'I’m out $2,000': Residents still awaiting compensation for vehicle damage due to tainted gas

Nearly three months after two of his vehicles were damaged by tainted gasoline, John Bartolotto is still awaiting compensation.

“I'm out nearly $2,000 for both my vehicles,” the resident of St. Thomas, Ont. said. “I had loss of work and having to rent a vehicle. Everytime I reach out to the insurance company, they keep giving me the run around".

On Nov. 18, 2023, he was one of multiple people whose vehicles failed after purchasing gas from an ESSO station on Sunset Drive in the north end of St. Thomas.

His motorcycle didn’t make it more than a couple hundred metres down the road.

"There was about five or six vehicles that came in with no-start concerns,” says Jimmy Lester, service manager for Elgin Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram in St. Thomas.

“They would just crank and not start. We brought them in, did our diagnosis and found out it was faulty fuel."

The damage wasn’t covered under warranty. That left many people in the area with bills ranging from a few hundred to thousands of dollars.

Elgin Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram in St. Thomas, Ont. had to repair multiple vehicles after they were damaged with tainted gasoline in Nov. 2023. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

“We did a system flush and got all the contaminated fuel out. There were some other components affected by it,” said Lester. “We got those replaced and everything back together."

CTV News spoke with management at the privately-owned gas station. They said they followed the proper procedures and policies since the incident. They then asked us to contact the insurance company for further comment.

We reached out to Northbridge Financial Corporation. When we identified ourselves as CTV journalists, we were immediately told “No Comment” before they hung up the phone.

CTV News has received a copy of an email sent to Bartolotto by senior technical claims specialist Ursula Larrea.

The email says they are still investigating sensors at the gas station. That is expected to wrap up Friday.

“After that, the document needs to be reviewed by both sides. It is my hope this will be the end stage,” writes Larrea in the email.

Everyday that passes without compensation, interest grows for those who paid for repairs on their credit card.

“It's still frustrating because they're still not getting any answers,” said Bartolotto.

“It's a he-said, she-said. Their fighting with the carrier company who brought the gas and there's more than 30 people affected by this. Just pay the people out and fight your fight with their carrier company."