by burton4550 » Wed Mar 27, 2013 01:00 am
Hi Everyone,
I'm new to this forum so I apologize if I happen to post this in the wrong area. I'm in a pickle though and not sure how to solve it.
I filed a claim recently for some damages to my vehicle from road construction in my local area. The inspector came out and wrote up the estimate and sent it to the insurance company who is mailing the check.
My problem however is, they are putting the lienholder on the check (which I totally understand). Although my Lienholder is Santander and I have spoken to them and they do not endorse checks until after the vehicle has been repaired and fixed. I then send them the receipt and they reimburse me with the check.
I have spoken to 3 different body shops in my local area and "ALL" have said they require the money up front in order to do the repairs.
I'm not sure how I am supposed to get my vehicle fixed now because I do not have the amount of money I need to be able to fix my vehicle up front and Santander will not reimburse me (endorse the check) until I send them a receipt showing the damages have been repaired.
I was hoping someone may be able to offer some assistance in this matter. As I'd really like to get my vehicle fixed, since I'm going to be trading it in or selling it here soon.
Thanks,
Brad
I'm new to this forum so I apologize if I happen to post this in the wrong area. I'm in a pickle though and not sure how to solve it.
I filed a claim recently for some damages to my vehicle from road construction in my local area. The inspector came out and wrote up the estimate and sent it to the insurance company who is mailing the check.
My problem however is, they are putting the lienholder on the check (which I totally understand). Although my Lienholder is Santander and I have spoken to them and they do not endorse checks until after the vehicle has been repaired and fixed. I then send them the receipt and they reimburse me with the check.
I have spoken to 3 different body shops in my local area and "ALL" have said they require the money up front in order to do the repairs.
I'm not sure how I am supposed to get my vehicle fixed now because I do not have the amount of money I need to be able to fix my vehicle up front and Santander will not reimburse me (endorse the check) until I send them a receipt showing the damages have been repaired.
I was hoping someone may be able to offer some assistance in this matter. As I'd really like to get my vehicle fixed, since I'm going to be trading it in or selling it here soon.
Thanks,
Brad
Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 01:41 pm Post Subject:
I have spoken to 3 different body shops in my local area and "ALL" have said they require the money up front in order to do the repairs.
In 20+ years of dealing with repair centers I've never heard of any that require 100% payment up front. What if they don't repair the vehicle correctly? They just keep the money. Almost all service companies don't require payment up front, especially not auto repair companies as they simply keep your vehicle with a mechanics lien if you don't pay.
So the issue I see here is the repair centers. You don't have a dealer in your area?
Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 02:24 pm Post Subject:
I've never heard of any that require 100% payment up front.
I have to agree with tcope on this. Every repair shop knows that insurance payments often work this way. And they also know that after they complete the repairs, if someone doesn't pay, they can "sell" the vehicle to recover their cost of the repairs -- to satisfy the lien tcope referred to.If you were working with a DRP repair shop, this would not be an issue at all. They know there's insurance, they know that the insurance payment will come directly to them -- not through you or your lender. And they know they have to do a good job of making the repairs or they can lose their DRP standing.
You either live in a very remote location, or you haven't gone about this in the proper manner. At the very least, you can call Santander and have them contact the repair shop to authorize the work, and explain that payment will be made when repairs are complete. .
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