PCTG Consumer Complaint Report Record ID#: 2039528384

This complaint is being sent to the Pennsylvania Department of Insurance on behalf of the consumers. It is in reference to the behavior and conduct of certain personnel at our local State Farm office in Concordville, PA. who have adopted a policy against the consumers if they choose to have their vehicles repaired at our facility. '''When our consumers make a claim on their State Farm policy, or as a 3rd party against State Farm, the Claims Representatives are instructed to steer them to one of their affiliated shops. If they are unsuccessful, they are instructed by the management to interfere with our consumer's decision and dismiss our contractual agreement. This is done by making statements that State Farm is not allowed to go to GA Collision Center to perform an appraisal to their damaged vehicle, and that the consumer should make arrangements to have their vehicle removed from the (all) property of GA Collision Center so that a State Farm employee can complete the appraisal. When the consumer inquires as to why they should have to do this, they are told by the State Farm representative to "ask the shop owner why." If the consumer still insists on doing business with us, then the claim gets delayed for additional days, including all supplemental damage requests. When the staff appraiser does come out it's usually the same person, whose best interest is to adhere to his managers advise and demands by telephone, while conducting their appraisal to underwrite the physical damage as much as possible. ''' This policy is in retaliation to an incident in which I was forced to call 911 on a State Farm employee and reported said employee of attempting to commit fraud against an uninformed consumer. This action has apparently given State Farm manager, Les Jagger, and other higher State Farm personnel the right to blacklist my shop and insinuate that we are a "hostile shop." My shop was not a hostile shop prior of my decision (handed over in writing) to State Farm, requesting that they remove my shop from the State Farm Criteria List in November 1997 after Mr. Jagger along with Don Leavitt were at our premises discussing who is in the business of repairing vehicles and who is in the insurance business, thus telling me how to run my business. It became apparent that some local State Farm managers believe they are above our Commonwealth's Laws. They have manipulated facts and possibly State Farm's corporate policies on this matter to where they believe they have the right to violate someone's civil rights by singling out that individual, attempting to harass his customers, boycott, coerce and verbally slandering his business and his professional integrity.' '''I also attendant with my legal counsel a meeting with State Farms management teams in hopes of resolving this matter but the demands they asked was only to benefit State Farm. It was after this meeting that Louie Rael, the acting manager, made the decision that with the permission of the vehicle's owner, State Farm would send out their own towing company (Concord Towing) and have the vehicles picked up from our facility to complete the appraisal at the State Farms' Aston facility. The vehicle would then be brought back to my shop, and if any additional damage was found would again be picked up by State Farm at their expense and reappraised. This would continue until the vehicle was fully completed. This procedure would be followed for a length of time until a new manager took over that office. Mr. McGlynn then, without any form of written indication, changed that decision and once again began to steer and harass our consumers when choosing our facility. This went on until Mr. McGlynn retired and was replaced by Mr. Ron Costagglio. At which time, things only got worse for our uninformed consumers. State Farm has refused to conduct business and discuss one to one with myself the damaged vehicles brought to my facility for repairs by the consumers. State Farm has refused to conduct business and discuss one to one with myself the damaged vehicles brought to my facility for repairs by the consumers. State Farms revised terms and conditions were never forwarded in writing to my attention as GA Collision Center's sole administrator. Every time a new manager takes over this office their policy changes to benefit State Farm. '''This abuse and harassment became intensive, noticeable, and costly to our customers, and it was necessary for me to request a meeting at the office of the DOI in Harrisburg to find a solution to this matter. This bipolar behavior of these State Farm employees became a normal routine since there was no assistance from the DOI on behalf of the consumers. Now another manager seems to have reemerged. Mr. Les Jagger with his new favorite staff appraiser Mr. Ken D'Annibale whose team effort and agenda are to make sure that the pressure gets a little heavier then before. ''The Consumers are still being harassed by these State Farm individuals with their deceptive trade practice and malicious tactics and are forced to take time out of daily schedules, take time off from work, time from their family activities to spend hours trying to get an appraisal completed away from my shops property and then spend even more time on the telephone calling the claims representative for assistance, to no avail. If I get near during the appraisal process as the consumer's professional advisor, the State Farm staff appraiser is instructed by their managers to stop the appraisal and leave. Now these consumers are left alone without any professional advice on how their vehicle should be repaired. They only have the State Farm appraiser to look out for their best interest to estimate the cost of the damaged repairs, including supplement after supplement, until the entire repair order process is complete on their vehicle. These good customers are being punished just because they choose to do business with GA Collision Center and its owner. ''This intentional harassment and unprofessional behavior are directed to consumers that have chosen GA Collision (even with a signed Repair Contract and Limited Power of Attorney) to represent and discuss on their behalf the damage to their vehicles with State Farm and its employee. It also causes unnecessary delays which costs the consumer in loss of wages from work for taking time off to be present during the appraisal, pay additional money out of pocket to have their vehicle completed safely and professionally and pay additional money for the car rentals due to these unnecessary delays. Even more so, with the State Farm's rental agreement of 80/20 payment, which creates an accumulative financial hardship. This is not the practice or the policy of any other insurance company with which I do business. '' I am asking the DOI to look into this matter and ask those State Farm's individuals to stop this practice against these unaware consumers."