Progressive insurance - non-customer service.

[mrsilv04]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
And, if it looks like the ONLY way to get the vehicle back is to pay the $44, I'd make sure that the paper or BB knew about what the body shop did - Id tell the manager of the body shop he is going to look bad in this as well.


I don't have a problem with the body shop on this. They're only trying to be paid in full for the repairs.

The body shop's estimate clearly stated their labor rates, and Progressive received a copy of that estimate up front.

Only after the truck was repaired that they demanded that the body shop take less.

How many of you go to a restaurant, order $10 of food, never complain about the quality or quantity of the food, eat it all, and then try to pay $8 for it when you leave?

That's what Progressive is trying to do here.

 

[addyguy]

I'm starting to think that paying the $44 is the cheapest way out of this - if you go even a minute over on the vehicle rental, you'll be charged rental fees, damage deposit, mileage..whatever on the rental.

I'd imagine the rental company gets the bare-bones 'corporate' rate from Progressive, so if they see this is now on a private person's card, you'll get 'well, it's an extension of the contract, so there's a fee for that...'

 

[JayhawkRoy]

I had heard from my independent body shop owner-friend that Progressive's settlements were "chintzy" and "problematic", as compared to other insurance companies' policies and procedures. I assume this type of activity is what he was referring to. I would pay the $44, move on and make sure everyone I knew understood the situation Progressive put you in. Bad news that is true and correct travels fast and does more damage to Progressive's own reputation and economic well-being than paying the $44 as they should have.

 

[meangreen01]

I just read this entire thread, and out of curiosity, what type of truck are we talking about here, what was the extent of damage, and what was the quote to repair?

 

[mrsilv04]

2000 GMC Sierra Ext. Cab. - 90,000 miles. Every available option except leather seats. Not driven in the winter.

Rear ended. Damage to rear bumper and trailer hitch.

Rear bumper/mounts/pads ruined. Trailer hitch was ruined and pushed forward in collision, and bent/damaged the frame rails where it was bolted to them.

Repairs estimated at less than $2,500.

 

[The Critic]

Return the rental, pay the $44, then take your time in going after Progressive.

 

[onebigunion]

Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Originally Posted By: addyguy
And, if it looks like the ONLY way to get the vehicle back is to pay the $44, I'd make sure that the paper or BB knew about what the body shop did - Id tell the manager of the body shop he is going to look bad in this as well.


I don't have a problem with the body shop on this. They're only trying to be paid in full for the repairs.

The body shop's estimate clearly stated their labor rates, and Progressive received a copy of that estimate up front.

Only after the truck was repaired that they demanded that the body shop take less.

How many of you go to a restaurant, order $10 of food, never complain about the quality or quantity of the food, eat it all, and then try to pay $8 for it when you leave?

That's what Progressive is trying to do here.


I dont know, I think both the shop and Progressive look pretty poor here. This type of thing happens on nearly every claim - the body shop has to be used to dealing with this issue. The estimates are never exactly the same, and I think the insurance estimate is usually the one that wins. Not resolving it before doing the work, and then holding you hostage is unprofessional and unfair. I'd be just as ticked, maybe more so, with the shop.

I'm the LAST person in the world to side with an insurance company, but that body shop isn't acting ethically either in my opinion. Body shops, in my experience, ALWAYS ask to see the insurance appraisal before the work is begun, in order to resoive these differences.

 

[JoeWGauss]

One thing I would suggest it that you call Progressive Corporate HQ and state that indicate that you will be calling your states consumer protection department and the federal trade commission and hiring a lawyer as well. Firmly, but politely state your case and indicate that they pay the amount in full in order that this "incident" doesn't have to go any further. I almost guarantee that "Flo" will pay up immediately and in full.

I'm so sick and tired of these legal extortion agencies (um insurance) being able to pull this [censored]. If it was me ...if they didn't pay up as you politely and rightfully request, I'd would definitely follow through with my threats as mentioned above.

 

[mrsilv04]

Another day of phone calls to Progressive, to see if they can finally move this to some sort of resolution.

What a great company...

 

[meangreen01]

Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Another day of phone calls to Progressive, to see if they can finally move this to some sort of resolution.

What a great company...


I think you're being a little hard on Progressive in this case. My experience over the last couple decades is that poor customer service has become the norm. Very sad, really, and seems to be getting worse.

I've had major issues getting any satisfaction out of people I PAY for goods and services. Home improvement contractors, car dealerships, restaurants, airlines, and so on. It's very frustrating and constantly disappointing how seemingly simple transactions get botched on a regular basis.

I don't accept this pathetic downturn in customer service, and I fight the good fight. But in your case IMO you're being a tad unrealistic and harsh on Progressive. I say this even considering my approval rating of insurance companies is well in unfavorable territory.

Your main complaints are 1)that they took too long to examine the car- 11 days. Well, four of those days were non-business days, which really makes it seven days, which I'd guess is no worse than any other ins company. 2)They took longer than expected to do the actual evaluation causing your dad an inconvenience. You admit the delay was a matter of minutes. If that such a huge inconvenience, then there's a whole slew of activities you may want to avoid- flying, closing on a house, going to court, driving through any major city, etc.

I think you see what I'm getting at. In the end- they fixed the truck at the repair shop you wanted, in IMO a timely manner. They also provided a rental. I admit, the $44 would tick me off too, but it's 2% of the repair(@$2000 not including rental car expense) from a company that you're not a paying customer of.

