The driver of a heavy duty truck says he thought the warranty he bought covered free tire rotation, only to find out that procedure came with an extra charge not spelled out in the contract.
With six wheels on his new Dodge Ram Dually, John Hill says there is no way he would hit Houston streets without a tire warranty so he headed to Discount Tire.
"They'll cover it and just put a new tire on it and out you go. I mean, that's a great deal," owner John Hill said.
Hill says he paid $292 for the warranty.
"I asked the guy what it covered, free rotation, free lifetime balancing," he said.
Five thousand miles later Hill returned to the store to get the tires rotated.
"All of a sudden he said that's going to be $96 and I said for what?" Hill said.
Hill says the worker explained because the Dodge Ram has aluminum rims, the labor was not included in the warranty.
"I said thanks for telling me, no one told me this in the beginning," he said.
Hill says the store was willing to offer one free rotation, but his contract has no exclusions for aluminum wheels.
"No where does it show me that if you have this, this or this kind of vehicle we are going to charge you this, this, or this," he said.
Consumer Law Professor Robert Johnson says without a specific exclusion, Hill is right to expect the truck will be covered.
"Without having it spelled out in the contract, I certainly could not see a consumer knowing that an aluminum wheel would cost more than a regular one," Johnson said.
After we called the corporate offices for Discount Tire, a spokesperson agreed that the contract should cover the rotation because the contract does not exclude aluminum rims. He went on to say the service will be covered and Hill does not have to pay extra.
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