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.