Kal Tire won't give me my car keys back?!?!

[GullFoss]

I took my car to Kal Tire for a simple valve fix. They said that they won't release my keys unless all four tires are replace. When I said no, they said they wouldn't release my keys until two tires are replaced, but I'm free to have it towed away and they will release my keys to a tow truck! Is this even legal? What's going on - can someone explain it to me?

[bluck]

That is weird. Pay for the Valve fix, demand your keys back or tell them you're calling the police.

[ResAlien]

Scam. Burn the place down.

[ricosuave]

I've never heard such a thing. Call the police non emergency line.

[dino7c]

are they saying your vehicle isn't safe to drive? If there is a safety issue the police might agree with them

[ricosuave]

Are the tires shot? Or what's their reasoning

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by dino7c

are they saving your vehicle isn't safe to drive? If there is a safety issue the police might agree with them

It doesn't matter if it's a safety issue, does it? What authority does Kal Tire have to engage in conversion of your private property? They can call the Police and tell them they think the car should be impounded once you drive it on a public road, but until you do that, it's yours to do with as you please, bad tires or no.

[btimbit]

They're BSing you. Common scam for greasy mechanics. Contact the police non emergency number. I bet if you google mechanic scams this one comes up a lot.

If they think your car is unsafe they can contact the police themselves but they can't hold it hostage

[Cheese]

There must be more to the story? Tires bald or splitting? They can't arbitrarily say that without having something to back themselves up.

[Dion]

I could see them saying that if they felt your tires were unsafe and needed replacing. Keeping your keys is another thing. I'd make a threat to call the police and see what happens then.

[DownInFlames]

They can’t do that. Read #7.

https://www.transportation.alberta.ca/2819.htm

They can call the police and report you though.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

It doesn't matter if it's a safety issue, does it? What authority does Kal Tire have to engage in conversion of your private property? They can call the Police and tell them they think the car should be impounded once you drive it on a public road, but until you do that, it's yours to do with as you please, bad tires or no.

sure, but if you are calling the police to come help you, the second you drive it out of the parking lot they can pull you over

obviously depends how serious things are

[Amethyst]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

It doesn't matter if it's a safety issue, does it? What authority does Kal Tire have to engage in conversion of your private property? They can call the Police and tell them they think the car should be impounded once you drive it on a public road, but until you do that, it's yours to do with as you please, bad tires or no.

But if they know it's not safe and they let you take it, is that okay? What if the person got into a crash and hurt someone else? If you showed up drunk to pick up your car, would they have to give you your keys?

I've never heard of such a thing either. I'm curious about the details too.

[Dynamic]

I have never heard of that happening. If it’s just your tires I’m pretty sure they can’t do that. I could understand if it was something else mechanical that could cause an immediate failure but just because your tires need to be changed sounds wrong. Let your keys back and never go back to that shop.

[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by Amethyst

But if they know it's not safe and they let you take it, is that okay? What if the person got into a crash and hurt someone else?

Yes, as the owner of the vehicle did not let them perform the repair they were informed of. The shop has no authority to seize/hold the vehicle (which is what refusing to return the keys amounts to)

From the link above: "You are correct in your understanding that a technician cannot remove an unsafe vehicle from the road. This responsibility lies solely with a peace officer under Section 66 of the Traffic Safety Act.

As a certified technician you are obligated to advise the client that his/her vehicle is unsafe, and to provide an explanation for this determination. Some shops choose to bring a tow truck to their facility and have the vehicle towed to the shop of the client's choice."

If you showed up drunk to pick up your car, would they have to give you your keys?

I've never heard of such a thing either. I'm curious about the details too.

Yes. They can't keep your keys. But what they are likely to do is have you "wait while we sort out some paperwork, please" and call the police to report the intox driver.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by Amethyst

But if they know it's not safe and they let you take it, is that okay? What if the person got into a crash and hurt someone else? If you showed up drunk to pick up your car, would they have to give you your keys?

Basically, yes. You have an obligation as a repair shop to give them the information - e.g. this vehicle is not safe to drive, and is likely illegal to drive - but you're not allowed to do anything else, as far as I know. You have the option of reporting the person to the police, but no legal obligation to do so.

If you're going to take possession of someone's property against their wishes, you need some sort of statutory authority to do so, and I'm not aware of any law in Alberta that permits a private business like a repair shop to do this.

[PepsiFree]

Yeah, no way this flies.

I brought an absolute death trap to a shop just so I could get a long, detailed list of everything I had to work on. Couldn’t even legally register it because it was so destroyed, and they told me it shouldn’t even see the parking lot and gave me the keys.

I’d call the police.

[Regulator75]

Does your car look like this?

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by btimbit

They're BSing you. Common scam for greasy mechanics. Contact the police non emergency number. I bet if you google mechanic scams this one comes up a lot.

If they think your car is unsafe they can contact the police themselves but they can't hold it hostage

Yeah, I have heard of this happening before. Sometimes there might be legit safety reasons, but I am not sure what authority they have.

[GullFoss]

I just went there with my spare key. They have taken all the air out of the tire and have unaligned the tire from the rim. Lol...man these guys are dicks.