Phillips Transport

Review: Vehicle transporter caused damage to my vehicle and refuses to pay for repairs

[redacted] Transport was contracted to move my 2007 BMW 328i from San Jose, CA to Lago Vista, TX. My car was picked up on 7/12/13. Immediately prior to pickup I took photos of my car to document condition prior to transport. Pre-existing damages were noted on the Bill of Lading (BOL) and signed off on by myself and Mr. [redacted]. Upon delivery in TX on 7/14/13, new damage to the front bumper assembly was identified and noted on the delivery BOL. Mr. [redacted] initially refused to accept responsibility for any of the damage, even upon presentation of the pictures taken immediately before transport, but at length finally acknowledged that part of the damages were caused by transport (Mr. [redacted] refused to accept responsibility for another area of damage to the bumper, despite photos showing it to be undamaged before transport). I got a repair estimate from a body shop for the repair and additionally, Mr. [redacted]' insurance company sent out a property damage appraiser. Both estimates are roughly in line with each other. Mr. [redacted] refuses to pay the full cost of the repairs as he claims he "will not pay for damage that was already there". This, despite the fact that as an industry practice, reputable repair shops complete the repair by removing and repainting the entire bumper assembly, and the cost of such is the same regardless of the amount of damage present (i.e. preexisting damage, if applicable, does not change the cost of the repair). Attempts to work with Mr. [redacted] and explain the repair process have been frustrating and unsuccessful. Mr. [redacted] has stated he will only pay a portion (amounting to less than half) of the cost for the repairs and repeated attempts to reason with him via telephone have been fruitless and on both occasions Mr. [redacted] has hung up on me. His contention is that the damaged area(s) can be repaired by spot touch up; my contention is that no reputable repair shops would perform the repair in that manner as they cannot/will not warrant the repair to hold up over time. Mr. [redacted] feels that the repairs specified in the estimate are inflated and that the repair shop is trying to make money by doing unnecessary repairs, despite the fact that the property damage appraiser - an independent source that does not stand to make any money - that his own insurance sent to assess the vehicle specified the same repair course as the body shop. I can and would be happy to provide copies of the pickup BOL, the delivery BOL, the repair estimates from both the body shop and the damage appraiser, as well as pictures of the vehicle prior to and after transport to support this complaint.Desired Settlement: I want Mr. [redacted] to pay for the cost of repairs to correct the damage to my vehicle caused by his transport of the same. The estimate from the body shop was $844.07; the estimate from the damage appraiser was $947.32. I am happy to accept the lower of the two. Mr. [redacted] has stated he will only pay $300 - a figure barely over 1/3 of the cost to repair. Again, as stated in the body of the complaint, the cost to repair the bumper would be the same regardless of the amount of damage present. The process is to remove the bumper, repaint the entire bumper (so as to not have seams and paint ridges that are prone to failure over time), and reinstall the bumper. The labor time and the paint materials used are the same no matter how much damage is present as they repaint the entire assembly in any case.