Maryland auto body shop refuses to fix my car after 3 months of it just sitting there
In July of this year a large tree branch fell on my Jeep Wrangler and had several damages to the body. I filed a claim with my insurance and was given different shops in my area that worked with my insurance that I was told to make an appointment with and see if they were able to fix the damages. Unfortunately, all of them let me know that they would be unable to fix it. My insurance told me that I would have to find a shop on my own that would repair my car. After an extensive search I found a shop that specializes in Jeep Wranglers. I contacted the shop and spoke with (lets call him) Tyler and I let him know of the extensive damage to my car and he assured me that no matter the damage the shop would be able to fix it. I made an appointment to drop it off and I dropped it off mid-late August. I was told that as soon as the supplemental estimate submitted to my insurance was approved the car would be fixed by the end of September. September is almost over and I am told by Tyler that there is a hold up on Allstates end. I call Allstate and they let me know that the shop has not submitted a supplemental estimate and has not contacted Allstate in anyway since August when they received and cashed a payment of $6000. I call the body shop hoping to speak to Tyler and ask him what is going on on his end and he refuses to answer my call I am let know by the receptionist that he will call me back as soon as he can. I never get a call back. I call a couple days later and the receptionist lets me know that Tyler isn’t in and has not provided anyone with any information about my car. I decide to show up to the shop and find Tyler there and ask to see my car. It is disassembled at this point and Tyler assures me that all parts have been ordered and only one part hasn’t arrived. He then lets me know that he will be submitting the supplemental estimate that very day after meeting with an Allstate estimator using their version of facetime called virtual assist. I then ask Tyler that once the supplemental is approved how long after will it take for my car to be repaired. He once again assures me three times that I will be picking up my fixed car no later than the last week of October. This was the first week of October. It is now Nov 2 and I still don’t have my car. Last week I spoke with Tyler over the phone and he let me know that my car was close to done with all the repairs and he just needed the final payment from Allstate before handing over the car and that he would call me Monday or Tuesday (Oct 30 or 31) and let me know the exact day to pick up my car. He never called. I tried calling all day the 31st and he never answered my phone calls. I called again today (Nov 1) and was able to speak with the receptionist who let me know that Tyler did not come into work today and once again did not leave nay information regarding my car. I asked if she was able to communicate with him and let him know that I wish to speak with him and that my next action would be to take my car out of the body shop. I then call my insurance immediately to see if it is even an option to take my car out of the shop and into a new one and was told that first I would have to find out what state my car is in first because if they have begun repairs they would first need to be paid for the repairs done so far and I let the rep know that they were basically done and that the shop was just waiting for Allstate to submit the final payment for the car to be released back to me. The representative let me know that Tyler had not completed the virtual assis in order to get his estimate approved and that when Allstate managed to contact him he let them know that he was "not seeking any compensation or approval on anything from Allstate at this moment." That occurred on October 3rd. I then call the shop again and ask the receptionist to be fully transparent with me and she tells me "Honestly, nothing has been done to your car since it got her except for disassembling it. Some parts have been ordered and received but they were damaged so they fixed them a bit in order to install them but have not yet been installed." I asked if Tyler had some sort of personal vengeance against me or if she treated all his clients this to which she replied "I see other cars come in, get repaired and returned to their owners and yours is just sitting there." So then I ask her who the next person higher up from Tyler would be and how can I contact them. She tells me to call their main location and ask to speak to the manager their and let her know what is going on and hopefully that gets Tyler moving. I call and speak with the manager and let her know everything and she tells me it is unacceptable and will immediately make calls and figure out what is going on and how to solve this problem and she was call me right back. I never get a call back. I call Allstate again to know what the procedure will be to take my car out of that shop and into a new one. I was let know that since the car was disassembled that if I do take my car out I would have to argue with the shop to give to me the $6000 that Allsate had originally paid them and take my car and the $6000 to a new shop where I will have to pay for the repairs out of pocket at the new shop because due to the disassembly of the car Allstate can no longer identify the source of the damages, whether it was the tree falling on the car or potential damages sustained at the shop it is currently in. So I now have to decide to let my car rot in the hands of the most unprofessional, dishonest, irresponsible shop or pay thousand of dollars out of pocket to get my car repaired. What legal action can I pursue?
Posted Nov 2, 2023, 1:20 AM UTC