Repair shop horror story
01-18-2017, 05:35 PM
#31
Sorry to read all of this AsadDK. Between lawyers, a lousy shop, insurance companies, and now and state of Illinois sounds like you have your work cut out for you.
Keep pursuing and hopefully you'l have a new S or something else by spring.
Keep pursuing and hopefully you'l have a new S or something else by spring.
01-19-2017, 11:10 AM
#33
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Yeah, screw this crap. I spoke to the manager of the adjuster and supervisor I already spoke to. The manager and he is going to reevaluate this and speak to the regional legal adviser about it. Meanwhile, I have already go the ball rolling on the complaint with the Department of Insurance in my state. They give the insurance company 21 days to provide reasoning to this matter. Then, hopefully come to a conclusion. The problem is they just broke code when they changed the price AFTER seeing my bill of sale. Hoping for the best!
02-28-2017, 09:26 AM
#35
So if I were you I'd look at this as two separate instances. You have a failed repair of the car and you had the broken into car situation. If the mechanic refuses to release the car I would get the police involved to get the car released into your custody. If theres no contract and no work was done the mechanic has no room to hold the car. Once you have the car in your possession hand it over to insurance and call it wash.
02-28-2017, 09:40 AM
#36
Insurance is based on the principle of indemnity, which is to put someone back in the same financial condition they were in before the loss. It isn't intended for people to be able to earn a profit. If so, this would create a moral hazard and premiums would be much higher than they are.
Your carrier is supposed to value it as it was before the loss occurred. It sounds like Geico is looking at what the car was worth when you first bought it before any work was done. If the mechanic has completed the engine work and not yet put it back in, they could probably valuate it as if the engine was in, pay to repair, and let you keep the car, but then you'd still need to pay the mechanic to finish the work or him for what he's done and someone else to finish. If the engine wasn't repaired yet, then maybe the car wasn't worth the $14k after all. Your situation is muddied up since the engine wasn't in the car. Hopefully they will work with you on it. Either way, it sounds like they need to revisit that valuation again.
insurance contracts are considered contracts of utmost good faith as they rely on truthful statements by both parties to the contract to work. It's illegal for an adjuster to lie to you. We, however, get lied to a LOT by all sorts of people. Fraud costs insurance companies billions of dollars every year and costs the average household over $1,000 in higher premiums as a result (I recently saw a presentation about this). I don't know about you, but my insurance costs way too much as it is.. A lot of things are done just to cross the t's and dot the i's to help prevent fraud, catch it, or make it more difficult. Asking for unique identifying marks of a stolen vehicle is a standard question asked in recorded statements, not to attempt to "low-ball" someone, but to help identify an item later if needed. People change Vins, serial numbers, repaint, etc so every little bit helps. I've had that question help us recover a stolen dozier that I paid over $140,000 for. They had changed the serial number and we were only able to identify it because the insured had custom built a roof over the cab.
That being said, if you're buying a car and the ad says it's pristine, but they mention in conversation that they flipped it.. well then that car is obviously not worth as much. Extreme example, but same concept as the scratches on the motorcycle.
I don't work for Geico and I'm not saying any particular situation mentioned was fair or handled properly. All I'm saying is there may be more reasoning behind why insurance companies do what they do than you may realize. It may not necessarily be because they are evil.
I hope your situation works out for the best.
Your carrier is supposed to value it as it was before the loss occurred. It sounds like Geico is looking at what the car was worth when you first bought it before any work was done. If the mechanic has completed the engine work and not yet put it back in, they could probably valuate it as if the engine was in, pay to repair, and let you keep the car, but then you'd still need to pay the mechanic to finish the work or him for what he's done and someone else to finish. If the engine wasn't repaired yet, then maybe the car wasn't worth the $14k after all. Your situation is muddied up since the engine wasn't in the car. Hopefully they will work with you on it. Either way, it sounds like they need to revisit that valuation again.
insurance contracts are considered contracts of utmost good faith as they rely on truthful statements by both parties to the contract to work. It's illegal for an adjuster to lie to you. We, however, get lied to a LOT by all sorts of people. Fraud costs insurance companies billions of dollars every year and costs the average household over $1,000 in higher premiums as a result (I recently saw a presentation about this). I don't know about you, but my insurance costs way too much as it is.. A lot of things are done just to cross the t's and dot the i's to help prevent fraud, catch it, or make it more difficult. Asking for unique identifying marks of a stolen vehicle is a standard question asked in recorded statements, not to attempt to "low-ball" someone, but to help identify an item later if needed. People change Vins, serial numbers, repaint, etc so every little bit helps. I've had that question help us recover a stolen dozier that I paid over $140,000 for. They had changed the serial number and we were only able to identify it because the insured had custom built a roof over the cab.
That being said, if you're buying a car and the ad says it's pristine, but they mention in conversation that they flipped it.. well then that car is obviously not worth as much. Extreme example, but same concept as the scratches on the motorcycle.
