Jonathan writes:
On January 1st, a friend of mine went to visit another friend in CT (I am from NJ), and unfortunately hit black ice, and proceeded into a guardrail. The accident, although at the time did not seem too terrible (even though the front end looked completely shot), and I figured I would be up and driving relatively soon. Little did I know this would not be true at all…
The initial call to Geico was great. Melissa, the operator who received my call was gracious, sweet, and understanding. Upon telling her the story of the accident, she said she would wave the “first 50 miles” clause, and allow me to get my car towed to my shop of choice, All Phase Automotive in Nyack, NY. So, after I thought I would have the car towed the next day, I rented a car (on my own dime, damned lack of rental coverage), and drove back.
For the next two days, Geico refused to find a tow operator to get my car towed to my shop of choice, and said they would only pay to have it towed some where in CT (despite my willingness to pay for the extra miles), and ended up referring me to Durable Radiator and Auto-body in Waterbury, CT.
Now with the car still in front of my friend’s house, it took Durable a further two days to pick the car up, and a full three weeks to allow for a Geico adjuster to even get an estimate, which initially came to $6200. Every call placed to either Geico, or Durable yielded no result save for blaming of the other party. It was either a computer problem on Durable’s end with concern to submitting the claim, or Geico not receiving the correct info. Either way, my spidey senses were tingling on this one.
With the estimate finally completed it was merely a waiting game. On Feb 13th, I placed a call to Durable to find out when the car would be ready, and was told it was in painting (the same answer I would then get for the next two weeks of calls). Finally, on March 5th, a day shy of the three month mark, I was told my car was ready and could pick it up. So, come that Friday, I schlepped from my home to the shop, picked up my car, and being happy to have my car back, did not give it the thorough examination I should have, at the time trusting an authorized Geico shop. This is where the fun truly begins.
The following day was the first instance of night driving that occurred after I picked up the car. What happened you ask? No odometer and speedometer lights. Now, I’m starting to panic. I’m asking myself what else could be wrong? So, the following Monday, as soon as they open, I bring the car to the shop I wanted to from the very beginning. Mike, ever the great shop owner puts my car on priority, and proceeds to check it as I head back to work. Not an hour later, he finds GLARING repair issues ranging from aftermarket parts that were not installed properly, to shoddy painting, parts that were billed but never replaced, and the best part, a bent frame. Not being one to stand around and watch a friend and customer be taken advantage of, Mike begins the process of getting a claims adjuster back down to his shop to look things over. Upon doing so the next day (now the 11th) Bryan, the new adjuster totals the car. Upon explanation of my bill, he tells me that although the initial amount was $6200, Durable charged an extra $3000!!! for supplement work they did not even do properly.
So, at this point, although I am livid, I feel a bit of justification seeing as the right thing was being done. The next day, I get a call telling me they cannot total the car. My heart sinks. How could Geico total the car one day, and UNTOTAL it the next? This sort of thing would have been inconceivable to me before this moment. Fortunately, the following day they re-totaled the car, and I was told I should get a check within five business days. Sounds all well and good right?
Well, after three separate phone calls to the total loss representative assigned to my case, I have not yet received word back, and I am still left carless, and with no idea when I am to receive my check. Not only was my car not repaired properly, but because Geico steered me to one of their shops illegally, I’ve been without a car for close to four months, and thus far have no recourse. I just felt that although their commercials appear to allow them to perform small to large miracles, this time around, they failed me as a customer, and as such, the loyal readers of The Consumerist should know to beware.
LVX,
Jonathan Goffan
Sounds like Jonathan needs some TLE (Tender Loving Escalation). Some ideas for shaking the tree: Here are some executive emails that you could blast your story off to:
lsimpson@geico.com, gkalinsky@geico.com, onicely@geico.com, jstewart@geico.com, jreed@geico.com, twells@geico.com, broberts@geic.com, bmiller@geico.com, BoJordan@GEICO.COm, cgarden@geico.com, sabrams@geico.com, dstinson@geico.com, ptate@geico.com, tward@geico.com, contactmarketing@geico.com, ctasher@geico.com, cfernandez@geico.com, jminshall@geico.com
You could also try mailing a complaint letter to Warren Buffet’s office (he owns Berkshire Hathaway, which owns GEICO). Poop runs downhill, as they say.
