This Is Now Getting Silly...

“No more Mr. Nice Guy,
No more Mr. Glee;
No more Mr. Nice Guy,
I’m sick, I’m obscene…”
--Alice Cooper, “No More Mr. Nice Guy” from the album Billion Dollar Babies, 1973.

Well, I guess State Farm owes me a kiss, at least what I usually receive when I have been screwed, but enough sick jokes for now.

The unreal has taken a turn towards the surreal, and the disbelief continues.

October 30, 2009; my car is damage.

October 31, 2009; I call in the accident to State Farm. Also on this date, with State Farm’s knowledge, I buy two new wheels from the local Saturn Dealership in Youngstown Ohio and have the local Pep Boys take care of it.

November 3, 2009; I call State Farm and speak to claims to explain what happened, and I get the “we-may-not-pay-for-it-all” runaround because State Farm did not have an adjustor inspect the car and I could be out $1,400.00.

November 6, 2009; I call State Farm and make an appointment with my local Saturn dealership to have someone look at the car on November 10, so State Farm (whose Corporate Office is four and a half miles down from my Saturn Dealership) can find time to arrange someone to look at my car.

November 10, 2009; State Farm agrees to the realignment, when Saturn discovers the knuckle and struts need to be replaced.

November 12, 2009; after leaving my car a second time at the local Saturn, State Farm Adjustors come out and look at it again and agree with the knuckle and Strut work; parts for which must be ordered. In the meantime, I have had two further calls to the Claims Department as they try to sell me more insurance (rental car) and I notice the company people on company time with their State Farm IP addresses on my site meter are visiting my blog after I rip on them.

November 13, 2009; I meet with my State Farm agent who is relatively nice and apologizes for the fore-mentioned runaround. Everything will be taken care of and I will be refunded the money I put in, minus a $500.00 deductible and no further repair costs will be made to me, I am assured. I am feeling better, and I am told that my strut and knuckle will be in on November 17, 2009.

November 17, 2009; My strut and knuckle are put on the car after the adjustor comes out. He leaves early as has been his custom, according to Saturn, and after the work is done, my car needs to be realigned, which is typical any time someone does any front-end work, especially like a strut and a knuckle. I mean if I know something about a car, I am more than confident 90% of the world’s population knows it as well.

Everybody up to speed? Good, here we go again…

After I learn that the adjustor left early again, I found out from the Saturn that the car needs another alignment. Since State Farm has to approve it, I have to take the car back again. This would be the fourth time. And still State Farm, who has receipts of my costs, has yet to contact me or pay me a dime.

Like a good neighbor? Well maybe in a condemned neighborhood, but not where I wish to live.

So tomorrow, we are back at Saturn, the adjustor comes out again, and we finish the job. The entire incident now is about hours. I called my agent, after Saturn told me that they felt the realignment would take 3 hours and State Farm Claims says it should only take 2.3 hour. Now I have to go back and forth for a lousy 45 minutes difference of time? That is just plain stupid.

When I called my agent today, I was given the goofiest nonsense yet. I was told by agent how she was surprised that Saturn did not give me a loaner car (you see, my insurance would not allow that—sheesh!). I was also told that Saturn should have told them it would again need to be realigned (don’t they usually have to after front end work on the wheels are done? I mean, even I assume that is a given.). And I was also told that State Farm has a book that tells how long it takes to do these jobs and if there is a discrepancy, State Farm is accurate.

All I want is my car back and as close to how it was as before the accident as possible. Well, that and the money I had to front because I dared to go back to work and not lose pay.

Now I must go back to Saturn with my still -"not fixed"-car-from-going-on-19-days for one more time. I turned to the Saturn Service Department leader and asked if he would please go over any and everything else related to my claim in the brief minutes the adjustor was there tomorrow so I can be done and over with this deal. He said he would and apologized for any problems. State Farm, who has paid nothing, makes excuses, not apologies. I was even told by my claims team that this was taking too long. You are telling me. I told her (the claims worker) I wanted their money so I could pay my Visa bill since it was the big expense on my card, and she laughed on the phone at me.

So what do I do now? Well, I have to admit, this has opened my eyes as to what insurance Jen and I go with or choose not to go with, when we are married next year. I also plan on going up the chain of command; and for the record, State Farmers, quit looking at my blog and get back to work on my claim.

Yesterday, a Thanksgiving card came in the mail from my State Farm agent; how thoughtful--how nice. Thanks, and happy Thanksgiving, as I hope to have my check or my car, and hopefully both, by then. Speaking of turkeys, there’s this company I know of…oops, that would be telling, wouldn’t it?