PDA

View Full Version : Farmer's Insurance and Abra Auto Body...worst experience of my life.


Visormurp
04-05-2008, 10:51 AM
I've been getting the run-around from Farmer's Insurance since 01-12-08, when my del sol was hit by someone making a right turn on a red light while talking on her cell phone.

I immediately called my insurance agent from the scene and told them I was in an accident. She told me to hang up and call the 1-800 number and get my claim started. It took them almost to weeks to even decide to send someone out to inspect the damage, at my insistence nonetheless. In the beginning, they just kept telling me that the car was fixable without inspecting the damage.

I chose Abra Auto Body in Aurora to fix the car (right rear quarter panel)based on a recommendation from Mile-High Honda, where I buy most of my parts because of their discount. That was the biggest mistake I could've made; Abra had my car for 10 days before calling me and telling me that they can't find the parts after assuring me, prior to me bringing my car in, that they had the parts and were just waiting on me to drop my car off.

Without making this any longer than necessary, after almost 3 months, my car still isn't fixed and I've been lied to by both Farmer's and Abra on several occasions, calls from both have not been returned, and both have shuffled me between several people, none of which have given me a straight answer.

At first, I wanted to keep the car after it was fixed. Now I just want to get rid of the whole problem and start over. I filed a complaint with the Dept. of Regulatory Agencies and was told that it was completely my responsibility to do all of the phone calls and legwork to get my car fixed. My insurance agent has been a worthless piece of crap throughout this process.

Note: Abra was sent a check to repair the vehicle, the middle of February after telling me to come pick up my car 3 days earlier because they couldn't fix it. They told me that they would call me and never informed me that they had been paid. It was almost a month later before I finally got someone to call me back from Farmer's and tell me that they had already paid Abra to do the work. This happened after I had contacted another shop to see if they could look at my car and tell me if it is fixable. Farmer's still insists that Abra WILL do the work since they were paid. I've questioned the quality of the potential work if they have been this incompetent in their dealings up to this point. NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH EITHER OF THESE COMPANIES

Pang
04-05-2008, 12:20 PM
Yep Abra = one of the worst if not worst body shops around town.

stu
04-05-2008, 12:57 PM
I don't think we used ABRA for one of our body shops.

You need to file a complaint with the Department of Insurance. It's called a DOI complaint.
It's simple to do on-line and is taken very seriously by the insurance company. Your claim rep's manager is the one who has to respond.

I know that insurance companies and shops get busy, but the way your claim was handled was unacceptable. Make the complaint.

On a side note, why haven't you talked to the other driver's insurance company; assuming that she was at fault?

Visormurp
04-06-2008, 08:03 AM
Her insurance company (State Farm) called me within a couple of hours of the accident and accepted 100% liability. Since I had been in contact with both my agent and insurance claims service from the accident scene, I told them that they would be calling SF to make arrangements to handle this claim...BAD mistake on my part.

So, I was in error to contact the Dept of Reg Agencies instead of Dept. of Insurance? I'll file a complaint asap. I spent Friday getting referrals from people I know about attorneys. I hate to go that route but I'm so pissed...This absolutely ruined my Spring Break and plans for yearly trip to Vegas Invasion.

At the very least, I'll be in the market for a new insurance company when my policy is up in May.

stu
04-06-2008, 11:55 AM
You probably didn't realize this, because I can't imagine you get into accidents all the time, but once the other company accepts liability, you just let them handle it. You can tell your own company to go ahead and close your claim. You are almost always better off going through the other company. Almost.

redb20teg
04-06-2008, 12:34 PM
abra sucks

MrsGhandi
04-07-2008, 09:25 AM
When I had my insurance agency, I lost 5 clients due to Abra's "top quality" service...I would never recommend them EVER.

Yes, ditto with Stu's comment - insurance companies hate to deal with DOI complaints but the best part is....they HAVE to respond in a certain amount of time. Definitely take the time and share your horrible claims experience.

303Mike
04-07-2008, 09:30 AM
ABRA--- you are the SUCK

Dave_L
04-07-2008, 09:39 AM
Agreed on the Abra sucking balls part. I've never had a good experience when I've had to deal with them. They always have customer's cars for prolonged period of times.

Visormurp
04-11-2008, 09:46 PM
Filed complaints with DOI, BBB, and contacted a lawyer. All of a sudden, I get contacted by both Farmers and Abra. They now have the parts in and want me to bring my car in for repairs...3 months riding with a busted whip. I'm so disillusioned with this incident, I'll probably sell it after getting it fixed.

cjake39
05-27-2008, 11:19 AM
Just joined here. I'm a Farmers Agent in the Springs. Let me know if I can help anyway. 3 months is horrible....

XTChic
05-28-2008, 05:11 PM
Filed complaints with DOI, BBB, and contacted a lawyer. All of a sudden, I get contacted by both Farmers and Abra. They now have the parts in and want me to bring my car in for repairs...3 months riding with a busted whip. I'm so disillusioned with this incident, I'll probably sell it after getting it fixed.
So sorry, dude. What an awful experience. Please don't give all Farmers agents a bad rep.... I work for Farmers :no:

way2slow
05-29-2008, 08:10 AM
ABRA does suck!! They had my ex girlfriends car for almost a month.

Robie
05-29-2008, 12:56 PM
I musta got lucky with Abra...
An SUV smacked the back end of my car and smashed the bumper and muffler.
I got the car back, with a new bumper, paint, muffler, and I even got them to upgrade my cat-back piping to 2.5" for an extra $160.

They did all that in 3 days....:confused:

Slava
05-29-2008, 02:13 PM
Damn I have farmers, I haven't had an accident or anything and my agent is pretty much perfect. Sorry to hear that you had problems. SELF NOTE if ever need any work done don't go to ABRA.

Visormurp
05-29-2008, 11:41 PM
Got my car back after having to return it twice for the little things that I notice were wrong (door was bowed, visible parts missing). Once I started reinstalling stereo and other parts I had on the car before the accident, I really found out just how bad they messed me up. I spent most of the day trying to replace screws that were missing from places that weren't visible on first glance and trying to figure out how to get my door to seal tight so that is doesn't sound like it is open when I drive down the highway. Taking the car back again is pretty much a waste of time at this point considering Abra's behavior.

btw: my final answer from the BBB was to contact an attorney since Abra refused to respond to my original complaint.

As far as Farmer's goes, I'd be happy if I could find a more helpful agent; if it's possible to change agents, I might be inclined to keep the insurance. This is just a lesson learned...time to move on.

stu
05-30-2008, 12:41 AM
Changing agents is a snap. Just find one you like and they'll have the proper forms to fill out.

cjake39
05-30-2008, 11:04 AM
I'm down in the Springs, but I insure a lot of racers around the state. Plus I'm a car guy and I understand you don't want crappy work on your car. Let me know if you are interested. Sadly I've transferred a lot of customers due to the agent's lack of customer service, and not just from farmers. Hit me up with an e-mail/PM if you are interested. You should be able to work it out to take it to another shop and insurance would still cover it.