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC.
1440 Kiewit Plaza
Omaha, NE 68131
And GEICO, if you’re reading this, give this man his money!
(Photo: simondhweller)
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heehee. I kinda know the guy that owns Durable. My brother is really good friends with his son. They fixed my car many-a-time when I was in CT. And it’s in waterbury, not waterford.
I had an issue with a very “progressive” insurance company. I was able to threaten the filing of a “bad face claim” and suddenly things started moving. If they have too many bad face claims, they will be unable to operate in the state where the claims are filed.
You need to email Warren Buffet and tell him his company is not credit worthy.
D’oh, hit submit too early. I meant to mention that I’m surprised Durable did a shoddy job. They did a really good job fixing our cars when we had them repaired there.
Cheaper insurance = crappier service.
@laserjobs: I’ve heard it said that Warren doesn’t have an email address.
GEICO nightmares. Like when I backed into a tree using my Godfather’s pickup on a third party’s private property.
GEICO said they wouldn’t pay. I pointed to the part of my insurance contract where it specifically noted I was covered for any vehicle I’m driving as an incidental driver. GEICO stalled and didn’t call either of us back for weeks.
Six months later, it’s finally all wrapped up satisfactorily. My Godfather, being a lawyer, just sued me and GEICO. They paid without further provocation after getting their local lawyer in the loop.
Unfortunately, this all happened in Louisiana, which despite low population, low median value of cars, and low per year mileage, has some of the absolute WORST drivers in the world. Insurance companies take forever to resolve anything in LOuisiana, and the body shop work I’ve had done there is apalling – it takes 3-4 visits back to the body shop to get anything fixed right..
Three insurance companies to steer clear of – Geico, Progressive, and Esurance. You have been warned.
@bonzombiekitty: any problems with your car repair from them, you did say many-a-time
Ugh. I know it doesn’t help now, but I’d like to suggest you pick up AAA Plus. Regular AAA gives you 5 miles of towing. Plus gives you 100.
The policy pays for itself for the year the first time you need a tow — I had to get towed once due to Jiffy Lube stripping the threads on my oil pan drain plug, which wasn’t discovered til the car had been drained of oil … and having the AAA Plus policy meant it was towed to the shop of my choice, which was able to make the repairs with no problem.
Would have cost me a lot more than the policy for the year to pay for that myself!
Plus, the coverage is on you, not the car, so even if you’re with a friend or in a rental or in a borrowed car, you’re still covered.
@CaliforniaCajun: Yikes, your own godfather sued you? I’m sorry…
Maybe even a caveman can’t do it.
@Ben Popken:
Write him a letter
WARREN E BUFFETT
5505 FARNAM ST
OMAHA, NE 68132
I love the line “proceeded into a guardrail.”
It is at times like this, reading things like this that I’m happy that I have all my insurance through a Country Insurance – a smaller place… through a guy who had handled my parents insurance for many years. Whenever I had problems or claims (over past 15 years, 2 house issues & 1 car issue) – things were taken care of very fast.
I probable pay a little more then I would through places like Geico, but it’s worth the fast service & help I can get through someone who locally works with me.
@Buran:
Agreed. I got towed from Scranton PA to my home in bergen county NJ without a dime charged to me. AAA Plus FTW!
God I hate Geico. Have a look at my story:
[consumerist.com]
Got Amica now and HAPPY.
I had progressive in between, which was slightly less than Geico, but my bill with Amica, when all is said and done, is literally 1/4 of what I was paying with the other assclowns, and I’m getting better coverage.
