Rick's Auto Body, Inc.

The [redacted]'s vehicle was towed to our shop where an estimate was written. the initial estimate didn't include the tow bill to our shop. The tow bill was from Speed's towing, inv # [redacted] in the amount of 647.00. That is the only tow bill I find that Mr. [redacted] was charged for. Our...

estimator wrote an estimate and then the insurance estimator wrote an estimate. Both estimates stated at the top that they were a preliminary estimate, and ours stated at the bottom that once repairs were started that often times there is additional work needed that is not on the original estimate. We write our estimates in a program called CCC1 and this insurance company estimator uses a program called Audatex. They approach the repairs from different perspectives and in the end are close to the same in costs. Neither one is always more or always less. The program used the most by shops and insurance companies is CCC1, but some do use Audatex. In this case the insurance companies choice is Audatex. This always creates confusion when trying to compare one program to another. Mr. [redacted] turned his claim over to  the insurance company to handle and pay. Both the insurance estimator and our estimator agreed that with this kind of damage there is a high probability that there would be additional damage. So in order to be able to connect with the insurance company and create a supplement of additional repairs we had to start with the same items and cost on our estimates. The insurance estimator gave us his so that we could all start on the same page. All of the items that Mr. [redacted] was charged for were done in a professional manner and to industry standards of repair. I have been in business for over 36 years and have never targeted somebody to take "advantage of" for any reason. While I don't have a contract with this insurance company (or any insurance company) I do have to work with them in the cost containment of the repairs and to provide a safe and complete repair. To charge Mr. [redacted] only for the original estimate would mean that we would have had to do an incomplete repair, only repairing what was on the original estimate. And the to send the insurance company a bill for the complete repair and giving you the difference would be aiding you in filing a fraudulent claim, which would leave us at risk for a law suite from the insurance company and your lien holder because we charged for a complete repair and only did a partial repair. Not only is this illegal and unethical it is something that I have never participated in. We never told Mr. [redacted] that he had to give us all the money the insurance company paid. What we told Mr. [redacted] is that the insurance company and Rick's have agreed what the cost of the repair was, the insurance company was paying them direct less their 1000.00 deductible, which was in accordance with the policy that the [redacted]'s had purchased, the vehicle is ready and you need to pay when you pick up the vehicle. Mr. [redacted] was unable to pick up the vehicle right away stating that the insurance company was going to pay for the repairs. We called the insurance company to check on the funds and they stated that they paid the [redacted]'s and the lien holder. they also stated that the [redacted]'s had cashed the check. Their was on ongoing discussion between Rick's, [redacted]'s and the insurance company about payment. We told Mr. [redacted] that the vehicle needed to be picked up or we would have to start charging storage fees. The vehicle was done on 9/11/15 and picked up 10/6/15. The [redacted]'s were not charged any storage fees. The insurance company told the [redacted]'s that the money that was sent to them was for the repairs less their 1000.00 deductible and that Mr. [redacted] should pay for the repairs. Every statement made to Mr. [redacted] was true and this process is the norm in this industry. If Mr. [redacted] feels that the insurance company didn't pay the tow bill I will gladly help him with the paper work and phone calls to get it handled. However, the insurance company told us that they paid him from the insurance estimators final bill, which is the same as what we gave Mr. [redacted] and included the single tow bill for 647.00 charged by Speed's Tow.I believe that this disagreement stems from Mr. [redacted] thinking that there was some sort of contract to repair his vehicle for a fixed cost when the estimate stated Preliminary and the disclosure at the end of the estimate gave warning that there was a chance of additional costs and it was explained to the [redacted]'s. I believe that there is nothing to give back and if there was it would legally belong to the insurance company. I appreciate the [redacted]'s allowing us to repair their vehicle and wish them the best.

