Big O Tires Class Action Says ‘Free Inspection’ is a Scheme

Big O Tires faces a class action lawsuit alleging that their free inspection is a scheme allowing them to recommend additional, costly work.

Big O Tires is a tire retailer with nearly 400 locations in 19 states. The Big O Tires class action says 101 of these stores are in California, making it a popular tire option for California car owners.

The retailer allegedly offers a series of services which are accompanied with a free “multi-point vehicle inspection.”

However, plaintiff Robert Barker argues that this inspection is a scam and simply provides Big O Tires with an opportunity to recommend more work to be done.

In August 2018, Barker says he brought his vehicle into a Big O Tires location to have them repair a flat tire.

While waiting for the repair to be done, Barker noticed that the hood of his car was propped up and a technician was examining his engine. Barker mentioned that this was odd to the location’s manager, who said that the technician was examining the vehicle’s air filter as is standard.

After the repair was done, Barker says received his invoice for $35 which included work performed and work quoted but not performed.

According to the Big O Tires class action, Big O Tires recommended a series of expensive additional services which included replacing all of the tires and other services. Barker paid the cost of his repair, did not sign the disclosures on the invoice, and left without asking for additional labor to be done.

Shortly after his repair, the Big O Tires class action claims Barker started having issues with his vehicle. He parked the car but, when he returned to it, it would not move.

Barker says he had the vehicle towed to his local dealership where they discovered that a hose had become disconnected from the air filter. The dealership said that the hose was “just resting on top of TB hose. Looked like it was connected but it wasn’t.” Barker was charged $308 for the dealership to fix the issue.

Barker then called Big O Tires and asked the manager if he remembered their conversation regarding the air filter inspection. He then asked Big O Tires to reimburse him for the $308 charge from the dealership.

After looking into it, the manager reported that the technician had actually been looking at a belt of some kind so Big O Tires was not liable for the air filter issue. Additionally, the manager said that, since Barker’s invoice didn’t mention the air filter, there was nothing they could do.

The Big O Tires class action claims that the retailer engages in a “scheme by which it prospects, without authorization, for work in the cars that its customers bring to it.” Barker alleges that the point of this scheme is to generate profit for the company at the expense of their consumers.

Barker seeks to represent a Class of California consumers who brought their car into a Big O Tires location in California within the last four years.

He also seeks to represent several subclasses who left with an invoice unsigned by them, left with an invoice that didn’t identify a multi-point vehicle inspection, complained to Big O Tires about a problem allegedly caused by the retailer, or brought their vehicle into another service center within the next month.

Barker is represented by David M. Rosenberg-Wohl of Hershenson Rosenberg-Wohl, A Professional Corporation.

The Big O Tires Vehicle Inspection Class Action Lawsuit is Barker v. Big O Tires LLC, et al., Case No. 3:18-cv-06877-JCS, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.