I don't work for Geico and I'm not saying any particular situation mentioned was fair or handled properly. All I'm saying is there may be more reasoning behind why insurance companies do what they do than you may realize. It may not necessarily be because they are evil.
I hope your situation works out for the best.
03-08-2017, 08:09 AM
#37
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Update is:
Lawsuit filed and subpoena served late Feb. The repair shop spoke to an attorney and had that attorney call mine regarding the issue. His attorney advised him to settle with me and told that to my attorney Feb 24th. He sent out a notice of lien letter to my via certified mail stating he will hold a public sale of my S2k to repay himself via the Lien.
This makes no sense to me because the deadline to respond to my lawsuit is actually Tomorrow March 9th. No response or communication has happened from my attorney and the attorney the repair shop had used temporarily. In my opinion, It seems that the opposing council advised the repair shop to settle with me due to the nature of this lawsuit based on the fact that he did tell my attorney about a settlement. The shop owner did not like that route and decided to send me a notification of sale for a "lien" he apparently is going to get - which I have no record of to date (I checked DMV site to see current Liens). A lien is only valid if the work was completed - which clearly was not at the time of the break-in. The letter he sent me was very amateur looking with no real legal bound or attorney signature which leads me to believe he went against his attorney's advise and is trying his hardest not to pay me. My attorney is confused because he has never had someone try to file for a mechanic's lien when a case is pending against them. The deadline for the lawsuit if March 9th and the date that the letter claimed the sale of my car is supposedly happening is March 31st.
Come tomorrow, if he doesn't respond to the lawsuit, I will file for a default judgement against him. This seems like a classic case of stubbornness and failure to realize the facts of the situation. I just hope all ends well.
Lawsuit filed and subpoena served late Feb. The repair shop spoke to an attorney and had that attorney call mine regarding the issue. His attorney advised him to settle with me and told that to my attorney Feb 24th. He sent out a notice of lien letter to my via certified mail stating he will hold a public sale of my S2k to repay himself via the Lien.
This makes no sense to me because the deadline to respond to my lawsuit is actually Tomorrow March 9th. No response or communication has happened from my attorney and the attorney the repair shop had used temporarily. In my opinion, It seems that the opposing council advised the repair shop to settle with me due to the nature of this lawsuit based on the fact that he did tell my attorney about a settlement. The shop owner did not like that route and decided to send me a notification of sale for a "lien" he apparently is going to get - which I have no record of to date (I checked DMV site to see current Liens). A lien is only valid if the work was completed - which clearly was not at the time of the break-in. The letter he sent me was very amateur looking with no real legal bound or attorney signature which leads me to believe he went against his attorney's advise and is trying his hardest not to pay me. My attorney is confused because he has never had someone try to file for a mechanic's lien when a case is pending against them. The deadline for the lawsuit if March 9th and the date that the letter claimed the sale of my car is supposedly happening is March 31st.
Come tomorrow, if he doesn't respond to the lawsuit, I will file for a default judgement against him. This seems like a classic case of stubbornness and failure to realize the facts of the situation. I just hope all ends well.
Last edited by AsadDK; 03-08-2017 at 08:11 AM.
03-10-2017, 11:20 PM
#38
Jesus your going to be dealing with this till the end of the year best case scenario. Seems like hes done this a few times and continues to do it because hes found his own little loop holes. Looking at this you are currently in a pickle. You owe him money, he did do some work and even if he didn't finish hes entitled to get paid for the work done. If you quit half way into a month at a job, and you get paid monthly do you receive money for that half of a month you worked even tho the project you were working on isnt finished? Yes of course you do.
You dont want to pay him because your car was fked under his "protection" is what im getting at. And YOU are in the wrong, Sounds tough but get over it. And I can open any S with a my set of auto jjigglers. (Note I follow the law, they're handy for when people lock their keys in the car and I can open it in 20 seconds.) He has the right to with hold your property until the bill is figured out. Just because there wasnt forced entry doesnt mean that he left it open. Many people as myself practice unlocking locks and it just takes a guy who isnt a outstanding citizen to steal your sh!t There's even a way to gain acces and unlock the door through the soft top that doesnt damage it nor disfigure it, not that I will tell anyone how its done. And as of why he left it unlocked, he can tell a judge all the sh!ts been stolen why would I lock it now and the judge would have a hard time arguing back. The right way of doing these things is documentation which you have NONE. A lawyer would have paid him the 8k, got the car back and then sued him for the damages done to the car under his care with documentation. Yes 8k is unreasonable and quite a fudged number but since you didnt do your do diligence and get an estimate in writing you gave him the right to fudge the numbers.
You think that because you know the definition of a lien
That it will somehow save you? No you have NOTHING in writing, NO paper work, NO estimates, NO time frame. Your word vs his word does NOT hold up in court you will lose if you think you can get away with this. This is probably why he is doing the things he is doing. He has done this before and he seems to be successful at it. You OWE him money like it or not and if your unwilling to pay he can do as he wishes with your property.