I also strongly recommend to you that you contact the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance and request assistance from them: [www.state.nj.us]
You wouldn’t believe how quickly insurance companies respond to calls from state insurance commissions.
I also recommend you contact the New Jersey Deparment of Banking and Insurance for assistance.
[www.state.nj.us]
@NathanLV: Ha! In Texas the Department of Insurance is headed by all the top board members of the insurance companies. It’s a disgrace.
@Pro-Pain: Truer words have never been spoken. This story further illustrates to me why Geico sucks. My wife’s story (nutshell – Progressive gives her a rental car w/ substandard tire tread, she hydroplanes on the interstate and crashes into a jersey barrier, they blame her) is why Progressive sucks. I’ll stick with State Farm, thank you.
GEICO is just plain evil. Even if they offered decent insurance and service I wouldn’t consider using them, because (like all insurance companies) they perpetuate the myth that if you’re ever ticketed for speeding you’re a “high risk” driver. Where they get especially evil is that they helped fund the development of laser speed guns and they buy and donate them to police departments. If they were the only company that would insure my car, I’d walk.
I realize it’s not available to a lot of people, but I love love LOVE USAA. If your dad/mom is or was military, they are definitely worth it. (My dad retired in 1998 but I’m still eligible…) One instance where the military is taking care of its own.
@Buran: You probably know this by now, but NO JIFFY LUBE. EVER. Oil-change monkeys don’t touch my car. If I’m too lazy to do it myself, my dealer will change the oil for about $10 more than the cost of the oil and filter at AutoZone, so the cost of laziness is $10.
@GearheadGeek:
Are you opposed to the enforcement of speed limits?
USAA is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend that you pick it up.
State Farm is an excellent insurance company.
My younger brother is a poor, poor driver. He basically totaled his truck twice and each time State Farm quickly fixed it.
I can tell you that every part on this Ford pickup has been completely replaced after two bad accidents.
Also, I had my car fixed at Carstar in Schererville, IN, which is a great company. I met the owner and he helped me out with lower shop rates because I only had liability on my Corolla and I had to pay out of pocket.
@Turcicus: There are lots of horror stories about State Farm, too, including a woman who ended up paralyzed because they repeatedly delayed paying for her medical treatment.
In general you should never take your car to a shop that’s been recommended by your insurance company. It usually means the shop has agreed to do substandard work in exchange for lower payment. In most states you cannot be forced to use the shop the insurance company is steering you to.
When people ask for recommendations on car insurance, they want what the rates are, how easy it is to file a claim, etc.
But rarely do I get asked, “What happens if you get into an accident? Do they take care of you?”
While GEICO and others may offer lower rates, it comes at a price somewhere else. Friends of mine got kicked out of GEICO for getting into an accident. That’s one accident.
I’m not going toot my insurance company (Allstate), but you want a car insurance company that’s going to take care of you when things go bad.
@Buran: In many (most?) states you don’t actually sue the insurance company directly, you have to sue the insured party. In some jurisdictions it’s not even legal to disclose that your insurance company is on the hook for damages or legal fees!
Calling the regulatory agency is definitely a good idea. I had some issues with an insurance company (also in NJ, btw) giving me the runaround for weeks. Then someone recommended calling the state insurance regulators and wouldn’t you know it the claim was completely settled 2 days later.
I had a similar issue with them. I had good experiences with Geico, so when my car was broken into (and the door heavily damaged) I thought nothing of going to the “Geico-recommended” repair shop near my house.
They told me the damage was exactly equa l to my deductible..go figure.
Two days later, I went to pick up the car. They said it was all done and asked for payment, without walking me through what was done or showing me the car. Lo and behold, I go outside to look at it first – and literally NO work was done to the car. It was the same as when I dropped it off.
After another day, the work was done, but something still seemed off on the door, and the radio antenna (which was also damaged in the theft) wasn’t fixed.
Two months later, the entire weatherstripping on the door fell off, and I still do not have a working radio. While I have been reasonably happy with Geico still, these “partnerships” they have with local dealers seem to be a sham with no accountability. The Geico adjuster seemed much more concerned with making the dealer (he works with) happy than me or Geico HQ.
