by Guest » Sun Sep 05, 2010 03:35 am
I got into an accident 3 months ago. When I got my car back the first time, which was 1 month after the accident, I still had problems. I brought it back to the body shop the very next day. I had to go 5 days without a rental. Then I met with the appraiser. I had a hole in my carpet from my high heel penetrating it, water was leaking into the car, the car pulled to the left when driving, etc. The appraiser actually denied fixing my carpet, and did approve a few more. After I got the car back, I had to bring my car to the shop four more times, back to back. The water leak was never fixed, and lthe smell of the mildew grew worse and worse. I have two small children, so yeah, this was not cool. Not to mention the car still pulled to the left, my passenger front tire was wearing unsually fast. There were a lot of issues with my car. It took 3 months, and calling and asking to speak to a regional manager for Allstate to admit that I had frame damage. I am highly upset over this because to me, my kids and I could have been in another accident due to their negligence. The worst part of it all- the appraisers kept trying to push me into accepting that the car was "fixed" and one even yelled at me on the phone and told me that I could either file a diminished value claim, or don't. That was just before I made the phone call to speak with a field manager.
I am wondering, what am I entitled to? The appraiser will be coming in a few days to start the totaling process and I want to be prepared. This is the first time I have been in a wreck, so I am not familiar to this. I live in Louisiana, as I know laws vary from state to state.
I am wondering, what am I entitled to? The appraiser will be coming in a few days to start the totaling process and I want to be prepared. This is the first time I have been in a wreck, so I am not familiar to this. I live in Louisiana, as I know laws vary from state to state.
Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 03:38 am Post Subject: Oh, and BTW-
I was not at fault in this accident. It was a 3 vehicle collision. Two cars collided when one of the drivers leaned over to pick up something on the floor. She rear ended a truck, and her vehicle fish-tailed out into my lane, where I hit head on at 50-55mph.
Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 12:57 pm Post Subject:
I'm confused...so they repaired the car, NOW they are totaling it?
I am wondering, what am I entitled to?
If your vehicle is repairable you are entitle to your vehicle being repair to pre-loss condition. If your vehicle is totaled, you are entited to the ACV (actual cash value) of your vehicle based on the condition it was a second prior to impact.Out of curiosity what is the yr/make/model and mileage of your vehicle.
Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 05:21 pm Post Subject:
Yes, there was 11,860.00 done in repairs. The appraisers kept saying that my damage on the passenger side was not due to the accident. But like I told them, you do not have damage only where the point of impact was on a convertible especially. My passenger window was popped out over the seal, the bottom of the passenger door was popped out. The right side of the soft top was higher than the driver side, and the latch for the soft top was very difficult to open and close on the passenger side. My car was never like that prior to the accident. I am also mad because I have had to make payments on this car while it has been in the shop the whole time. Can I make a claim for what I have had to pay on the car when it should have been totaled? My car is a 2007 toyoata Solara convertible.
Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 06:06 pm Post Subject:
The worst part of it all- the appraisers kept trying to push me into accepting that the car was "fixed" and one even yelled at me on the phone and told me that I could either file a diminished value claim, or don't. That was just before I made the phone call to speak with a field manager.
I am wondering, what am I entitled to? The appraiser will be coming in a few days to start the totaling process and I want to be prepared. This is the first time I have been in a wreck, so I am not familiar to this. I live in Louisiana, as I know laws vary from state to state.
You are certainly entitled to be placed in a position you were prior to the loss or immediately before the accident. The insurer becomes legally liable for all losses due to the negligence of their insured once they are proven. Obviously you did not go to trial to prove your losses, so the insurer stepped in to ameliorate or to make better your situation since they were legally obligated to protect their insured against all losses.
What better way to control their expenses and losses than to step in with their great hands to assist you in your time of need by controling the repair and paying the claim based on what they feel they owed.
It is imperative to know whether you selected the body shop for your repairs or you used the body shop they recommended and may have been a provider of services that they had special agreements with. If you selected the shop, it is necessary for you and your shop to prove additional damages have yet to be remedied. If they insisted you use one of their preferred shops, both the insurer and the repair shop are liable for any additional expenses incurred by you.
If you used the preferred shop of the insurer, you are under no obligation to return to that shop even though the insurer insists you must. While most insurers have the intent to settle your claim amicably, when you become troublesome for them, it is not unusual for the shop and the insurer to put you on the proverbial merry go round til you just give up and go away.
I have found additional repairs on vehicles after a preferred provider claimed all was well and ultimately either the insurer or their shop settled the matter by buying the vehicle or totalling it. You may need the assistance of an outside mediator or consumer oriented shop, in your area, to assist you.
Please post more details on the shop selection and any guarantees that were given you in writing by the shop or the insurer. You can also contact me by a private message if you wish. Additionally even though you have used the other insurer for your repairs, you can still file a claim with your insurer to remedy the mess left by the at fault parties. Your insurer contractually has a legal obligation in food faith to restore you to pre loss condition.
Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 04:28 am Post Subject:
Please post more details on the shop selection and any guarantees that were given you in writing by the shop or the insurer.
What Mike said.Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 05:23 am Post Subject: jadoredior
I did pick the repair shop, and no guarantees were given. The last time that I brought it in, I tried to work with allstate, and brought it to their repair shop. Out of 15 complaints, only one was approved to be checked, which was the water leak, and allstate had denied it being fixed.
Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 11:13 am Post Subject:
I had a hole in my carpet from my high heel penetrating it,
And who do you think should pay for this personal decision?
Your water "leak" could be the accumulator for the A/C condenser. It normally drains to the outside of the vehicle, where you would never notice it except for a puddle/trail of water outside the vehicle after you park.
