Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Court: State Farm guilty of fraud

"While the decision was restricted to a single case of fraud, The Sun Herald reported it could potentially open a review of  'thousands' of other, similar claims..." ABC News

Another case of outright thuggery that made headlines in 2013. What kinda company have I been shelling out fat premiums to for decades?

Auditors say they saw State Farm supervisors "demanding damage reports be buried, replaced or changed so that claims wouldn't have to be paid." Sounds similar to State Farm directing a body shop - the body shop squealed on 'em - to submit a nonsensical supplement of damages regarding repairs to my car (see 9/18/13 post), not to mention keeping me in the dark from the get go by refusing to provide a written estimate. Close to half of the repairs have been completed, and I should be informed of all the details. After all, it's my car - not State Farm's.

Auditors say they saw special files marked "Do not pay bill. Do not discuss." Here again, that appears to be what's going on in my case. Why am I being harassed (see 10/7/13 post) with unitemized statements from Suddeth Automotive? My case is - or at least should be - a relatively minor blip on the accident radar screen: single car mishap, no injuries, and a readily repairable vehicle with legitimate repair costs that don't equal or exceed 75% of the vehicle's value.

I'm not about to turn my prized possession over to State Farm. I want to know why the "good neighbor" is behaving in such an inexcusable manner.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

State Farm employee robs customer accounts

"An employee of automobile insurer State Farm was fired after making purchases with customer credit cards, ultimately compromising their personal data." Adam Greenberg, SC Magazine

Wow. 687 looted accounts. Nothin' like a neighborly attitude toward customers.

I wasn't surprised when I read the article. State Farm has established a culture of disrespect toward the folks they're supposed to serve. Check out complaints about their auto insurance. Homeowners? Look at this. Banking? Visit My Bank Tracker. Peruse the Ripoff Report, then do a few searches of your own. There's no excuse for government allowing corporations to kick people around. State insurance commissions are a taxpayer funded farce.

Why would anyone trust a company like State Farm?

Monday, October 7, 2013

State Farm refuses to pay auto shop

The nightmare continues, with State Farm refusing to pay Suddeth Automotive $3,869.59 for the mechanical repairs (see 9/18 post, "Why is State Farm 'totalling' my car?"). Suddeth initially billed State Farm, but is now sending statements - unitemized - to me. Apparently, State Farm thinks they can bully me into submission by threatening me with large bills unless I turn my car over to them or agree to keep it with a "salvage" title.

The moral to this story - at least for me - is to have as little as possible to do with the insurance industry. There are horror stories all over the Internet, and repairs to my car should have been completed four months ago. Instead, it's been partially repaired amidst unnecessary delays, misrepresentation, secret damage estimates, lowball offers, verbal abuse and an assault by one of State Farm's agents, secret repair bills, financial threats, and bad faith efforts to declare total loss.

It takes gall for Suddeth Automotive to bill me instead of State Farm, not to mention the sheer absurdity of presenting a customer with an unitemized statement. I find it more and more puzzling that State Farm is going to such lengths in an effort to take possession of my car.