Being sued for consumer and commercial fraud is not a big deal. He will get a slap on the wrist and you will end up with the stick in your arse. As long as its reasonable to the services given it favors him. But he has wiggle room to fk around and make some bs up since you dont have paperwork, all you have is your word vs his. He could charge you daily for being parked on his lot and you said it was 3 months? And you have no say, All you can do is refute it and I'm sure he'll whip out his store policy stating everyone pays for this blah blah blah here are receipts from other customers blah blah. Done deal money in his pocket.
Deadlines arent very serious unless its a court appearance. He can have 1000 excuses ready for why contact was not established and its ok with the law. Its your attorneys job to contact him and it sounds like hes doing is piss poor job. He's not suppose to contact your attorney, you are sueing him, of course hes going to be avoiding the phones from him and legally you cant do anything about it, he can say he never got any. You on the other hand just received a notice which means this mf is gonna sell your car legal through a lien even if theres no paper work signed 3 months ago. He has receipts and can also can state hours worked. You have nothing. I'd move very fast if I were you. Your going to loose a lot more than the original bill he gave you with added frustration and head ache. I wish the best for you outcome. Next time get documentation. You dont buy a car without signing a couple papers, thousand dollars worth of work on a car deserves the same respect.
You dont want to pay him because your car was fked under his "protection" is what im getting at. And YOU are in the wrong, Sounds tough but get over it. And I can open any S with a my set of auto jjigglers. (Note I follow the law, they're handy for when people lock their keys in the car and I can open it in 20 seconds.) He has the right to with hold your property until the bill is figured out. Just because there wasnt forced entry doesnt mean that he left it open. Many people as myself practice unlocking locks and it just takes a guy who isnt a outstanding citizen to steal your sh!t There's even a way to gain acces and unlock the door through the soft top that doesnt damage it nor disfigure it, not that I will tell anyone how its done. And as of why he left it unlocked, he can tell a judge all the sh!ts been stolen why would I lock it now and the judge would have a hard time arguing back. The right way of doing these things is documentation which you have NONE. A lawyer would have paid him the 8k, got the car back and then sued him for the damages done to the car under his care with documentation. Yes 8k is unreasonable and quite a fudged number but since you didnt do your do diligence and get an estimate in writing you gave him the right to fudge the numbers.
You think that because you know the definition of a lien
A lien is only valid if the work was completed - which clearly was not at the time of the break-in. The letter he sent me was very amateur looking with no real legal bound or attorney signature which leads me to believe he went against his attorney's advise and is trying his hardest not to pay me.
Being sued for consumer and commercial fraud is not a big deal. He will get a slap on the wrist and you will end up with the stick in your arse. As long as its reasonable to the services given it favors him. But he has wiggle room to fk around and make some bs up since you dont have paperwork, all you have is your word vs his. He could charge you daily for being parked on his lot and you said it was 3 months? And you have no say, All you can do is refute it and I'm sure he'll whip out his store policy stating everyone pays for this blah blah blah here are receipts from other customers blah blah. Done deal money in his pocket.
Deadlines arent very serious unless its a court appearance. He can have 1000 excuses ready for why contact was not established and its ok with the law. Its your attorneys job to contact him and it sounds like hes doing is piss poor job. He's not suppose to contact your attorney, you are sueing him, of course hes going to be avoiding the phones from him and legally you cant do anything about it, he can say he never got any. You on the other hand just received a notice which means this mf is gonna sell your car legal through a lien even if theres no paper work signed 3 months ago. He has receipts and can also can state hours worked. You have nothing. I'd move very fast if I were you. Your going to loose a lot more than the original bill he gave you with added frustration and head ache. I wish the best for you outcome. Next time get documentation. You dont buy a car without signing a couple papers, thousand dollars worth of work on a car deserves the same respect.
03-11-2017, 04:35 PM
#39
He didn't finish the work, so while yes, he should paid for the work he did do, he can't legally do a mechanics lein. His letter was scare tactic. Done poorly since the date he used was too far future.
Can he prove the work he did? Doesn't seem like it. So other paying for engine removal, not sure what he can legally br entitled to.
Sounds like law is on yoyr side, and that he is a sleeze (sending letter against his own legal council advice, trying to intimidate you).
Can he prove the work he did? Doesn't seem like it. So other paying for engine removal, not sure what he can legally br entitled to.
Sounds like law is on yoyr side, and that he is a sleeze (sending letter against his own legal council advice, trying to intimidate you).
03-12-2017, 07:33 AM
#40
To me this thread is a lesson about how important it is to select good trustworthy people to work on your stuff. Also, the reality is that this situation is not the kind of thing that happens a lot and it would present a problem even if everyone involved was trying to do the right thing. It is a weird sequence of events.