If the drain line was knocked loose (from the collision impact or by the repair shop), it could now be draining into the car instead. Has no one thought to check this?
The car pulling to one side or another could be a wheel alignment problem or some other physical damage to the vehicle from the collision. That question needs to be resolved, and the adjuster should look into the matter. Or it could have been induced by the auto body mechanic who apparently did not do a good job with the repairs.
As for the repair work not to your satisfaction, that's a matter for you and the auto body mechanic. Since you chose the shop, and apparently chose one which does not provide an "expressed" warranty, you may have positioned yourself behind the proverbial "8-ball".
Some states have implied warranty laws known as "merchantability", and most states have consumer protection laws regarding auto repairs in general. So you might find relief there. I'm not entirely sure that the insurance company has much more in the way of liability, if any, unless the damages to which you refer are genuinely not repairable, in which case totalling the vehicle may be your only recourse. But that is not going to make you happy at all.
You asked about having made payments while you could not use the car when repairs were being made. That's not anyone's liability but yours. You have a loan contract to satisfy with another party. Whether you can drive the car or not, those payments have to be made. If your car was not damaged, you would have made them. If you were not in an accident, but could not drive because you had no money to fill the gas tank (or your driver license had been suspended or revoked for some other reason), those payments would have to be made. If the car is subsequently totalled, any additional payment will go to your lender, but will probably not be sufficient to pay off the car note, so those remaining payments will still have to be made.
Better hope that the car is not totalled, and that you can find a reason in state law to compel your auto body mechanic to make the corrective repairs at his expense, or you'll find yourself going to court to try to get a judgment against the mechanic, where you might still not win. On TV, they call it "The Peoples' Court" -- in real life, it is often known as "Liars' Court" -- where the best liar wins.
Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 11:28 am Post Subject:
Then I met with the appraiser. I had a hole in my carpet from my high heel penetrating it, water was leaking into the car, the car pulled to the left when driving, etc. The appraiser actually denied fixing my carpet, and did approve a few more.
Out of 15 complaints, only one was approved to be checked, which was the water leak, and allstate had denied it being fixed.
These statements confuse me. There were additional repairs needed and it appears the appraiser allowed for them but then you state out of 15 additional items, the only considered (?) 1 and actually did not consider it as part of the accident?
You also mention a hole in the carpet that was caused by your shoe. Why do you mention this when obviously it was not caused by the accident? Was this also one of the items you asked them to consider that they rejected?
One item you mention is a water leak and that Allstate did not consider this as part of the accident. I think the main question here is.... why was the water leaking into the vehicle and why did Allstate not consider it as part of the accident?
Going through your post I'm not really clear on what the issues were or what they are now.
I am wondering, what am I entitled to?
From the insurance company? To have your vehicle put back to the same consider it was prior to the accident. It also appears that Allstate has told you that you can file a DV claim against them for consideration.Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 03:37 pm Post Subject:
I'm sorry, it has been so much, that it is enough to confuse anyone. Once over 11,000.00 was done in repairs, there were still the other 15 issues.
Water had been coming in through the front driver side window. My heel penetrated the carpet when the crash happened. Anyway, I'm not worried abut repairs anymore, as they finally after 3 months admitted that I have frame damage, as well as a lot of other damage. My point was that they would only allow the body shop to check certain things, and the appraisers kept telling me that my car was safe, when in reality it was not. I am not one to take advantage of "now I can have every dent and scratch repaired." No, I just wanted my car back to where it was prior to the accident, or if it couldn't be, then totaled. One day someone could seriously get hurt if they just give in to the appraisers who delay repairs, etc. and drive an unsafe vehicle. I have a letter that a mechanic friend of mine wrote that let them know that the car was a safety hazard to drive, as he had done maintence work not long before my accident happened, and would always be the first one I called if I had a problem in the past.
Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 04:27 pm Post Subject:
If at any point Allstate added supplemental damages to their appraisal, you should be paid additional loss of use (rental) for that time that they wrote up as well as the time frame for them to come out, reinspect and authorize those repairs. If you told them that something such as the frame was bent in the accident and it takes them 2 weeks to finally admit that this is correct and related to the accident, then they should also be paying you loss of use for those two weeks (if the vehicle was not safe to drive/if you were not driving it). If this is the case, I'm betting they are going to try to resist paying for those "2 weeks".
An insurance company does not authorize a body shop to inspect only certain things. If you choose the body shop the body should be making their own assessment of the damages. If they won't, then the BS is doing a piss poor job. They then also need to be telling Allstate, yes this _was_ damaged in the accident and here is why.
My advice is to also file a complaint with your states Dept of Insurance. I've said that so much lately that I think people might be starting to think its an easy way to blow people off. What happens when this is done is that the DOI contacts the insurance company and requires an official response as to what has happened. If the DOI gets many complaints, they may just launch an investigation and go through many random claims. At that time the DOI _will_ find things done incorrectly and the DOI can fine the insurance company a _lot_ of money. So insurance companies take these DOI complaints very seriously. This is why the are usually answered by higher management in the claims dept. This is what you want! This is why you file a DOI complaint. There is a saying that applies to claim in insurance companies... "Stuff rolls downhill" (well, it's not "stuff"). That higher management will unload and that crap will roll all the way down to the adjusters supervisor.
Now, it seems that this started many months ago and is actually to the point where Allstate is finally addressing this situation. So there is not much more that can be said or done at this point. I'd certainly take Mike's advice and tell the adjuster that you _also_ intend on filing a DV claim as this may help convince them to just handle it as a total loss.
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