Geico is sitting on $3000 of my money.
Since the car was stolen years ago, I can’t hope to get it back. They stalled me for over a year, using lame excuses like “The check is sitting here on my desk, I just need to have it signed,” to “You haven’t received it? My goodness, I mailed it a week ago. Well, I mailed it, so there’s nothing more I can do.”
Never again.
@Pro-Pain: @donnie5: I had a bent frame on my passat and had a wonderful time with Progressive. Not only was my car fixed in a week, they covered everything sans my deductable. It probably had to do with going to Gene’s which is a legendary VW autoshop (if you can actually BE a legendary VW autoshop) in the western Philly suburbs.
The adjuster came within a day of it being in the shop and he and Gene’s negotiated a good settlement. I left with a car as good as new with a $500 bill.
Because of that experience, I was sad to switch insurance but Progressive doesn’t offer home owners insurance and I saved a boatload by combining the two with AAA Midatlantic.
@sohmc: To be honest, my take on car insurance companies is that they’re all out to rip me off, so I might as well go with the one that will take the least amount of my money in worthless premiums and carry as little insurance as I can legally get away with.
Jonathan from NJ is not a consumer support blogger. So, to help him, we hired Ben Popken.
Yeah, but think of the money you’ve saved…
@Buran: Sounds like it wasn’t a spiteful thing – but just a way to insure that GEICO took the claim very seriously. I’d have my Godfather do the same thing in that case.
@Elvisisdead: Only problem with USAA is that little military service clause and/or grandfathering which I’m not sure people would want to endure to get cheap car insurance rates. Then again, it IS New Jersey.
@Ditch1852:
An insurance company cannot force you to go to a certain shop.
You should have called the shop of your choice and let them arrange towing. It would have been a legitimate part of the collision claim in the end.
I have Geico, but only because they were 50% cheaper than progressive. Progressive was great for all of my claims.
Rear ended at stop sign by drunk who ran. $9500 on 2 year old Miata.
I then co signed for my nephew to buy a car (he lived with us at the time) and put him and the car on our policy. It broke down so we loaned him our Xterra to go to the auto parts store. On his return he rear ended our Infiniti. We had a $1k deductible on the Xterra and a $500 on the Inifinity. both vehicles worked and we put off repairing the Xterra nearly a year, but they still had no problem with supplemental claims. I never did get the damage to the Infiniti fixed (minor cosmetic damage, but over $1k to fix) but it wasn’t because of insurance issues.
Later his Miata hit a rock, causing the airbags to deploy (hole in the oil pan, and there was a recall on the airbag controller we had overlooked). it totaled the car. We also had a $1000 deductible, but the blue book was high enough that we were paid $700 more than we paid for the car 6 months prior.
I would strongly recommend Progressive to anyone after my experiences.
3rd in line with the USAA love. They took care of things the one car accident I had 9 years ago with no major trauma to my rates.
I have had the “It’s totaled. Oh wait, no it’s not.” experience with GEICO as well. So, it must not be all that rare. Otherwise, they were pretty decent. They were the insurer of someone who hit my car.
One thing I did find helpful: When I went to pick up the car, there was a printout of about three pages of all the things that were repaired or replaced. It was about $6500 worth of work. At my car, with the hood open, I had the mechanic walk me through every major line item so that I knew: a) The exact extents of the damage., and b) What they did to fix it.
@Buran: He probably had to inorder to get this guy’s insurance company to start working. They have to cover your legal stuff to certain point in most cases.
People sometimes have to sue themselves to invoke coverage.
I had no problems with GEICO when someone ran into my car while it was parked and drove off without leaving a note.
Their recommended repair facility was Pray Auto Body in Stamford, CT who have a long history of working on VW, Audi and Porsche and are one of very few repair shops in the US authorized to do repairs on aluminum bodied Audis.
