(Very Long...sorry) So the nightmare began last Monday when I started the claim for my little accident. Shouldn't have been too hard since the other guy was at fault. Our insurance is Allstate. His insurance is Bear River Mutual. May I just say "Do not ever use or deal with Bear River Mutual". I was a little frustrated that I had to open my claim with Allstate via the Internet and not with my agent. But after all the other things that have happened that was only a minor inconvenience. So anyway, I open the claim with Allstate on Monday and called the local agent and told them I have a claim # can I take my car to the shop. "No you need to wait for the appraisal first." Okay. Then Tuesday I get a call from some female voice who tells me she is from Bear River and that she will be sending out someone to appraise the damage to the car. I let her know that it's at the house and she said okay the appraiser will call you to set up the time. Fine. So a Bear River appraiser shows up Wednesday afternoon and begins to fight with me over what looks like real damage from the wreck and what doesn't. He tells me that the crack in the windshield couldn't have been caused by the wreck. Um, funny, it wasn't there before, and I had admitted that there were other rock chips on the other side of the car but not that one. But he thinks that I have been driving this wrecked car around town and got a crack sometime after the wreck. WHAT? Then I tell him that we had a small oil leak before but now it's worse. So he tells me that it won't be covered because it was already leaking before and it wasn't part of the wreck. So if there was a small leak before wouldn't an impact probably make it worse? Not according to him. The he tells me that the gas smell that you get when you start the car isn't part of the wreck either. Apparently he thinks that I always drive my two kids around in a car that smells like it has a gas leak. It's safe to do that right? WHATEVER! By this time my Dad who came to the scene was yelling at him and I'm on the phone with Brian telling him to get his butt home so he can fight with this guy too. So this guys is a total jerk. He tells me to call Karlie and gives me her # so I can arrange the rental car. I tell him that I have Allstate coming and leaves the house having all three of us all worked up. I also get a call from Allstate who was very nice, asked how I felt, if I was okay, and he walked me through all my options. He took a recorded statement from me and wondered why Bear River hadn't got a statement from me as well. He asked if Bear River had admitted fault and I told him that I hadn't even talked to them except the auto adjuster. He said he would send an Allstate adjuster to see what they thought and that I could decide if Allstate or Bear River is who I want to work with. I get a call from Bear River saying they will not cover the windshield, the oil leak, or the gas leak, and he quoted me $2007.00. I also get a call from Allstate to come and look at the car. Allstate shows up with a laptop in hand and makes me an estimate on the spot. He thoroughly listed each and every bracket and part etc. He believes me when I tell him about the windshield, and also tells me that he will have the shop inspect the gas smell and the oil leak and see what they think. So incredibly nice and so incredibly opposite then Bear River. So after seeing that Allstate is quoting us 2786.03 and they will cover the windshield both Brian and I feel better going with Allstate. So I call the Allstate adjuster and tell him that we want to proceed with Allstate. The Allstate agent was shocked and told me that he had just got off the phone with Karlie at Bear River and that they were claiming full liability and that if they are doing that we should go with Bear River because we wouldn't have to pay our deductible and they will cover my Rental Car. I told him that I still hadn't received any calls from Bear River regarding my Rental or my Claim. So I called Karlie just to ask about the rental and make sure they would cover all costs. Karlie didn't answer. 3 hours later I tried her again, she didn't answer but immediately called back and said "This is Karlie - you had a question." NICE! So I said, "Yeah, my insurance just informed me that you are taking full liability of this claim." She said "I told you that when I called you the first day." I, using my knowledge of customer service, let that go. So I said "Well, I have a quote from your auto adjuster. I was wondering what happens if the shop finds more damage." she says. "We only cover the damage that is part of the wreck and that has already been quoted to you." Okay. "But what if they find additional damage?" "We only cover the damage from the wreck." "I understand that but what if they find more damage?" "We have already mailed your check for the amount of $2007.00." "What? I didn't authorize that as I had my insurance involved as well." "It doesn't matter, we only cover what was part of the wreck and that's what we are covering." The battle goes on and on. Then she yells at me that it had been two days since the car had been looked at and it still wasn't in the shop. I said. "It needs to be towed." She said. "we won't cover that." I said, "What, yes you will, it smells like gas when I start it up and I'm not driving it." She says, "No, we can not guarantee that the gas leak is part of the wreck so we will not cover it." So I say, "You want me to get in it and drive it with the chance that there is a gas leak? Your appraiser even smelled the gas leak." She says "Your gas tank is in the rear and the collision was in the front so there is no reason that gas would be leaking." I said, "Funny, gas has to get to the engine in the front somehow." So after fighting about that I ask about my rental car. She said I cannot have a rental until the car gets to the shop and it's my fault the car isn't in the shop yet. ON AND ON AND ON. I was so frustrated I was yelling back at her and also on the verge of tears. My voice kept cracking. I got off the phone and called Brian and broke down. I couldn't even talk and I was actually shaking. We decided right then that we would not deal with Bear River anymore. Then I get a call back from Karlie telling me that she talked to the auto adjuster and he agrees that I shouldn't drive it and it should be towed. Funny. I actually asked her "Would it have hurt you to check into that before you yelled at me the first time?" She got mad and ended up hanging up on me again. Then a little while later we got a call from Enterprise Rental telling us that we had a car waiting for us. We declined to take it as we would not be dealing with Bear River but found it funny that an hour earlier I couldn't get a car. Anyway, this week is starting a little better as first thing is AM, our auto shop called and came and towed the car out there. The guy that picked up the car commented on how he could smell the gas leak and could see the oil dripping out of it. Oh, but don't tell Bear River that...it wasn't part of the wreck!"
posted by Staci
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