Long, boring, ranting, blogging, babbling, stream-of-consciousness, did I mention babbling?
Since it is after 2 a.m. Saturday morning, I will just refer to Friday as yesterday, even though I'm still up and it seems like the same day. I skipped my "Exploring the Visual Arts" class yesterday, but made it to my Photoshop class. I had to go to work right after class, because I had put my timesheet in my bag and took it home Thursday night instead of turning it in. Brilliant!
Some background information: On January 22, 2003, I was driving Kent's car (the Escort) through the parking lot of Citizens Community Credit Union in Fort Dodge when a young woman (Haley) backed out of a parking space and ran into the car. I called the police, took the report to my insurance company, got two estimates and turned them in to the insurance company that same day. The following week, I got a letter from the young woman's insurance company (which I will name later if things continue in this manner) claims adjuster (Brad B.) saying that he was unable to contact me and I should call him. We have a post office box in Otho, where we live. When I got the mail that day, I sat in my car and called him right away, didn't even drive home. I gave him my side of the incident, and he said he would keep trying to get in touch with the girl. He mentioned she is 18 years old. He claimed that he was missing some information (damage estimate), so I got his fax number and had my insurance company fax the estimates to him.
Time passed. Around Feb. 5, my insurance company called to see what was going on. I called Brad B. and he said that Haley hadn't contacted him (big surprise), and he had to give her 15 days to get in touch. He said he would send a letter to her and if she didn't respond in 15 days, he would make a decision. I called this week, on Tuesday or Wednesday. He said he had to give Haley until Friday, then he would make a determination based on what he had if she didn't contact him. He did not say he had not sent her a letter. He said he would call me. Okay. When he didn't call, and I had to go to class, I called and left a message on his voicemail, saying he could call Kent and tell him what was going on. When I left class, there was a message on the cell phone from Kent, and he called while I was retrieving it. Apparently, Brad called Kent and told him that he had not sent the letter yet, he was going to send it, and had to give Haley 15 days. This is another 15 days, in addition to the first 15 days we just went through. I called my insurance company and they are trying to contact Brad. Brad did not return their call before he left work Friday afternoon. Apparently, our next step is to contact his supervisor... then maybe file in small claims court.
This all makes me angry, which is why I'm posting this here. I won't give you the name of the insurance company which is avoiding paying a legitimate claim, unless I feel I have no choice. Is this any way to do business? She backed into me. It was clearly her fault. The damage is to the passenger door, rear panel, and bumper on the driver's side. Unless my car suddenly developed the ability to drive sideways, I could not have hit her. This girl refuses to contact her claims agent and he refuses to pay the claim. Would you really want to do business with a company that won't fulfill its contractual obligations? What if you had a claim your insurance should pay, such as a fire in your home - would you trust a company that won't pay out on claims?
You may say that the company has the right to make sure about the facts. That's true. But I think the fact that this girl refuses to return his calls speaks volumes. She must know this was her fault. Not getting in touch with the claims agent won't make this go away. Trust me, I'm not giving up on this one. If they think we will just say, "oh this is too much trouble, I'll let it pass," they are sadly mistaken. And, actually, Kent tells me that Brad told him that we should have our insurance pay the claim and then our insurance company can try to get the money from them. Yeah, right. Wrong!
Now for legal purposes (meaning I don't want to get sued), I am not giving out last names, location of insurance companies, or the names of the companies involved. However, I may reconsider if this isn't resolved soon.
Okay, that takes me up to 3 p.m. Friday and there's a whole lot more... Kent left work early and met me at the parking lot at my work. He took the cell phone and went to pick up the girls from school. I went to work. I had to get as much done as possible, because I needed to leave for awhile to go to a film showing at The Blanden. The film was Basquiat, about the life and art of Jean Michel Basquiat. I will write my "review" of it later, although I have a small start already. I think I can sum it up briefly by saying, that like drugs, Basquiat is a mood-altering experience. Why drugs? Because that was a huge part of his life and, ultimately, the end of it. When the film ended, I had to leave quickly, get something to eat and rush back to work. I had no transition from one thing to the other, and it was a shock.
Now, I'm exhausted, sitting here at the computer at nearly 3 a.m. My head is floating and feels too big for my neck. My mind was restless, but is growing numb. I would like to go to bed and watch tv, flipping through the channels until I fall asleep, but I can't. The tv in the bedroom is small and we lost the remote when we moved. I can never get the volume right - it's either too loud or too soft. Since I have to get up to change it, I usually don't. My to-do list for today(!): work on project for Photoshop class, try to help Donna network her two computers, go to work. I'll be up too late at night again, and probably be too tired for church on Sunday. I'm going to bed now.