The work the shop did was excellent, they had a claims adjuster on hand and my rates didn’t even go up. I dropped off my car, paid the deductable in person when it was done, and that was that.
@Elvisisdead: nice FB ref.
@Canadian Impostor: I don’t knwo about where you are, but most in most states it’s illegal for them to raise your rates if your car was legally parked at the time of the accident.
@Buran: I was named on the lawsuit as the insured. It’s isn’t as though I had to hire a lawyer or show up in court; the suit was against GEICO, who took over six months to pay out a $500.00 claim.
DId I mention my Godfather’s daughter is my lawyer?
I have Geico and I actually love the level of service that I have. They were quite helpful to me when I had a situation of an over-zealous dealership looking to “total” my car in order to get a new or used car sale out of it in the end.
In the end they had to make a repair to the steering column of my Cobalt, when before they claimed my car was involved in an electrical storm and shorted the electronics. Geico was very responsive, and when they figured out what the dealership was telling me was far from the truth, I had the rental car covered [approximately one week] at no cost to me.
I used to have State Farm, but the local rep hounded me morning, noon, and night for additional services.
Funny Geico’s commercials say they came back to New Jersey like they’re doing us a favor. Word on the street is they were fired out of New Jersey for pulling garbage like this. All these places are the same they will gladly take your money, but never like to part with it.
@ClayS: I am opposed to corporate entities like Geico being in the business of enforcing speed limits. I’m opposed to the unsupported lie that anyone who receives a citation for speeding is dangerous driver and therefore a higher risk. I’m also opposed to speed limits set arbitrarily to low levels, rather than set based upon sound traffic-management research.
Law enforcement agencies go along with the insurance lies and pretend that all of their speed enforcement is to address safety concerns. Some is, much isn’t. There’s a valid reason for low speed limits in residential and congested areas, there’s much less justification for many areas in which limits are set artificially low.
This is from [www.cga.ct.gov]
(6) Unfair claim settlement practices. Committing or performing with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice any of the following: (a) Misrepresenting pertinent facts or insurance policy provisions relating to coverages at issue; (b) failing to acknowledge and act with reasonable promptness upon communications with respect to claims arising under insurance policies; (c) failing to adopt and implement reasonable standards for the prompt investigation of claims arising under insurance policies; (d) refusing to pay claims without conducting a reasonable investigation based upon all available information; (e) failing to affirm or deny coverage of claims within a reasonable time after proof of loss statements have been completed; (f) not attempting in good faith to effectuate prompt, fair and equitable settlements of claims in which liability has become reasonably clear; (g) compelling insureds to institute litigation to recover amounts due under an insurance policy by offering substantially less than the amounts ultimately recovered in actions brought by such insureds; (h) attempting to settle a claim for less than the amount to which a reasonable man would have believed he was entitled by reference to written or printed advertising material accompanying or made part of an application; (i) attempting to settle claims on the basis of an application which was altered without notice to, or knowledge or consent of the insured; (j) making claims payments to insureds or beneficiaries not accompanied by statements setting forth the coverage under which the payments are being made; (k) making known to insureds or claimants a policy of appealing from arbitration awards in favor of insureds or claimants for the purpose of compelling them to accept settlements or compromises less than the amount awarded in arbitration; (l) delaying the investigation or payment of claims by requiring an insured, claimant, or the physician of either to submit a preliminary claim report and then requiring the subsequent submission of formal proof of loss forms, both of which submissions contain substantially the same information; (m) failing to promptly settle claims, where liability has become reasonably clear, under one portion of the insurance policy coverage in order to influence settlements under other portions of the insurance policy coverage; (n) failing to promptly provide a reasonable explanation of the basis in the insurance policy in relation to the facts or applicable law for denial of a claim or for the offer of a compromise settlement; (o) using as a basis for cash settlement with a first party automobile insurance claimant an amount which is less than the amount which the insurer would pay if repairs were made unless such amount is agreed to by the insured or provided for by the insurance policy.