As was mentioned earlier- you have to pick your battles. I don't think they did too bad a job. I'd cough up the $44 to get the truck back stating you need it, but that you'll be expecting the shop and Progressive to work this out and that you'll be staying on top of it.

 

[mrsilv04]

Originally Posted By: meangreen01
I think you're being a little hard on Progressive in this case. My experience over the last couple decades is that poor customer service has become....


Ummm... The adjuster told us that it would take 25 minutes. I just didn't pick that number out of thin air, did I? I'm using the time frame that HE provided to us, to judge HIS performance. And he blew it.

Seven business days to inspect a damaged car is still unacceptable in my experience.

And whatever else...

I just dealt with an accident where someone insured by Erie Insurance rammed me at 45 miles an hour, and I was barely rolling. The damage to my truck was nearly $10,000 and I'm still in physical therapy.

The Erie adjuster came and inspected my truck while it was sitting in my garage, at a time that was convenient to me, on the third business day after the claim was opened.

And Erie sure handled it a lot better than Progressive has, when everything about the accident was about ten times worse.

I've spent more time and effort dealing with Progressive in the last few DAYS, than I've spent dealing with Erie in MONTHS.

Progressive is not doing a thing to keep this issue proceeding smoothly, at all.

It looks like were going to subrogate the rest of it, as Progressive simply isn't up to the task.

Poor, poor service.

 

[meangreen01]

Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
As I somehow expected would happen, Progressive blew the inspection of the truck. After driving 20 minutes to meet the Progressive adjuster at a place that was convenient for HIM, he promised that he would complete the inspection within 25 minutes and have us on our way.

Fifty (50) minutes later, we were handed the paperwork, and were finally were able to leave. As a result of this continued sloppiness by Progressive, Dad was late getting back to work. Dad let the Progressive adjuster have it, for screwing with his day.

Good job, Progressive. One screw up after another.


Again, your truck is fixed in an expedient fashion(IMO), at the shop of your choosing. They provided a rental. You're ticked at you're dad being delayed by minutes. Only $44 out of ~$2000 in question. Gimme a break... I think Progressive acted OK and you're blasting them unfairly.

 

[Jimmy9190]

Originally Posted By: meangreen01
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
As I somehow expected would happen, Progressive blew the inspection of the truck. After driving 20 minutes to meet the Progressive adjuster at a place that was convenient for HIM, he promised that he would complete the inspection within 25 minutes and have us on our way.

Fifty (50) minutes later, we were handed the paperwork, and were finally were able to leave. As a result of this continued sloppiness by Progressive, Dad was late getting back to work. Dad let the Progressive adjuster have it, for screwing with his day.

Good job, Progressive. One screw up after another.


Again, your truck is fixed in an expedient fashion(IMO), at the shop of your choosing. They provided a rental. You're ticked at you're dad being delayed by minutes. Only $44 out of ~$2000 in question. Gimme a break... I think Progressive acted OK and you're blasting them unfairly.


He's not blasting anyone unfairly. All he wants is for the at-fault driver's insurance to do the right thing and pay for ALL of the damages caused by the at-fault driver, and to do it without a bunch of red tape and hassle. Like anyone else he wants the case handled promptly, professionally and completely. Sounds to me like Progressive missed the mark on all three counts.

I went through this myself last year. I wanted the at-fault driver's insurance to do the right thing too. I found out pretty quick that the only way to get an insurance company to listen and make things right again is to hire a good attorney.

I think that if any one of us here were in the same situation, we would want the case taken care of in a reasonable amount of time, the vehicle fixed right the first time and any medical problems or injuries treated and paid for on time.

This is not too much to ask, it's just more than the at-fault driver's insurance wants to pay for, and it's all about their bottom line and profit. Money is all it is ever about when dealing with a car accident and car insurance companies. Hopefully the OP and his folks can get a good attorney involved and get things set right. Or as close to right as they can hope for.

Insurance companies are like a "friend" that gives you an umbrella and then takes it away from you when it starts raining.

 

[meangreen01]

Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
He's not blasting anyone unfairly. All he wants is for the at-fault driver's insurance to do the right thing and pay for ALL of the damages caused by the at-fault driver, and to do it without a bunch of red tape and hassle. Like anyone else he wants the case handled promptly, professionally and completely. Sounds to me like Progressive missed the mark on all three counts.


As I stated in an earlier post, unfortunately there's poor customer service and normal delays that occur in many transactions in life, that's just the way it is. Nobody likes to wait but everyone has to.

Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
I think that if any one of us here were in the same situation, we would want the case taken care of in a reasonable amount of time,


18 days is all it took from wreck to repairs being completed. If that's not timely for a wreck repair, what do you think is? Some credit goes to the body shop, I'm sure. But 18 days is hardly a slow turnaround and seems acceptable to me. It's not like going through the drive-thru for a burger.

Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
it's just more than the at-fault driver's insurance wants to pay for, and it's all about their bottom line and profit. Money is all it is ever about when dealing with a car accident and car insurance companies.


You're right about that, it's ALL insurance companies. They're not near the top of the list for consumer protection complaints for nothin'. I'm willing to bet, though, that most complaints are far more egregious than being delayed 50 min and a $44 payout discrepancy.

Considering to totality of the whole ordeal, I'd personally be pretty satisfied. I'd still go after the $44, mostly just on principal. I'd call my insurance agent, who I pay and works for me, and ask him to work it out. Chances are he'd just cut me a check because I've been a long time customer.