by flower power » Thu May 14, 2009 11:07 pm
My son's car was hit last week in the parking lot of a Giant Food Store. He was backing out of a parking spot and driving forward when a kid in a dodge ram truck backed up into his left front fender damaging the fender the hood and also cracked the windshield. My son's car is a 97 Chevy Cavalier Z24. I know it is 12 years old but he loves the car, he is slowly making some needed repairs on it has put a great deal of money into it and he wants to keep it. The kid who hit him said he would pay for the damage which was $2500.00 as long as my son signed a paper stating he would not have to pay any more for any hidden damage. We advised him not to sign anything so the kid decided to think about it for a day. In the meantime we figured $2500.00 was acceptable and called the kid to inform him of our decision. The next day my son and the kid who hit him made arrangements for payment to take place this past Tuesday night. The accident happened last Thursday. Early Tuesday evening my son got a text message saying he would not pay the money and we should report it to his insurance. I did that the next day, now I am almost sorry I did because I fear the insurance company declaring it a total loss. Was I wrong in reporting this, can I cancel the claim and take the kid to small claims court? My son will do anything to keep this car. Please advise. The car is driveable and the truck took almost no damage at all. I wanted to also add this was reported to the police and they listed the boy driving the truck as responsible for the accident. I did give the info from the police to the insu company. I don't think I have the nerves to sit around and wait much longer.
Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 03:02 pm Post Subject:
Should I call my INS co. and ask if they can get any info out of her and what may be happening with this claim?
They would only serve to slow the process down. There is no difference in them calling or you calling... them calling on serves to add more phone calls to the process.If you really need an answer right now, call and ask for the adjusters supervisor. Ask the supervisor for the status of the claim.
Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 10:17 pm Post Subject:
OK here is an update on the claim. One week of silence was all I could take. I called AAA at noon today, finally heard back around 4:00PM. The agent handling the case is waiting for the surveillance tape from Giant because the boy who hit my son said it was not his fault even though the officer stated as much in her report. She also told me the same thing that night on the phone. The tape is only available for 1 month and we have now lost 2 weeks. The accident happened on the 7th. I then contacted Giant and talked to the supervisor at the present time, (they have many) and to his knowledge he said no one has contacted them about giving a copy of the tape to the INS co. He also told me this was a legal thing and they were not allowed to just hand over a tape like that without police permission. That I didn't understand. So I contacted the officer who responded at the scene and she told me no one has contacted her about anything, and that it is really out of her hands. She did say if the INS co wants the report all they have to do is ask. I provided them with all this information last Wed morning when I first filed the claim. Do I now have to get a copy of the report and fax it to them. I'm really at the end of my rope. Will Giant give me a copy of the tape? I just don't know what more I have to do. On a bright note, the agent did say and I quote "I do feel this will go through". There was also a manager at the store that night who reviewed the tape with both parties present and he even stated it looked like it was the other boys fault. How much more proof do they need? Sorry this post is so long, but how do you think things are looking?
Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 12:15 am Post Subject:
He also told me this was a legal thing and they were not allowed to just hand over a tape like that without police permission.
When I started reading this I was just waiting for this part. Giant is not going to release their video tape with anyone short of a court order. This would be their company policy as 1) they are not required to release it short of a court order and 2) releasing it cannot help _them_ in any way, it can only hurt them. So there is really no good reason (for them) why they should release it. This _should_ be what they do... there is always the possiblity that someone talks to a brain dead employee and they allow the video to be released. Though I doubt that will happen.Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 06:23 am Post Subject:
Now Tcope, Flower doesn't sound to be at a great position with her claim, does she?
It also seems that the insurance company isn't taking enough initiative is obtaining the tape. If their insured keep denying the responsibility, wouldn't they believe him in absence of records to prove otherwise and drop OP's claim?
Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 02:56 pm Post Subject:
If their insured keep denying the responsibility, wouldn't they believe him in absence of records to prove otherwise and drop OP's claim?
If it came down to one person's statement vs another, I'd say that they should place more weight on their insured's statement as they have a duty to defend their insured. But there is more information that can be considered in this case, the impact to the two vehicles, the information on the police report, etc. Parking lot accidents are always a pain in the butt. It's because the accident involves such a small area that every little detail matters (one foot can make a big different). Also, it almost always involves some negligence on both parties to some degree.Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 04:32 pm Post Subject:
Another update, I've been speaking to our INS co throughout this ordeal. I asked her if I should go get a copy of the police report and she said to hold off on it till she talks to the adjuster handling the claim. Although they are not involved in this at all she offered to make the call on my behalf. She also said I might have to go to a magistrate to get a copy of the tape to the INS co. Why must we do all the work? My son was clearly in the exiting lane of the parking lot when the other boy parked his truck in a parking space and decided to back up, not looking he hit my sons car. I was also told a copy of the police report is $15.00, how much would a magistrate cost, any ideas? It really seems like we are getting the shi*** end of the stick on this one. I'll update when I hear from our INS co.
Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 09:29 pm Post Subject:
OK, I heard from the girl from our INS co who offered to call the girl handling the claim for my son. She pretty much said the deal with the tape is a non issue at this point, they have pretty much accepted the fact that it was their drivers fault and not my sons. She then sent me an email asking for options in my sons car like power windows, door locks etc so she can update the evaluation to determine if the vehicle is repairable. I gave her a list of everything in the car. So now I guess I wait and wait and wait. I'm getting pretty good at this waiting. Can anyone guess as to how long it should take from this point in the process? Will they call or just send a letter/check? Hopefully a check.
Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 05:49 am Post Subject:
She pretty much said the deal with the tape is a non issue at this point, they have pretty much accepted the fact that it was their drivers fault and not my sons.
That's quite a relief for you then :)
Can anyone guess as to how long it should take from this point in the process?
I think you must now wait for a call from the adjuster with the offer. If they have accepted the liability already then it shouldn't take them much time to write the claim check.
Have you heard anything from them yet? What are they planning to do with the car repair it or declare it totaled?
I think you don't want them to total the vehicle but if they do so then it would be another round of negotiation about whether or not they let you retain it.
I pray that things straighten out soon for you.
~Jeremy
Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 12:26 pm Post Subject:
Shouldn't be much more than a day or two to determine your vehicles ACV
Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 01:41 pm Post Subject:
I haven't heard anything yet from the girl handling the claim. It's not even 24 hrs since she emailed me asking about all the options in my sons car. Hopefully it will be straightened out by sometime next week. Who knows maybe I'll hear something today. Keep ya all posted.
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