by Guest » Fri Oct 12, 2007 08:30 am
hi.. my name is Justin and I am a 20 year old male living in southern California. I work night stock crew at Von's pavilion and on May 15, 2007,I went to work at 10pm and finished around 5am on the 16th. A bunch of us walked out together and I will never forget that gut wrenching feeling I had when my car was not where I parked it and honestly, I think I went into shock!! I had only bought my Monte Carlo six months prior to someone stealing it. Lakewood Sheriff's sent an officer out who took the theft report and the minute I had this report to reference for my claim, I was on it. Two weeks later, my vehicle is recovered and held by the detectives for fingerprinting, and that same week it's at the body shop that I want to repair my vehicle. On June 15th, my insurance company sends me a 'vehicle theft affidavit' that I must have notarized and return so that they can process my claim without any further delays.I have my friend take me the next day to the notary where I had to make a written statement about the theft of my vehicle and I had to swear that this was the whole truth, which I did, and I mailed it. The end of June the body shop starts fixing the repairs that my insurance company authorized ... everything is looking good. My claim, is for the amount of 3800.00 and I have a 900.00 deductible so my insurance company is looking at 2900.00 to settle my claim and everyone is happy. By the end of July, when I have heard NOTHING from the body shop about my car and NOTHING from my insurance company, and we are now in the third month of faithfully making my car payment and still, I have NO transportation, I call the body-shop and they were waiting for a part needed to finish my car but they told me that it would be done within the week. The second week of August, the body shop owner is calling me because nobody from my insurance company will return their phone calls and until they receive payment for services rendered, my car isn't going to leave that shop. Last week of August, I am told by the owner of the body shop that my insurance company is now refusing to pay them. :shock: :?: After numerous attempts to contact my adjuster, who is definitely away from his desk a lot more than he is at his desk, I am told by my adjuster's supervisor that my claim was under investigation and within a week or two, I would be receiving a letter from an attorney with a date and time reserved especially for me for an'examination under oath.' September 18th, at 9am, my attendance at a law office located almost 2hours from my home is mandatory and there are 13 different documents and demands that I must bring with me as well. Interesting enough, not one of those documents was a request for the police report. But, phone records and loan documents are what they need to render a decision on my claim?? Making this appointment was just physically impossible for me so I called and rescheduled for October 16th, 2007 which is exactly five months since I made my claim. I have filed two complaints with the Department of Insurance and the Better Business Bureau. I have given the attorney and my insurance company permission to obtain the records that they have demanded me to provide but I have informed them both that unless they want documents that pertain directly to my claim, it would be their responsibility,NOT MINE, to get. Certainly, five months is a long enough period of time for them to have gotten any and all documents they need to render a decision on my claim. I have missed days of work and doctors appointments that are vital to me being on this earth, as I am currently on the heart transplant list at UCLA medical center and the insurance company that I thought I was paying to help me in time of need has only victimized me and caused me undue hardships. By the way, my examination under oath has been changed to a law office that's only about 20 minutes from my home and that change didn't come about until the insurance company had to answer the department of insurance regarding my complaint. I received a promising letter from the department of insurance today telling me that this file is open and their investigation is active.. Sorry this is so long but the last thing I'd like to say is when the adjuster was at the body shop making an estimate for the damages on my vehicle, he made the statement that it looked like an inside job to him. WHY? How can a person who represents a company that I pay every month to be on my side, make such a slanderous statement?! :?: :roll: :idea:
Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 07:03 am Post Subject:
Oh I am definitely going to pursue the bad faith lawsuit against explorer, without a doubt!!! Explorer's attorney contacted my attorney and wants to know the name of my managers at the grocery store to verify that what I said is true. I gave her those names at both EUO's and of course, we all know that there is a court reporter present so why she can't review those notes I will never understand. I have definitely had no other choice in this case but to have patience and at this point, I am not going to give up until explorer pays for their ignorance. Tomorrow is Friday, so we will see what explorer and their attorney decide to do. When I informed the bodyshop about the possibility of them making a decision by Friday, I was told that the amount owed is NOT what they originally agreed on and until all of the storage fees are paid (25.00x 8 months), they will NOT release my vehicle. I think wal-mart is too high class even for explorer's attorney... I was thinking more along the lines of big lots. lol I will let you know what Friday brings....
Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 12:56 pm Post Subject:
Geeze...wish explorers insureds knew about this and how much their premuims are going to increase once this bad faith case is over...not to mention what they have spent on atty. fees! and all could've been done with the orginal payment to fix it...man oh man...and them asking AGAIN for information they already have access too, is just building your case!
