or eat for months if this had happened
to me. No, I'm not exaggerating. We had some hoodlums renting a
place a block down that we called the cops on and they became quite
menacing for a few weeks. For the next 6 months that they lived there
I could not sleep. If we had not just bought our house a year earlier
I would have moved in a heartbeat.

So... I eat my words. I apologize for calling you a troll. I do
believe you and hope that you are able to recoup your losses.

I can believe that Wal-Mart gave her car keys to someone they should
not have, and certainly they should take responsibility if they did.
I'm sorry if it happened, but the OP is going about this all wrong.

My advice to you, Martha: Get a lawyer and stop posting about it on
public forums. Stop protesting in front of the store. That's not going
to help.

What also makes me raise my eyebrows is the "having to move". I can
see buying a new car, but a new house? Change the locks. Simple.

I wouldn't put too much stock in that Houston Chronicle article that
was linked here, either. That was more an editorial piece than a
straightforward news article, with the writer giving his opinion of
the situation. It clearly wasn't an objective account.

Unfortunately, I don't think we have the full story yet. I'd be
curious if anyone can find an actual police report or something like
that.

1-Call the police, report it stolen.
2-Call your insurance company, make a claim. They will take on WalMart
to recover the loss.

Protesting outside the store is waste of time. No doubt WalMart is
responsible to a great degree. Your insurance company will do you more
good than they will. Your local law enforcement agencies' auto theft
unit can get those tapes, and can assist in apprehending the offender.

Unbelievable! This is as legit a complaint is one is going to find on
this site. And it absolutely shows negligence on the part of
Walmart.

But consider the responses she has received from so many posters.

Walmart undoubtedly needs to replace her vehicle and other personal
items. The cost of moving and other loses are also legit. I'm sure a
good attorney is going to get you a sizable judgment.

You deserve it.

1. I will either never use the Wal*Mart tire/lube express after this,
or 2. I will not shop while my auto is in the shop.

FYI: My mother works at a Wal*Mart and she says she won't let
Wal*Mart touch her truck. Now, if a fellow employee doesn't trust
them, that says QUITE ALOT!!!

This is NOT so unbelivable after reading the article. Any Joe Smooe
can say they are your husband/wife and get the keys even IF the
Wal*Mart employees have them. The article makes it sound as though
the keys were in the car, which is a no no. In some states I believe
if your car is stolen and the keys are in it, the insurance will not
pay. Also, the thief says he needed to get something out of the
car....hmmmm, well, that doesn't seem too looney toon to me. HOWEVER,
it says that one employee scolded another for giving the keys to a guy
that had been hanging around. THAT SHOWS NEGLIGENCE ON WALMART'S
PART.

After reading the article, I apologize, Martha, for not believing
you.

I believe you, and the mechanic who stood by and let that guy take off
in your car should be fired and prosecuted for stupidity. To not even
call the cops? What an ass. They waited for YOU to call, rather than
call you?

Good luck. I hope you get compensated for your car, your hotel stay,
any fees involved with cancelling your lease, and a new purse, damnit.
Tell them you had a Dolce & Gabana (sp?) or a Coach purse. It's the
least they can cough up, an extra few hundred dollars.

whether the keys were handed to the man, or they were sitting in the
car, I would think walmart had some responsibility in this. Now the
car is totalled and it was somebody's fault, not hers.

Why is it so hard to believe that this could have happened? $8.00/hr
employees working at Walmart handling car keys don't check every
persons ID. Whenever my husband and I have dropped the Element off at
Walmart for an oil change, he just has to come back and tell the
employee behind the desk that he's there for the Element. They
normally hand over the keys without a question and charge us for the
work done on the vehicle. In most cases there are 2 - 4 employees
rotating in and out of the desk, which means that it wouldn't be hard
to watch and wait until someone new is behind the desk before you go
up and ask for "your" keys.

Considering the article that was written about this incident and the
fact that the letter writer isn't making outrageous demands, I would
say that I believe this to be true. Obviously there are details that
don't seem to make a lot of sence. The fact that this woman moved for
instance. I must say that if I was a single woman (don't know whether
she's married or not.) I would be more apt to move if some stranger
had my personal information.

I'll say it again. Story in the Houston papers or not, the person the
OP was NOT the person this happened to.

How I know? The phrase "This event has not only caused me to have to
buy a new car but has also caused me to have to move."

I'm sorry, but I cannot believe that someone would move simply because
a thief had their address. You change the locks. You do not move.

"Martha," if you don't like being accused on lying, then perhaps you
can explain why you'd move and not just change the locks. And, more
to the point, HOW? Surely selling your house would cost a ton of
money. If you rent, did you landlord just let you out of your lease?
And was it worth the trouble of moving all of your stuff?

Mind you, I'd be nervous about a thief being out there knowing my
name. But, if you think about it, moving is VERY extreme.

So, I think shenanigans.

Actually this did happen. It was all over the news in Houston.

