Rescuing car, insurance money from the shop after an accident
Q. Over a month ago, my year-old BMW was hit while parked on Beacon Street in Boston. It was towed on that day to Herb Chambers Collision Center in Braintree on advice from Herb Chambers BMW, where I had purchased the car.
The original insurance estimate was done within a couple of days. But still nothing has changed. They have gotten the supplemental insurance checks, but have yet to do any work. How do I rescue my car and get the money from the insurance company back from them?
Steve Dubowsky
Boston
A. Scott Lewis, general manager of Herb Chambers Braintree Ford and the collision center, apologized for the delays and lack of communication.
“His car has been here too long,’’ Lewis said. “He’s 100 percent right to be frustrated.’’
He explained that the hardtop convertible presented an unusual challenge. It was difficult to coordinate with the insurance company, and with such a new model, technicians were not sure how to proceed and none were qualified for the complex job. So the repair was delayed, Lewis said.
“Most of it is our fault,’’ he said. “We really dropped the ball at the beginning of it.’’
Lewis said once the plan was made and the right technician found, the work progressed and should soon be complete.
Typically, the insurance company is the gatekeeper of the repairs - since it is the insurer’s money that is paying for the work.
Q. We could really use some help: Avid cooks, we purchased an expensive KitchenAid stove. About a year ago, we began to have some difficulty with the oven door: It wouldn’t stay fully closed and would therefore shut off the oven. The hinges were replaced for $500 and began to fail again and were replaced again. After the second hinges were installed, the repairman said we should just not open the door fully.
Is there anyway you can help us?
Rachel Hawk, Alan Ornstein
Cambridge
A. The folks at Whirlpool, which owns the KitchenAid brand, agree this isn’t right. So they said they would pay for the repairs and want to make sure your sour feeling about the problem goes away.
“We also gave the customer the direct line to one of our supervisors at our call center and told her if this happens again, to call us direct, and we would exchange the unit out,’’ Whirlpool’s Rhonda Milliken-Yerington said.
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