
Kimberly of Graceville, FL on Dec. 31, 2010
I had an automobile accident on December 3rd. The vehicle I was driving was a 2001 Chrysler 300M, and I had just purchased it approximately 2 months before my accident. I called Metlife to report the accident while still on the scene of the accident. A couple days later, I had a message left from a lady asking that I return her call regarding my claim. I tried to call her back the next day and got her voice mail and left a message. The next message I received was from a man telling me that my car was a total loss and that I needed to get my personal belongings out of the car and notify them to give them permission to remove the vehicle from the collision company.
No one had even contacted me concerning what was taking place with the vehicle. I tried to call back and finally just kept pushing buttons until I could reach a live person and no voice mail. The lady I spoke to really could not help me because as of yet, my claim had not yet been assigned to a claims adjuster, but that someone should be contacting me within the next 48 to 72 hours. This was about 5 days after my accident. By December 13th, I still had not talked to anyone and did not know exactly what was going on with my car or what my options were. So I called and spoke to a lady named Laurie who told me that my claim had been assigned to a woman named Erin **, but she was not in the office.
I explained to Laurie that I had not heard from anyone and wanted to know what was going on with my car and what my options were. She went over the information she had as far as what the offer was on my car. In that conversation, she asked me when did I think I could get the car cleaned out so they could remove the vehicle. I told her I was hoping to do it within the next day or so, and would let them know. As for the offer on the car, the car dealership told me they would work with me, just to let them know when I knew what the offer was. Laurie explained to me that she would send the paperwork I needed by FedEx and I should have it by the next day, and to fill it out and fed ex it back to them as soon as I could.
I told her I would and that I would try to get the car cleaned out soon and let them know. That was on a Monday. I went to the collision place I believe that following Tuesday to clean my car out and it was gone. They had already removed the vehicle with my tag still on it and my personal belongings still in it without my permission to move the vehicle and it now sits in mid South Florida somewhere. As you can guess, I was very upset and angry. The lady at the collision company called the car op to see if they could mail me my tag and all the belongings out of my car. They told her my insurance company would have to call them and request it be mailed to me.
I called the insurance company and spoke to another lady about the incident, first wanting to know why they moved my car without my permission to begin with. I explained to the lady that I had spoken to Laurie on Monday and told her I was hoping to get the car cleaned out in the next day or so then they could come get it, but I would call and let them know. Also told the lady I was suppose to be receiving a fed ex package with paperwork in it, but had not received it yet. The lady told me she was sorry that it appeared that the mix up was that when I spoke to Laurie and told her I would clean the car out in the next day or so, she took it as permission to remove the vehicle and logged it in the computer that way. I told the lady that was wrong, but either way, I spoke to Laurie on the 13th, the car was taken on the 14th, if I said a day or so, that was a day, not a day or so.
The lady apologized for the mix up and told me she was going to call the place that had my car and get them to totally clean the car out, and remove my tag and mail it all to me, and that would give me a call back and let me know what exactly was being sent back to me. That was on the 16th, today is the 30th and I have not yet received a phone call nor have I received any of my belongings including my car tag. I went to the car dealership to talk to them and update them on what was going on, they were trying to work with me to get me another vehicle since all this time I had been without one and having to get a ride to work and back, or borrow a vehicle to go to the store or take my kids to the doctor, etc.
The dealership called to find out what was going to take place and what paperwork they needed from them to wrap things up, after they were placed on hold, given the runaround and 3 different phone calls, they finally spoke to a lady that told them I had to call first and accept the offer. I told Laurie on the phone that if that was what they were offering, I guess I had no choice but to take it when I spoke to her on the 13th, that was why she was sending my paperwork, or suppose to be. Apparently, she got everything backwards when we got off the phone. So I called them back to accept the offer.
I finally received my FedEx package on the 20th, and returned it on the 21st. The car dealership went ahead and put me in another vehicle. As I said, today is the 3oth, and no phone call about my belongings and no belongings. And I have not received one phone call from my claims adjuster Erin **. No voice mail message from her, not a word. Haven't as of yet spoken to her, although I did get a letter and a bill for payment. This whole situation had stressed me out, I am a single mom of three boys and work every day during the week and sometimes long hours.
It would have been nice if I wouldn't have had to chase everyone down to find out what was going on. I am a nurse at a long term care facility and my job alone is stressful enough. Worrying over all this has given me little sleep and a short temper with my kids and co workers. It has had an effect on me. Now I have another vehicle and no tag to put on it. Don't know what I can do, but feel like I have been drug through the mud then ran over and they should know they can't treat people like this.
Bet if I was the nurse in the ER they came into with half their arm severed off, they would want attention immediately and some relief from the pain. Kinda the same situation, its hurtful enough that you wrecked a vehicle you just had to borrow 1500 dollars to pay down on, and then $673 in taxes, tag and title transfer just two weeks before. It is close to Christmas, you have not even bought your kids anything for Christmas, now you have no ride and don't know whats gonna happen and you done paid your insurance company almost $3000 dollars in one year only to be treated like ** and be stressed out.