Hang in there hon....I can see the end of the tunnel for you (and NO) there is not a train on it! ha ha
Let us know...
ps...how is your health/heart doing?
Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 07:00 am Post Subject:
Well, Friday came and went and the only letter my lawyer received was from explorer's attorney stating that once again we were NOT complying with her demands because instead of my attorney calling me and getting the names of the managers at Von's... he told her to refer to the notes that were taken by the court reporter at the EUO. She stated in her letter that she has the right to request any information that is needed to render a decision on my claim and a refusal or failure to comply to her demands may result in explorer, justifably, not paying my claim. Okay.... and her point is????? LOL She is too lazy to read the transcripts from the EUO? Explorer isn't paying her enough to reread questions that she has already asked me? This attorney, I will say, is quick to write nasty letters of our NON- COMPLIANCE.. this attorney isn't even smart enough to catch on to the fact that these letters are only making her look really stupid because my lawyer has faxed all the documents requested, which gives us proof that she is a liar. Oh well, I didn't get my hopes up that explorer would try and do the right thing.... afterall, they are too good at doing the wrong thing. I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday.... I am just really stressed out about life, a job, etc.. but I will make it through this.
Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 12:56 pm Post Subject:
You hang in their hon...they have invested soooooo much in this farse that they can't (apparently) back down now...which is fine because they are simply feeding your case...I can't imagine the stress and sincerely hope and pray you have a good support system (other than us!) that is helping you through this....remember honey, although this is a giant pain in the a** it is only a car and money....your health, heart and life are worth so much more...try really hard to let your attorney handle the stress that's what he's making the big bucks for! ha ha... keep us updated...
Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 06:44 am Post Subject: latest update
Friday, my attorney's office contacted me and told me that explorer insurance company sent a check for 3400.00 and in the memo it said"paid in full" So, the good part about them sending a check is that they are admitting that they should have just paid from the beginning, right Lori? The bad part is that obviously now, here comes another waiting game because obviously we are going to have to go to court. The body shop informed me that my car was going to have to be repainted because it has been sitting outside for almost 9 months now. Anyways, just wanted to give everyone that is following my story a quick update.
Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 01:15 pm Post Subject:
Good morning Justin great to hear from you...well atleast they are moving. Doesn't the shop have in addition to the repair cost a huge storage bill as well before they will release it? Justin this is wrong, wrong, wrong,
The body shop informed me that my car was going to have to be repainted because it has been sitting outside for almost 9 months now
It may need to be cleaned and even buffed, but this is non-sense no vehicle should require new painting because it set outside for nine months, and no jury/judge is going to buy that either. If the shop did a good job there isn't a reason under the sun I can think of that their refinish work wouldn't hold up to the elements! You need to find out about that...Thanks for the update, keep us in the loop. How is your health honey, and have you moved up the list any?
Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 02:57 pm Post Subject:
Well I don't know.You still don't have the check in hand,do you? I would not breath releif till I did. Lori is right the car should not need to be painted as mine sit out all the time .The only damage is the dash has a crack now from the sun. Can I get that fixed with the insurance since I have full coverage?
Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 03:14 pm Post Subject:
Can I get that fixed with the insurance since I have full coverage?
Doubtful, it wasn't ''sudden and accidental'' rather was ''gradual deterioration'', however before it gets too bad (is is a pontiac by chance?), you should contact an interior repair person, like a 'dr. vinyl' or some other trim or interior repair person, many many times these can be fixed if caught early and the repair cost is relatively low.. let me know if you need more information (pm or another/new thread though please :wink: )Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 07:00 am Post Subject: THIS IS MORE THAN JUST A NIGHTMARE...
