Tuesday, when I called the guy in charge of our insurance claim to tell him we had the car, that it was badly damaged, he immediately said, 'Let me get in touch with a local adjuster.' He assured us that he would have everything in place before we even got home. He said he wanted to get things settled for us as quickly as possible.
Sounded good to us.
This morning, we were trying to plan our day. I felt like we should wait to hear from the insurance guy. Tim, being Tim, had a tractor issue and needed to run into town. I decided to stay home and work on resolving the stolen plate issue.
The first phone call was to DMV. Their automated system had no way to resolve that.
I then called the state police. They told me about form MV-44 to replace the plate. I said that I couldn't really file for a replacement plate until I knew what the insurance was going to do with the vehicle. We might not need a replacement tag.
He suggested calling our representative. I did. Her office assured me that I didn't need to worry about it. I said that I was not comfortable with that approach. Whoever had it was not honest. If they committed a crime... but the woman said, 'as soon as they run the plate, they will see that the tag does not belong to that vehicle.'
Right...but the tag is still associated with our name and address.
Boggles my mind that such a simple thing can't be done.
In any case, it was 11. We still had no contact contact from the claims adjuster. So I tried to reach him, but got his voice mail once again. I left a message.
I mean, what do you do? Just stay home until someone shows up?
I took my grumpy self outside and worked on weeding my poor flower garden. I weedwhacked for an hour. I planted 30 caladium along the north side of the house. I felt better.
I finally got a call back from Jason who was handling our claim. He was amazed we hadn't heard from the adjuster. He gave me his name and number.
We know him.
I called and he was bemused. He knew nothing of our case. I said that he was supposed to have been emailed yesterday. He was driving, but pulled off the road to check. "Noooooooo," he said slowly. "Nothing yesterday...wait! Here it is. It just came in now."
Long story short, we are on his list for Friday. His appointments tomorrow are already in place.
Ugh.
I went back outside to play in the dirt.
Remember those circling clouds that convinced Tim to put on pants? Turned out we had a tornado touchdown here in podunk.
https://www.weather.gov/ctp/Tornadoesof14June2026
I’m annoyed on your behalf with such poor customer service and communication. I recently ordered a new patio door. Friendly people from the company—who didn’t introduce themselves or their function—were calling and/or texting and/or emailing three or more times a day until I insisted they stop. I can understand lots of communication in a major new construction situation, but I paid the down payment, they measured, and I don’t need to talk to them until installation.
ReplyDeleteWe’ve allowed customer service to go from bad to worse, and I find myself irked that 20-somethings think that just texting you with no written or printable documentation is how business is done.
Bonnie in Minneapolis
It just bugs me that you get told what the company is going to do...and that they don't.
DeleteI don't believe for one second that the email just arrived. More like he just opened it. This is awful, over and above the upset of the theft and damage.
ReplyDeleteI kind of don't, for one reason. The area claims adjuster receives emails from insurance companies wanting his services, sorts them by location and then contacts people to give them a time to expect him. He found the email while talking to me only because he stopped driving to look for the email which I had told him was sent yesterday. He did not find it, and quickly glanced through the unread email from that day. Jason was not in the office that morning. The email was sent at 12:35, 5 minutes after he got in. I am guessing the email was prompted by my two messages on his answering machine. He sent an email and then called me.
Deletethat sounds likely
DeleteI've found over my years that about 10% of businesses operate like they should with good customer service and truthful info. I played in the dirt at 6 a.m. today. Sigh. Glad your Podunk tornado didn't harm either house. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteTrust but verify, is my motto. If someone feels like I am pestering them, then maybe just do your job and you won't need to hear from me. My Hubs is POA for his 96 year old mom, and his now disabled 69 year old brother, and the SHIT he has to go through on the phone with insurance/health care/etc. has aged this poor man. I feel for you guys and the red tape/hoops you gotta jump through.
ReplyDeleteIf someone wants to sell me something, they are all over the place...texts, phone calls, emails...several times a day. And about the same interfering in life if they think I owe them money. Sad. If they are supposed to be helpers, it's always the opposite. Very nice voices (when you finally get to one who knows what is happening) but incredible obstacle courses to get help. And they get paid to do whatever is needed, but are so very unavailable. So much to frustrate people these days! We are being thwarted by our business practices which are handled by those who are uneducated about humanity.
ReplyDeleteThat trip just keeps giving and giving, so sorry you have to put up with all this. Gigi
ReplyDeleteNot the same thing at all, but I’ll mention it anyway because it has to do with trust and verifying. Both Sue and I came across a very enticing clothing ad on FB this morning. I asked AI if it was an honourable company, and the answer was clear: No!
ReplyDeleteBTW, I agree with Boud. The email was there all along and he just missed it.
So frustrating. I hope you keep bothering them so they hurry up and get it done. Glad you didn't get hit by the tornado!
ReplyDeleteShocking customer service, for which you are paying. I hope this sorry saga ends soon and happily.
ReplyDeleteRound and round, what a headache!
ReplyDeletePatience doesn't come close to describing what you are going through. It seems like they are unbelievably incompetent.
ReplyDeleteOne step forward, two steps back. Whatever can go wrong does go wrong. I am glad you got to go outside, rest your soul and then solve the adjuster issue. And I am with you on that plate- why does everything hav to be so hard - and make no sense. I hope this saga has a happy ending soon.
ReplyDeleteWell, I hope things will quickly improve. I feel for you, but very much for people who can't communicate as well, or understand how things work.
ReplyDeleteI had to look up podunk. Spell checker doesn't like what seems to be quite a common word in the US.
So many hurdles! But not surprising, I suppose. It does seem weird that everyone is so blasé about the stolen tag. I'd be a little nervous about that too.
ReplyDelete"It just came in now" sounds like shorthand for "I haven't been checking my e-mail." LOL!
Hope this is all resolved soon.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely get the plates sorted - a friend had her plates stolen (and someone else's put on - she wouldn't have noticed if someone hadn't mentioned it) and the parking and toll infringements she had to deal with were phenomenal.
ReplyDeleteI do hope this is sorted for you soon.