“It’s kind of got messy at the moment,” said James Niblock.
About six months have passed since the Bearspaw Centex gas station sold contaminated gas to commuters along Highway 1A. Those that fueled up within the week of July 19, when it was discovered as faulty, said in just hours to days their vehicles all experienced similar symptoms.
It usually began with the car starting to shudder. The engine light would come on at some point and then, for most, the vehicle would quickly shut down.
Dozens of drivers faced bills between a couple hundred to several thousand dollars worth of repairs, towing and substitute transportation, including Niblock, whose bill for his 2016 Chrysler Town and Country is upwards of $16,000.
His repairs include multiple major part replacements including his engine, spark plugs, injectors and more. Repairs finally began last month after his insurance agreed to cover the costs under his comprehensive coverage.
He’s considered one of the fortunate ones since he will only be left to pay for a car rental once his $1,000 allowance for a substitute vehicle runs out.
But many others are not as lucky.
Harpreet Sandha said she has had to pay $4,078 out of pocket and only around $2,900 has been paid back by Centex.
A portion of her expenses came from getting a car rental and getting a taxi to work on the day she filled up because her car broke down. Meanwhile, her husband had to work from home that day since the couple shares one vehicle. She was told by Shafiq Burah, a managing partner with Centex Petroleum, that the company would not be paying for anything “extra.”
Other victims of the bad gas include Loraine Bon and her son Even McArthur who used to share a vehicle.
The car was filled up at the Centex – which they live approximately 500 metres from – on July 14. The family shortly after went on vacation and didn’t use their vehicle during that time. It was August when their vehicle stopped working and the bill they incurred was roughly $3,000. Their insurance wouldn’t cover it due to their policy and Centex said they wouldn’t cover it either.
Because their car was an older model, they opted not to have it fixed and are now making do without the car.
Legal recourse
A contingency letter for a class-action lawsuit, spearheaded by Niblock, was drafted in September. However, the law firm originally representing those affected by the bad gas discovered there was a conflict of interest.The suit has been delayed for the meantime and Niblock said he will be stepping away from the suit since the bulk of his expenses will be taken on by his insurance company.
“I just don’t have the time to focus on putting a lawsuit together,” Niblock said. “I’m a couple hundred out of pocket, maybe a bit more, but that’s just life, isn’t it.”
Who’s at fault
The cause of the defective fuel was blamed on a problem with the underground fuel tank holding the gasoline.Just before reopening the gas station in July – a few days after the fuel was discovered to have been contaminated – Burah, the Centex representative who handled many of the complainants, said the company would be reimbursing anyone whose car was damaged by the problem gas.
“As a company, we know that it’s not that things will never go wrong but it’s how we react and conduct ourselves when they do,” Burah told the Cochrane Eagle back in July.
But now Centex’s responsibility for the problem has been retracted and payments to affected customers stopped after about a month.
A verdict on who is responsible for absorbing Niblock’s bill – and everyone else affected – is now being dragged into the new year as an independent adjudicator deciphers whose at fault: Centex gas station, the company that sold Centex the fuel tank, or the fuel tank installers.
“In the meantime, a lot of people are now without vehicles,” Niblock said.
The Cochrane Eagle reached out to Burah for comment but did not receive a reply before press deadline.
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