okay.. where do i begin??? Hope you are ready Lori because i really need someone with knowledge to help me out at this point. Explorer sent my attorney a check for 3200.00 which was the amount agreed upon between the bodyshop and explorer in May,2007. Since my car was stolen, explorer made the agreement with the bodyshop that after the repairs were made on the body damage, an adjuster would come back to the bodyshop and give an estimate on any mechanical problems that may have resulted from the theft of the vehicle. But the check that was sent to my attorney for 3200.00 says...'PAID IN FULL'. When i went to the bodyshop to inspect my vehicle, it has four flat tires, it won't start, and there is bird crap on it that has oxidized the paint, in a few different spots. I don't know if the bodyshop ever even painted my car... they say they did but how can i prove it one way or the other. I know that in May of 2007, my car had a beautiful paint job and now it looks like hell. Hoping that my battery was just dead, I put a brand new battery in my car and it won't start so i know that something more serious is going on with that. Ready for the best part... my lawyer's advise to me was that i should take the check and pay the rest out of my pocket and go on with life because since explorer sent me a check, even though it took them ten months, they fulfilled their duty to pay my claim. So, i fired that attorney and i have contacted a few other attorneys in my area and they told me that i have a bad faith law suit and there isn't a judge out there that wouldn't agree with me BUT since my original claim amount is only for 3200.00 there isn't a law firm that will take my case because the monetary value of it is not worth the time. So now what do i do... go back to square one and argue with the claims supervisor at explorer that they haven't fulfilled their promise to pay my claim until after the bodyshop does whatever and the car can be test driven? Should i go back to the department of insurance and ask for their help? Should i continue seeking an attorney that will help me? Should i file some kind of lawsuit against the bodyshop? Should i just cash the check and hope that whatever the problems are won't cost me too much? I am so mad that explorer may get away with doing this to me and my life and the thought of them doing this to other people just makes me sick. Where are the laws that protect people from insurance companies like explorer? The only laws that are enforced are the ones that require people to have insurance but they don't protect us from insurance companies with bad faith intentions. I have paid my car payment for 10 months and i can't get my finance company to help me either. They told me that the only thing that they can do is repossess my vehicle and i don't see that helping me at all! I had an attorney tell me today that from now on i should just stay away from these little insurance companies because they don't pay and i laughed at him and said that a lot of insurance companies with big names don't pay either according to information on line about bad faith. It seems to me that if the insurance companies can get away with NOT paying claims, they will use whatever tactics are necessary to get out of their obligations to do so. The people who work for these insurance companies need to stop and realize that these tactics are very hurtful,costly, and destroying peoples lives. How inhumane!! Knowing the potential harm that bad faith can cause the lives of innocent people, the people employed by these insurance companies must not own mirrors in their homes. When my attorney spoke to explorers attorney and asked that a check be sent that didn't state PAID IN FULL, she said that wasn't possible because that statement protected explorer from all future obligations to this claim. Explorer sent a letter with the check trying to justify their ten month delay by basically saying that i didn't immediately comply to all of their demands and i can't believe the nerve... 14 documents, 2 EUO, 4 different explanations to their required documents, and all because of a 1 day discrepency between my sworn affidavit and the police report. I just don't get it!!!
Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 11:46 am Post Subject:
Hope you are ready Lori because i really need someone with knowledge to help me out at this point
You're sunk Justin, you've just got me! :lol:my lawyer's advise to me was that i should take the check and pay the rest out of my pocket and go on with life because since explorer sent me a check, even though it took them ten months, they fulfilled their duty to pay my claim
ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME? After all of this? I'll bet he presented you with a bill though right? What about the bad faith claim he was to be pursueing for you? I can't believe this guy! I thought he was fully on board?!!! :twisted: :evil:So, i fired that attorney
good!they told me that i have a bad faith law suit and there isn't a judge out there that wouldn't agree with me BUT since my original claim amount is only for 3200.00 there isn't a law firm that will take my case because the monetary value of it is not worth the time.
Justin I don't understand! The are two different things! The bad faith claim is totally different from the original claim! Perhaps your state has some rules re: bad faith and monetary awards...but I don't know any state that doesn't allow punitive awards in bad faith cases (that's where most of the settlement money comes in!)...Did they explain this any better? (re: two different claims...i don't understand)...So now what do i do... go back to square one and argue with the claims supervisor at explorer that they haven't fulfilled their promise to pay my claim until after the bodyshop does whatever and the car can be test driven
I'd go back to this...call them and remind them of this...explorer made the agreement with the bodyshop that after the repairs were made on the body damage, an adjuster would come back to the bodyshop and give an estimate on any mechanical problems that may have resulted from the theft of the vehicle
Get EVERYTHING in writing with them Justin, if they say, this 'paid in full' is just that paid in full...ask them to send a letter stating that they will not reinspect it as promised to find out what the mechanical issues are...honestly I'd be a little leary of using that 'paid in full' draft with all the trouble you've had....What does the body shop think is the trouble ? Did they know you were coming to get your vehicle and didn't clean it up, or air up the tires, or get it ready in any regard?Should i go back to the department of insurance and ask for their help?