It could happen very easily. All somebody has to do is pick the car
they want, memorize the license and go in and say I'm here to pick up
my car and they ask for no ID whatsoever. Why wouldn't somebody pay
for a 20 dollar oil change in exchange for a 5,000 buck car? Why not
200 bucks worth of tires for another car. It's a great scheme if you
can get away with it.

Last year at Christmas at another Walmart in Houston, I dropped off my
Honda Civic for an oil change. When I went to pick it up and I was
standing in line the person in front of me said...Honda Civic and the
clerk turned around and handed him MY keys off the board. I said,
excuse me but I think that's my Honda Civic. The clerk was
embarrassed and apologized but you can see how easy that could happen.
The man in front of me was quite shaken and said he would never bring
his car back with a such of a lack of checks and balances.

I'm so glad that I had my troll gun cleaned... it's getting quite the
beating this week.

I second ticky's shenanigans.

Oh please. *If* Wal-Mart gave this random person the keys to your
car, what on earth was stopping you from changing your locks,
notifying your creditors of possible fraud, and reporting your car
stolen? The only reason I can think of that you didn't do just that
is that this never actually happened.

I don't like Wal-Mart any more than you do, but trust me they don't
need made-up stories to make them look bad. This does more to damage
your reputation than theirs.

Umm.... Let me guess, Your car was a Dodge Viper with a Monte in the
back. And some guy saw this, walked up the guy working on the tires
and said, "Hey, are you done yet? That's my car." And the guy working
on the car said, "Sure thing, Mac. All done. Here, let me give the
keys to you and let you drive off with out paying. You look like an
honest man, I don't need to see any ID." Yeah, right. But thinks
for the laugh this morning.

Apparently this story is true. There are several newspaper articles
about it. She did file a police report and has retained an attorney.


From what I read, she took her car there for a tire replacement. They
told her it would be several hours so she went shopping. When she
went back, she found that all they did was put sealant in the tire.
After speaking to the manager, he agreed to replace the tire for free.
She went off again and this guy, who had been hanging around the shop
all day said he was her husband and just needed to get something out
of the car. The keys were in it (or they gave him the keys) and he
took off. Here is a link to the story:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/casey/4301628.html

Oh man! I wish I knew how that worked before. I would've taken my
ex-wife in for some sort of make over when we were still married.

Oh, this is going to be good.

(sits back with popcorn to enjoy the show)

C'mon Planet Feedbackers, do your thing...

So...your solution to the problem was to just buy a new car and move
someplace else? Wow, you must be made out of money.

You didn't call the police and make out a report? Report this to your
insurance company? Consult an attorney?

Go ahead Martha, pull my other leg.

This person is posting this all over the net.

So, what did the police say about this? Your insurance company? Your
lawyer?

You did make a police report, didn't you? You had to move because
someone had your keys and address? Gee, when that happened to me (my
bag was stolen), I called a locksmith and changed my locks.

Something doesn't sound right.

riiiiiiiiiight

Okay, either you were a former employee and you got fired, and you are
trying to get revenge or you are just sending out a prank letter. You
waited almost two months to write this letter, if this really happened
you would have writen it sooner.

Also if you go outside their store to protest then they would ask you
to leave, if you were making a big scene. If you actually did make a
protest then they did not seem to notice. If this actually happened
you in Bart Simpson's own words. "obviously don't know how to make a
scene." I don't think they even noticed your little protest otherwise
they would have kicked you out. In Quebec they shut down this store
because they wanted to be a Union or something whatever that is, and
they shut down the store so the employees protested with actual signs
at a few stores, not enought to make it on the news because they were
kicked out real quick because people complained. Anyways if you
really want to protest you need others to help you. I am sure if your
story is true there would be others on the sidewalk protesting with
you.

Wait a minute...this individual "caused you to buy a new car"?
Uhhh...what, you didn't report that one stolen? You didn't report it
to your auto insurance company (surely you were insured, right?) so
they could compensate your loss? And this person "caused [you] to
have to move"? Wow, talk about overly dramatic!

There's no way this can possibly be a serious letter! Especially
since, if the OP protested outside the store, this sounds like
something the media would snap up in a second, and I sure haven't seen
anything on the news.

But if you want to use logic to tear this letter apart, I've got
something else: why move? If someone stole your car, and was really
going to try to go back to your house...wouldn't you want to wait at
your house, with police keeping it under surveillance, so that when
the thief showed up in YOUR vehicle with YOUR house keys, he/she could
be arrested?

And you didn't even mention a lawyer or suing once in your entire
letter.

That alone makes me disbelieve you. I am now going to perform the PFB
Shenanigans Hustle. Stand back. I don't want to poke anyone's eye
out.

This is not true. At least TRY to make this believable.

The tip-off: "has also caused me to have to move."

Uh, right.

Why didn't you just have your home locks changed rather than move?

I'm calling shenanigans on this one.