Review: I was given a quote for repair prior to a teardown to see what else mightbe wrong with vehicle that you cant see. They found out what my insurance company gave me for the repairs and changed the pre teardown quote to match the insurance quote. My insurance company didn't have a contract with them. The body shop informed me that it was illegal for them to change the quote based on me getting more money for the repairs. They also charged me towing multiple time for 2 tows that totaled over $647. I live in a different state and I have disabled veteran plates so I assume they figured they could take advantage of me. I tried to make them honor the original quote but they would not release my vehicle and told me they would start charging me impound fees if I didnt give them all the money the insurance company gave me. I was suppose to be able to choose where I wanted the repair based on the best cost and they got ahold of my insurance adjuster quote and raised the prices of parts to match the adjuster quote. They also charged me for a tow multiple times and would not let me avoid paying it agian without threanting to charge impound fees so I paid the money and got my vehicle back even tho I disagreed with them lying and being dishonest about their quote. I was also told by the insurance company they would take care of the towing fees and the body shop still maid me pay. I ended up paying them $5949 when I should have only paid them $4351 once the tow is subtracted and if they honored the quote they gave me. I did attempt to resolve the issue with a phone call and they did not want to listen to what I had to say.Desired Settlement: I would like them to take the $5949 and subtract the $647 tow fee that USAA said they would pay and honor the quote for repairs that they gave me in writing by email prior to tear down and submit the other repairs as a supplemental to USAA. In the end I believe they owe me approximately $1590 when combing the tow fee and the agreed upon quote.

Business

Response:

The [redacted]'s vehicle was towed to our shop where an estimate was written. the initial estimate didn't include the tow bill to our shop. The tow bill was from Speed's towing, inv # [redacted] in the amount of 647.00. That is the only tow bill I find that Mr. [redacted] was charged for. Our estimator wrote an estimate and then the insurance estimator wrote an estimate. Both estimates stated at the top that they were a preliminary estimate, and ours stated at the bottom that once repairs were started that often times there is additional work needed that is not on the original estimate. We write our estimates in a program called CCC1 and this insurance company estimator uses a program called Audatex. They approach the repairs from different perspectives and in the end are close to the same in costs. Neither one is always more or always less. The program used the most by shops and insurance companies is CCC1, but some do use Audatex. In this case the insurance companies choice is Audatex. This always creates confusion when trying to compare one program to another. Mr. [redacted] turned his claim over to the insurance company to handle and pay. Both the insurance estimator and our estimator agreed that with this kind of damage there is a high probability that there would be additional damage. So in order to be able to connect with the insurance company and create a supplement of additional repairs we had to start with the same items and cost on our estimates. The insurance estimator gave us his so that we could all start on the same page. All of the items that Mr. [redacted] was charged for were done in a professional manner and to industry standards of repair. I have been in business for over 36 years and have never targeted somebody to take "advantage of" for any reason. While I don't have a contract with this insurance company (or any insurance company) I do have to work with them in the cost containment of the repairs and to provide a safe and complete repair. To charge Mr. [redacted] only for the original estimate would mean that we would have had to do an incomplete repair, only repairing what was on the original estimate. And the to send the insurance company a bill for the complete repair and giving you the difference would be aiding you in filing a fraudulent claim, which would leave us at risk for a law suite from the insurance company and your lien holder because we charged for a complete repair and only did a partial repair. Not only is this illegal and unethical it is something that I have never participated in. We never told Mr. [redacted] that he had to give us all the money the insurance company paid. What we told Mr. [redacted] is that the insurance company and Rick's have agreed what the cost of the repair was, the insurance company was paying them direct less their 1000.00 deductible, which was in accordance with the policy that the [redacted]'s had purchased, the vehicle is ready and you need to pay when you pick up the vehicle. Mr. [redacted] was unable to pick up the vehicle right away stating that the insurance company was going to pay for the repairs. We called the insurance company to check on the funds and they stated that they paid the [redacted]'s and the lien holder. they also stated that the [redacted]'s had cashed the check. Their was on ongoing discussion between Rick's, [redacted]'s and the insurance company about payment. We told Mr. [redacted] that the vehicle needed to be picked up or we would have to start charging storage fees. The vehicle was done on 9/11/15 and picked up 10/6/15. The [redacted]'s were not charged any storage fees. The insurance company told the [redacted]'s that the money that was sent to them was for the repairs less their 1000.00 deductible and that Mr. [redacted] should pay for the repairs. Every statement made to Mr. [redacted] was true and this process is the norm in this industry. If Mr. [redacted] feels that the insurance company didn't pay the tow bill I will gladly help him with the paper work and phone calls to get it handled. However, the insurance company told us that they paid him from the insurance estimators final bill, which is the same as what we gave Mr. [redacted] and included the single tow bill for 647.00 charged by Speed's Tow.I believe that this disagreement stems from Mr. [redacted] thinking that there was some sort of contract to repair his vehicle for a fixed cost when the estimate stated Preliminary and the disclosure at the end of the estimate gave warning that there was a chance of additional costs and it was explained to the [redacted]'s. I believe that there is nothing to give back and if there was it would legally belong to the insurance company. I appreciate the [redacted]'s allowing us to repair their vehicle and wish them the best.