Since it is after 2 a.m. Saturday morning, I will just refer to Friday as yesterday, even though I'm still up and it seems like the same day. I skipped my "Exploring the Visual Arts" class yesterday, but made it to my Photoshop class. I had to go to work right after class, because I had put my timesheet in my bag and took it home Thursday night instead of turning it in. Brilliant!
Some background information: On January 22, 2003, I was driving Kent's car (the Escort) through the parking lot of Citizens Community Credit Union in Fort Dodge when a young woman (Haley) backed out of a parking space and ran into the car. I called the police, took the report to my insurance company, got two estimates and turned them in to the insurance company that same day. The following week, I got a letter from the young woman's insurance company (which I will name later if things continue in this manner) claims adjuster (Brad B.) saying that he was unable to contact me and I should call him. We have a post office box in Otho, where we live. When I got the mail that day, I sat in my car and called him right away, didn't even drive home. I gave him my side of the incident, and he said he would keep trying to get in touch with the girl. He mentioned she is 18 years old. He claimed that he was missing some information (damage estimate), so I got his fax number and had my insurance company fax the estimates to him.
Time passed. Around Feb. 5, my insurance company called to see what was going on. I called Brad B. and he said that Haley hadn't contacted him (big surprise), and he had to give her 15 days to get in touch. He said he would send a letter to her and if she didn't respond in 15 days, he would make a decision. I called this week, on Tuesday or Wednesday. He said he had to give Haley until Friday, then he would make a determination based on what he had if she didn't contact him. He did not say he had not sent her a letter. He said he would call me. Okay. When he didn't call, and I had to go to class, I called and left a message on his voicemail, saying he could call Kent and tell him what was going on. When I left class, there was a message on the cell phone from Kent, and he called while I was retrieving it. Apparently, Brad called Kent and told him that he had not sent the letter yet, he was going to send it, and had to give Haley 15 days. This is another 15 days, in addition to the first 15 days we just went through. I called my insurance company and they are trying to contact Brad. Brad did not return their call before he left work Friday afternoon. Apparently, our next step is to contact his supervisor... then maybe file in small claims court.
This all makes me angry, which is why I'm posting this here. I won't give you the name of the insurance company which is avoiding paying a legitimate claim, unless I feel I have no choice. Is this any way to do business? She backed into me. It was clearly her fault. The damage is to the passenger door, rear panel, and bumper on the driver's side. Unless my car suddenly developed the ability to drive sideways, I could not have hit her. This girl refuses to contact her claims agent and he refuses to pay the claim. Would you really want to do business with a company that won't fulfill its contractual obligations? What if you had a claim your insurance should pay, such as a fire in your home - would you trust a company that won't pay out on claims?
You may say that the company has the right to make sure about the facts. That's true. But I think the fact that this girl refuses to return his calls speaks volumes. She must know this was her fault. Not getting in touch with the claims agent won't make this go away. Trust me, I'm not giving up on this one. If they think we will just say, "oh this is too much trouble, I'll let it pass," they are sadly mistaken. And, actually, Kent tells me that Brad told him that we should have our insurance pay the claim and then our insurance company can try to get the money from them. Yeah, right. Wrong!
Now for legal purposes (meaning I don't want to get sued), I am not giving out last names, location of insurance companies, or the names of the companies involved. However, I may reconsider if this isn't resolved soon.
Okay, that takes me up to 3 p.m. Friday and there's a whole lot more... Kent left work early and met me at the parking lot at my work. He took the cell phone and went to pick up the girls from school. I went to work. I had to get as much done as possible, because I needed to leave for awhile to go to a film showing at The Blanden. The film was Basquiat, about the life and art of Jean Michel Basquiat. I will write my "review" of it later, although I have a small start already. I think I can sum it up briefly by saying, that like drugs, Basquiat is a mood-altering experience. Why drugs? Because that was a huge part of his life and, ultimately, the end of it. When the film ended, I had to leave quickly, get something to eat and rush back to work. I had no transition from one thing to the other, and it was a shock.
Now, I'm exhausted, sitting here at the computer at nearly 3 a.m. My head is floating and feels too big for my neck. My mind was restless, but is growing numb. I would like to go to bed and watch tv, flipping through the channels until I fall asleep, but I can't. The tv in the bedroom is small and we lost the remote when we moved. I can never get the volume right - it's either too loud or too soft. Since I have to get up to change it, I usually don't. My to-do list for today(!): work on project for Photoshop class, try to help Donna network her two computers, go to work. I'll be up too late at night again, and probably be too tired for church on Sunday. I'm going to bed now.
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