DEFINATELY! Remembering they more than likely will not be able to help you with the body shop though....Was this body shop a 'preferred' shop for your insurance company? Did they refer you to this shop?Should i continue seeking an attorney that will help me?
I most certainly would....Should i file some kind of lawsuit against the bodyshop?
You may have to Justin, remember this is a totally separate issue, than the bad faith claim etc...this would be only about the quality (or lack there of) their workmanship....Should i just cash the check and hope that whatever the problems are won't cost me too much?
Honey, that's up to you, but I wouldn't.....I'd start with contacting explorer, they (now) agree that they owe to put you back in the same condition (that's a laugh with this claim) you were in prior to the loss (re: your vehicle)...It started and ran right before it was stole, (drove it to work right? it was stolen from work...so no argument that it ran)...It did not have four down tires (they may just need aired up)....also the not starting could be a very minor thing...just need to find out...Justin when your vehicle was recovered, and arrived at the body shop, was it towed in? If so was the shop able to start and drive it into the shop/paint booth etc? I'll bet they did...so have they not attempted to find out the reason it won't start? They never advised you that it wouldn't start right? Did they not drive it and park it to the place it sets now? What is the body shop saying? (remind me Justin is this a dealership, independent shop? franchise shop? etc)....
I am so mad that explorer may get away with doing this to me and my life and the thought of them doing this to other people just makes me sick.
I know and agree totally Justin, but I think I'm madder at your attorney! Have we not been talking badfaith suit this entire time? What happened to that? Did he talk about a million or more dollars?Where are the laws that protect people from insurance companies like explorer?
They ARE there Justin, but (I think) you need a good attorney, damnit, I thought you had one....I'm going to do alittle research and see what I can find out re:unfair claims practices etc....will look back thru to find your state again...The only laws that are enforced are the ones that require people to have insurance but they don't protect us from insurance companies with bad faith intentions
It certainly seems that way from your claim, I agree.It seems to me that if the insurance companies can get away with NOT paying claims, they will use whatever tactics are necessary to get out of their obligations to do so.
Well, that's not the case, and yours is an awful example of insurance carrier abuse (IMO), however the sick thing is I can almost gaurantee you that they spent way more than your claim on legal fees!!! Just Nuts!They told me that the only thing that they can do is repossess my vehicle and i don't see that helping me at all!
That would ruin your credit Justin.The people who work for these insurance companies need to stop and realize that these tactics are very hurtful,costly, and destroying peoples lives
In your case, though I'm sure there are great adjusters working for Explorer (you didn't run into any however), and I'm sure they have no idea about this....or would be looking for another job...When my attorney spoke to explorers attorney and asked that a check be sent that didn't state PAID IN FULL, she said that wasn't possible because that statement protected explorer from all future obligations to this claim
See this is what I'm worried about....I think you should contact a supervisor ask about this mechanical issue...(answer my questions please)....I'm afraid they are going to tell you (basically) 'we're done'...What about the shop will they even release your vehicle for this amount? Wasn't there some huge storage bill?Justin, I think I'm almost as sick about this as you are...Start with explorer about the mechanical issues, ask the shop if the vehicle was driveable when it came in or when the repairs where completed...If explorer will not reinspect it, or pay the storage bill contact the DOI and get a hold of a consumer advocate, get a complaint filed...I know you are so frustrated, but remember you'll catch a lot more flys with honey than with vinegar...Tell the advocate, I know you have a lot of work to do, and that you are very busy, but I really need some help, and am at the end of my rope, and hope that you can give me some time to explain this all to you, and see if there is anyway you can assist me with this. I'm alone, without any support system, and you are really my last resort....remember these people have a tough stressful job, and lots of the complaints they get, are well frankly just stupid, yours of course is valid....just try and calmly explain it all make some notes, with time lines etc...you will likely have to fill out some huge form....Let us know what expl.and the shop say, also the DOI if you go that route in the meanwhile (assuming your state is in this tread somewhere)I'm going to be doing some research..also I'd continue my effort to find an attorney, you may need to find one that is not local...(many large firms will handle stuff like this if the dollar amount is high enough, another thing I want to try and find out is if there is some kind of crazy 'cap' on bad faith claims in your state, I still don't get an attorney not jumping on this).........Justin, I cannot adequetly express to you in words how sorry I am about this for you, honey you have been through the ringer....and it shouldn't (and usually isn't) have happen this way....I know that does nothing to help you, but it just makes me so angry and just sick for you.....hang in there, there HAS to be something out there we just haven't found yet........
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