Heppner's Auto Body

To Whom it May Concern,
Our general manager has attempted to contact Mr. and Mrs. [redacted] to reconcile the issue and has received no response. There was no intention to mislead or deceive the customers in question, who have incidentally, used our shop in the...

past for repairs. We took their vehicle in for repairs and received a signed authorization to complete repairs from Mrs. [redacted] (see attached). The vehicle was sent to the mechanic shop we use to diagnose some suspension issues that had to be resolved before body repairs would begin at our shop. Mr. [redacted] insisted that they had not authorized this to be completed and instructed us to release their vehicle back to them. Unbeknownst to the estimator and manager of the shop, there was obviously a miscommunication that occurred at some point during the two days we had their vehicle. We intended on filling the claim with the [redacted]'s insurance company and completing the repairs as they had authorized us to do when they had the vehicle towed to our shop. It is the opinion of the estimator, manager and general manager that the requested refund of towing and diagnostic charges not be refunded to the customers.

I am rejecting this response because:My quarter panel was not damaged in a separate incident and ALL 4 conrners of my vehicle we're not damaged. Furthermore, the receptionist misrepresented the document signed and said that it was needed to perform an estimate. After several attempts to get an answer from Heppners regarding the damaged - he stated that there was no determination made about my quarter panel. I'm my most recent contact with the insurance company the damage was still under investigation because Heppners did not send the photos needed in a timely fashion. They were given 3 days to perform and estimate and still prolonged a very simple process. The estimate was not lowered until after Heppners was informed that their services were not needed and that I would be cashing out instead.

they scheduled to tow my vehicle for auto body repair and never picked my car up and never called to explain why.
Never do business with them again.!!!!

To Whom It May Concern, The customer in question dropped off her vehicle for repairs on March 23rd and signed an authorization to repair (see attached) and was set-up with an Enterprise rental vehicle while repairs would be completed. In signing our authorization to repair, she...

agreed to allow Heppner’s to perform the repairs to her vehicle as approved by her insurance company. The estimator followed his normal procedure and had the car washed and inspected before any repairs would begin. At his initial inspection, he noticed there was damage on all four corners of the vehicle, so he called the customer to verify which section of the vehicle she was making the insurance claim on. She confirmed to the estimator that the rear bumper was to be repaired. His preliminary estimate included some new parts, but as is required with all State Farm Insurance estimates, the estimator subsequently used their parts database search to find a less expensive, LKQ (like, kind, and quality) part to use instead of the new part. These changes in the type of replacement parts accounts for the change in estimate total. The use of these types of parts is highly encouraged by insurance companies and therefore are used quite frequently. The preliminary estimate the customer received on the 24th included the new parts because the parts database search takes some time, and was not completed until after the customer had left the shop that day. After the estimator had left work for the day, the insurance company called regarding the repairs. There was a discussion about which section of the rear of the vehicle was to be repaired under the insurance claim. The pre-existing damage to the left-side quarter panel, which the customer wanted to include under this claim, was deemed unrelated by both our estimator and by the insurance company. The insurance company only approved the rear bumper repairs. The final estimate (see attached) was uploaded to State Farm and approved. On March 25th, the estimator called the customer repeatedly to try and reach her to discuss the unrelated prior damage that she wanted repaired under the insurance claim. He was unable to reach her and wasn’t able to leave a message because her voicemail inbox was full. She called the shop back later that day and stated she did not want repairs to continue and that she would pick the vehicle up at the shop. The technician working on the vehicle reassembled the vehicle and the customer came by to pick it up. The customer was given the final approved estimate (see attached). She questioned the difference in amounts between the preliminary estimate and the final estimate. The reason for the price change was explained (see above explanation regarding parts type changes) to the customer. The desired settlement is not possible. The insurance company approved the final estimate at a total of $677.97 which only covered the repairs to the rear bumper, not the left quarter panel. The quarter panel was determined to be damaged in an unrelated incident. The insurance company would not pay for repairs to be completed to a section of the vehicle that was damaged separately. The customer has subsequently “cashed-out” and decided not to have the repairs done at our repair shop.

To Whom It May Concern: The estimate was completed on the portion of the vehicle that was included in the claim with the customer’s insurance company. The completed estimate and photos were sent to the insurance company in the required time. The claim representative from the insurance company agreed with our estimator that the damage to the quarter panel was unrelated to the claim in question. Our receptionist knows that the work authorization form only pertains to customers who are dropping their vehicles off for repairs; not for estimate-only customers. We only have one authorization to repair form and that is what the customer signed when she dropped off her vehicle and was set up in a rental vehicle. The customer will have to speak with an appraiser from her insurance company to have a re-inspection completed to determine if further payout is allowed on her claim. Heppner’s has done all we have been instructed to do as far as releasing the car back to the customer and zeroing out the repair order from our system because repairs were canceled.

Final Consumer Response /* (2000, 5, 2015/12/30) */
Hi, My name is [redacted] and I filed a complaint against Heppners Auto Body regarding an accident that I had back in July, 2015.
Since filing the complaint I just spoke with Heppners Auto Body and the situation is resolved. I...

misunderstood some of the coding on the auto estimate and so the complaint has been resolved. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you. [redacted]