Review: In March of this year I purchased a new 2015 Ram 3500 PU from Don K in Whitefish, MT. Immediately after purchasing truck I took a trip to AZ where a car wash damaged the passenger side of the box which was replaced by Don K's body shop upon returning from my trip. While truck was in their possession and before picking the truck up from them the entire truck sustained scratches which the body shop theorized was caused by a young employee who had washed the truck after the repairs were completed. They agreed to pay Rick's Auto Body in Missoula to fix this and other problems caused by Don K. I took the truck to Rick's for the repairs. Upon their initial examination Rick's informed me that buffing the entire truck would eliminate the scratches without damaging the clear coat. Rick's & Don K agreed on repairs as well as paying Rick's for the required repairs. About a week after having left the truck at Rick's, I was told the truck had been restored to new condition and was ready for pick up. The wife and I traveled to Rick's to pick up my truck only to find that the scratches were still there. Needing to use the truck for hauling hay, I had to take it, use it, and make a second trip to Missoula to leave it once again for another week. I was again informed the repairs were complete and was ready for pickup. As the afternoon was very overcast & rained on us on the way home, a couple days later I washed the truck in order to inspect the work Rick's had done and to my dismay, not only were the scratches still there, but now there were vertical bands which were very obvious in the right light & right angle, caused by severe buffing. I called and informed them of my dissatisfaction with their work. Needing the truck and other activities it took a while before I could return to Rick's (it is around 100 miles each way to Rick's). I returned to Rick's September 9 and since [redacted] who had been handling my claim was busy with other customers, they had another young man come and look at my truck. I showed him the problems and he also took measurements of the paint/clear coat thickness and showed me that the thickness had been severely compromised is some areas as well as the problems left by severe buffing which Rick's had done. He stated that he would contact Don K to inform them of my dissatisfaction with the condition to see if they were willing to pay any more money for Rick's to continue working on my truck. Having not heard back from anyone at Rick's, I called yesterday and was called back by [redacted]. He called back a second time after having spoken to the owner of Don K who stated they had paid all they were going to to remedy the problems with my truck. Therefore, [redacted] informed me that Rick's was not willing to do anything more to my truck since Don K would not pay for it. Rick's not only did not correct the problem which they have already been paid for by Don K, but have instead have created a new and worse problem that did not exist before Rick's touched my truck. [redacted], office manager for Rick's has informed me that my only option is to take legal action against them to remedy the problems which they have created. They were not going to do anything to remedy the problems which they directly caused, nor the problems which they had been paid to fix in the first place. As I am disabled surviving on very limited income I am hoping that you can encourage Rick's to step up and do what is right.

Since Rick's was unable or unwilling to fix the problems they were paid for & caused additional problems, they need to pay another body shop to do whatever it takes to return the truck to NEW condition and compensate me for all my wasted mileage and time and other expenses related to future repair and loss of use of truck (rental vehicle, etc.)Desired Settlement: Pay another body shop to fix the problems to the paint job of my truck including doing whatever is necessary to remove the scratches Rick's has already been paid to do, but did not do, re-apply the clear coat or entire repainting of the entire truck as needed to restore it to NEW vehicle condition which is what Rick's was paid to do by Don K. Other details already mentioned above.