My wife, Dana **, was in an accident involving her car and another car. The other car she rear ended, when it stopped abruptly to turn into a place of business. The damage done to her car was to the front and front right of her car.
In 4/12/2011, we called GEICO to file a claim, and they sent us to Richard **, Auto Damage Claims Adjuster, on **. From the time of the accident to getting the car in (7/27/2011), we were saving up for our 250.00 deductible. Upon dropping the car off we were informed that we didn't have to pay, until the completion of repairs.
The initial bid for repairs was never seen by either me or Dana. After work was already started on the 2005 Chevy Malibu, we found out what the total estimate price was. We immediately started to question and call the collision center and GEICO adjuster, looking for a reason to be spending over 6,000 dollars on our car. We brought up the question of what our car was worth and why we were fixing it, instead of totaling it.
All they told us was that they were fixing the car and it would be done on the 19th of August. They still have no answer for us, on what our car was worth and should we be totaling it or not. The initial research from Kelley Blue Book revealed our car is worth 4,910.00, in fair condition and 5,760.00 in good condition. And by definition it would be a stretch to classify the 2005 Malibu in good condition.
It took an excess of three weeks to fix the damages on her Malibu, where Dana had to call and try to extend our rental car coverage, due to a lengthened time of completion of repairs.
The Collision Center's communication was awful. After numerous attempts of Dana asking to call her, she is the only one handling these issues and I am still getting messages that she did not receive anything from the Collision Center of America.
Dana did try to pick up the car and there were issues with the Collision Center, when she found out that they told the rental place that our car was already picked up. On one occasion, one of the personnel of the Collision Center harassed Dana about her communication skills with me, that person said, "We left messages with your husband; maybe you need to work on your marriage and communication skills."
The number of calls was placed to GEICO, in regards to the rental car being covered for the extended period of working time on Malibu. The rental car was to be covered, due to us having no control of our car being worked on or the drama to ensue, due to lack of quality workmanship on the Malibu.
August 26th, 27th, and 28th, we called the Collision Center, but they did not return our call. On August 30th, Dan from Enterprise called back and said, "Your car was picked up, why do you still have the rental car?" On August 30th, JT from Collision Center called around 10:37AM; he said that the rental car can be squared up, due to the miscommunication on their part.
On September 3rd, I called the Collision Center, but did not return my call, again. On September 8th, Jeffry ** called and said that everything will be taken care of.
When Dana finally picked up her 2005 Chevy Malibu, she was exhausted from trying to get proper and fair treatment, she drove home realizing her car was unsafe. For starters, the power locks don't work anymore. The oil was never changed, or filled up to the proper level, with an oil indicator light on the display. There was even a dent still in the front right quarter panel; which I believe should have been fixed. Worst of all, she told me her breaks were still making noise.
Once again, she is back on the phone with the Collision Center, explaining that her car was not fixed to satisfactory. They sent a tow truck out to pick up the car. The Collision Center would not return, or cover another rental, even though it was their job to return us a safe and completely fixed Malibu. Dana is a plain housewife with 3 kids in school and no means of transportation
She called a GEICO supervisor (Jeffery **, Sept. 8th 2011), and tried to complain and find somebody who could get to the bottom of why, getting a car fixed through insurance is such a hassle. They said that they would check into it and let us know. After the first day, the car was brought back and we heard from the Collision Center. They stated that they fixed the car, according to what went wrong in the crash and that was it. They said the dent was there, it was fine that the power locks didn't work, and that our breaks were our responsibility.
Knowing this they also gave us a final sheet from NADA telling us our car was worth 7,175.00. This was the Clean Retail Value of the Malibu. To reinstate the definition of Clean Retail Value, as it is stated in their printout.
Clean Retail Values reflect a vehicle in clean condition. This means a vehicle with no mechanical defects and passes all necessary inspections with ease. Paint, body and wheels have minor surface scratching with a high gloss finish and shine. Interior reflects minimal soiling and wear with all equipment in complete working order. Vehicle has clean title history.
This definition clearly is not what shape the 2005 Chevy Malibu is in. The seats and interior is soiled, where a professional cleaning is needed, and might not even clean the stains. The fact that they knew and refused to fix the said breaks leaves the car in poor mechanical driving condition. All interior equipment is in poor working conditions. Leaving power locks not working, the CD player doesn't work leaving only a radio. And most important, this is the 2005 Malibus second major accident; CarMax even noticed clamp marks and frame damage on the car when I brought in for an appraisal.
In addition to their price sheet being for a car in excellent condition, Collision Centers added every option they could think of to make the Malibu look like it was worth more. You can see on the NADA price sheet all the options listed. I've highlighted and checked in orange what the 2005 Chevy Malibu is actually equipped with. The bids, estimates and values listed in this complaint are attached following the letter.
To conclude this, I would like to express how upset Dana and I are with this whole insurance claim. Dealing with GEICO and the Collision Centers of America was a fiasco. We were run around playing phone tag with multiple different representatives, as we were both called simultaneously, being told condescending information about the damages and repairs being done. And at the end of it all, it was us trying to tell you we were unhappy with the service, they are telling us, "We fixed your car now come and get it." We paid the deductable of 250.00 to get our car back. We spent the needed 155.52 dollars of brake parts, and three hours of my time in labor went in, as well.
I have photos that show you what the Collision Center never really looked at. We then took the 2005 Chevy Malibu straight to CarMax for an appraisal to find that it was worth 2,500.00 to us. We are no dealership who is going to get a Clean Retail Value for a car. Even the Kelley Blue Book prices in fair to good condition, still do not meet the expenses to fix the car. And as the final low blow, all the talk about us being taken care of with a rental car during this whole ordeal was just a smoke screen, as we received a bill from Enterprise for 564.17 dollars, on September 14th. All together, this is the worst experience I've ever had from an insurance company, auto repair shop, and rental facility that seem to be working side by side to make this happen. Bravo!
We would like to see a refund for our deductibles, our Enterprise bill taken off our names, as it's not our fault it took an extended amount of time to fix our car. I would like a written apology to my wife from the Collision Center for making personal comments about her life, which I'm pretty sure is against the law or business policy. And mostly, I would like the personnel involved to be investigated, for their business ethics and claims decisions. Our 2005 Malibu should have been totaled from the beginning, and none of this would have happened. I feel somebody was trying to make a dollar, or making sure their business had something to work on and our car was their opportunity. I feel used and cheated out of a proper insurance claim.
In final addition before sending this complaint, my wife Dana just had her car over heat, while driving on the highway for the first time since the repairs. The radiator was inspected and supposedly worked on by the Collision Center in the repairs invoice. Yet, another problem with the car after receiving a completed product out of the Collision Centers of America shop. It is not the owner's job to double check every fluid and piece of mechanics on their car, right after they get it from a shop who told us that it was complete and in Clean Retail Value. All in all, I've found nothing clean about their work, their customer service, their communication skills, and their overall responsibility to be moral and ethical in the work they do.