A Victoria man has won part of his claim against a local car dealership after the Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) found that it returned the wrong set of tires.
Joseph Baker took his Volkswagen Tiguan to Wille Dodge Chrysler Ltd. in January 2022 to switch his seasonal tires for winter ones.
At that time, Baker worked for the dealership. He said an employee bagged the seasonal tires and placed them in his vehicle.
Months later, when he tried to put them back on, he realized the tires were not the same ones he had purchased in 2019.
Instead of his original 16-inch “General” brand tires, Baker received 17-inch “Sumitomo” tires. The dealership denied any wrongdoing, claiming Baker supervised the tire change and was happy with the results.
Tribunal member Max Pappin dismissed that claim. In his written decision, he pointed out that Wille Dodge did not provide any evidence showing that Baker’s vehicle had come in with the larger tires, and its invoices had no details about the removed tires.
“I find it more likely than not that Joseph brought his vehicle to WDC with R16 tires, and WDC incorrectly gave the R17 tires to Joseph after completing the tire change,” Pappin wrote in his report.
Baker initially sought $600 to replace the lost set. Instead, the tribunal awarded him $326.22, reflecting the depreciated value of the four tires, plus $42.15 in interest and $125 in tribunal fees.
In total, Wille Dodge was ordered to pay Baker $493.37 within 30 days.
The decision also held the dealership responsible for both negligence and detinue, meaning it failed in its duty to care for Baker’s property and wrongfully kept his property.
Though another applicant, Megan Catalano, was mentioned in the claim, the tribunal ruled she had no proven participation in the dispute.
The tribunal’s order has the same authority as a Provincial Court judgment if filed.
