bad situation with ins. co and repair shop

[mikeinaustin]

ok, my car was hit from behind and the other cars insurance agreed to pay for the repairs. they did an initial estimate and i took it to the body shop used by the maker of this car (infiniti).

the repair calls for a new bumper plus painting it. they body shop does this work BUT then decides that the paint match isn't good enough so they "blend" into the side panels and re-clearcoat the side panels. at the same time they are doing this blending, they put in a request to the ins. co. to pay for this additional work (well to come out and look at it and then agree to pay).

As you can guess, they did the blend job before the ins. co. agreed to pay for it and now the ins. company has said no. yes they are currently appealing to the ins co. to reconsider.

my problem is this: to get the keys to the car i have to sign the bill which has these additional charges on them. they verbally say i won't have to pay if the ins. co. does not pay, but that is not what is on the bill and i can't get them to re-print the bill.

what are my financial responsibilities here? what if i sign so i can get my car, am i then bound to pay the full bill? if i don't sign, how will i get my car?

 

[duaneb9729]

i wouldnt sign and i would ask nicely once for my keys, and i would tell them i am calling the police next if you dont give me MY keys, then all the news stations.

i would use a respectful but stern tone,

the other tack would be to sign it and write not paying for additional charges on it

 

[Tempest]

If the work is complete I would demand my car back. They did unauthorized work that you are not liable for.

I would threaten to inform the BBB as well as the Attorney General and to get a lawyer if they don't cooperate.

 

[mikeinaustin]

yes they are registered with BBB and have an A+ rating. they have been in business a long time and are the official repair shop for mercedes-benz and infiniti here in austin.

i just do not trust verbal commitments. the person making the commitment isn't in charge of accounting. accounting could bill me without him knowing about it. i could call him about it, he could talk to accounting, and around we go forever.

 

[simple_gifts]

Quote:

i wouldnt sign and i would ask nicely once for my keys, and i would tell them i am calling the police next if you dont give me MY keys, then all the news stations.


The police? Be serious. Plenty of paperwork has been signed regarding who is responsible for paying for the work that has been done. Civil matter.

 

[TooManyWheels]

The job of the body shop is to produce a quality repair. The job of the insurance company is to pay for it. The dispute is between the body shop and the insurance company, not between either of them and you. Tell them to deal with it between themselves, and that you will continue to rent a car and bill the insurance company until the matter is settled.

The amount is small enough that you can recover in small claims court if necessary.

 

[JDD]

I have some exp in the insurance industry. You do not have to pay for repairs that the shop did and did not get authorization for (at least in my state). Tell them you are coming in to pick up your car at a certain time and date. If they don't release the car at that time, dial the local police station (not 911, please) in their presence and calmly explain the situation to the person answering and tell them you would like an officer to come out and assist you. The risk of the extra cost goes to the shop if they cannot recover it from the insurance company. Unfortunately, some shops have you sign docs stating that you are responsible for such charges, even though the shop did it without telling anyone about it. Sort of sucks. Most shops would not like to have a reputation with customers or insurance companies that this situation would create, so it is a bit surprising they are digging in on it.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: TooManyWheels
The job of the body shop is to produce a quality repair. The job of the insurance company is to pay for it. The dispute is between the body shop and the insurance company, not between either of them and you. Tell them to deal with it between themselves, and that you will continue to rent a car and bill the insurance company until the matter is settled.

The amount is small enough that you can recover in small claims court if necessary.


+1

 

[mikeinaustin]

simple_gifts and JDD are probably correct. i will have to look at the original paperwork, the one i signed when i dropped the car off and the one which i authorized them to do the repairs. i will see if there is something in there about if the ins. co. does not pay, i pay - this would not surprise me.

also keep in mind the body shop did tell the ins. co., but they went ahead with the work before authorization was received on the "assumption" the ins. co. would pay. They were quite shocked when the ins. co. said no.

i talked to an ins adjuster (1-800), he says it is against their co. policy to pay for blending in these situations (bumper repaint). i talked to the body shop, they say the have records where the same ins. co. happily paid for such blending. so i called the original ins. co. adjuster (the one who inspected the car), he also repeated it is against their policy, however, he is going to ask his boss to make an exception. however, he isn't even sure if his boss is authorized to allow payment for this.

 

[TooManyWheels]

Policy, shmolicy. They can have all the policies they want, they still have an obligation to "make you whole".

It is NOT YOUR responsibility to play conflict resolution here.

 

[JHZR2]

Do you have a spare key???

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: mikeinaustin
yes they are registered with BBB and have an A+ rating.


that means they have the BBB paid off and no complaint will go against them.

 

[Tempest]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Do you have a spare key???

Can you be arrested for stealing your own car?

 

[PandaBear]

Call Infiniti HQ. Most of the dealers are very afraid of the HQ because they can give you a hard time for bad services, especially a higher end brand.

My Integra had a bump on the muffler that I discovered only when I got home. Nothing serious, but the dealer said to replace it I have to promise to give them the evaluation form. I waited for a few months and it never came. Finally I call the dealer up and they pretend that nothing has happened and they never promised such thing.

I called the HQ's customer service line, complain about the situation. The next day the "President" of the dealer called and offer to replace the muffler at no question asked.

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
Call Infiniti HQ. Most of the dealers are very afraid of the HQ because they can give you a hard time for bad services, especially a higher end brand.


im guessing that its not a dealer body shop, just one that they use. my dealer does not have a body shop on site, and we sublet all of our body work.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
im guessing that its not a dealer body shop, just one that they use. my dealer does not have a body shop on site, and we sublet all of our body work.


Doesn't matter, call the HQ so the HQ give pressure to the dealer. After all you are paying a dealer so the people there are worrying about the problem for you right? What else is a luxury car dealership for?

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
Doesn't matter, call the HQ so the HQ give pressure to the dealer. After all you are paying a dealer so the people there are worrying about the problem for you right? What else is a luxury car dealership for?


what would the HQ do? he is not going through the dealer, just using a shop they use.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
what would the HQ do? he is not going through the dealer, just using a shop they use.


Oh, well then call the police I guess.

 

[duaneb9729]

they would have no right to hold the car ransom, and i would threaten to call the police, i would pay what i agreed to pay, then take my car and leave.

I wouldnt let anyone hold my property hostage