Law and Government

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Dealership Estimate on the Motorhome Repair

The replacement adjuster at Aviva called me this afternoon very confused about Boisvert Ford’s estimate because there was a $600 difference with the idiots’ estimate. I told her that my adjuster told me many times that the number doesn’t matter. As long as the adjuster in the US said that A,B, and C needs to be repaired and that Boisvert says that A, B, and C needs to be repaired, then the numbers, within reason, don’t matter.

She went on to say that there were a lot of questions about the estimate. The French speaker on staff couldn’t translate half of it into something that made sense. Could I call Boisvert and figure it out?

I called and got the body shop guy immediately. He was available to discuss the estimate and once he realised that I really needed to understand each item to explain it to someone else, he took the time to walk me through the whole thing very patiently. Wow, what a difference in service!

As it turns out, his estimate is just more detailed. Instead of just saying ‘repair bumper’, he spells that that repairing the bumper means that we have to repair the side and rear exterior panels the bumper is attached to as well as the inside of the compartment. Uh, inside of the compartment? *note to self: empty the compartment* He also had the proper French terms (plancher and seuil, literally floor and threshold) for the three twisted metal pieces. Finally, he added the hitch receiver and the hitch.

So I emailed Aviva back and said that the estimate makes perfect sense to me, detailing and explaining each item, and that I can provide more pictures for clarification. I also told them that a dealership working on its own product should trump any other estimate for repair and the adjuster agreed.

I think Miranda is going to be in good hands!

 

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I Think I Owe Ford an Apology

I had a coffee date with an uncle this morning in St-Hubert only 3KM from the dealership in Brossard that might have been able to handle Miranda. Slight problem: they’re under renovation! Amusingly enough, there was a canteen truck parked out from with ads for a number of businesses and the first one was a frame straightening specialist located only about 1KM away. I went but they only do cars and had no idea where to send me.

So I came home and called Ford Canada. I got through the main and then sub-menus to reach a live person. I said something along the lines of, “I need help finding a place to have service done on my motorhome that’s on a Ford chassis” and was told, “You called the right place. I can help you with that.”

The technician asked me for a bunch of info about Miranda and was vexed that he couldn’t locate her by her VIN number but moved on to the details of my needs. He put me on hold for about a minute and came back to say that he would be unable to find me a place to take Miranda but that if I was willing to hold for about five minutes or so he would be able to find me a place that would know where to take her.

I held the line and he came back on to tell me that the Ford dealership in Richelieu, Ostiguy, would be calling me shortly. We hung up and less than two minutes later, the phone rang. It was Ostiguy Ford! The very sympathetic person I spoke to said that he was angry for me that Aviva wasn’t doing this research for me, but I explained that there is a language barrier. That out of the way, he asked me what I needed done. He replied that Boisvert Ford in Boucherville could do the entire insurance-covered repair! He gave me their number.

Next, I called Boisvert Ford and spoke to a few people until I was transferred to the right person, the head of the body work department. He said that, yes, he could get the frame straightened, replace the hitch, and do the fiberglass, but that the technician was going on holidays next Wednesday. He suggested I come right over. If it was a three-day job, he’d start immediately, if not I’d have to wait till the guy came back. I had a bit of work to make Miranda road ready, so I told him I’d have her there by about two.

Boucherville is an area I don’t know very well and there is a lot of construction along the 20. My mother gave me really good directions, but I wound up taking one wrong turn, so getting there was a little frustrating and nerve wracking. Boisvert Ford has a sprawling complex and I was very intimidated since I had no idea where to go. No problem, there was someone waiting at the gate to direct me!!!

This angel in overalls guided me around the building, told me where to park so that I could easily leave, and indicated which door to go into. The service manager was waiting for me and I was able to immediately speak with him!

He came out, confirmed that the work to be done matches what the idiots said needed to be done, but he couldn’t give me an exact price because he is going to have custom parts made, though it should be in the ballpark of $2,500. He said that he doesn’t want me to even think about the insurance at this point beyond having them call him. Skipping ahead a little, Aviva Vancouver now has a French person on staff, so he was put in charge of dealing with Boisvert Ford and I shouldn’t have to speak to Aviva about this claim again. *knocks on wood*

So good news. I found a place that can do the job properly and in one piece and my insurance company can deal with it. They can also replace my windshield. Hiccup: it’s a five-day job. No time to do it before the tech goes on holidays. I decided then that I would wait and I booked an appointment for August 20th. That will be more than enough time to make it worth my while to move back home while not so late as to not leave room for contingencies. Since I know how long the rig will be in the shop, I can plan for that week to be my holidays from transcription so I don’t have to dismantle my office again.

The service manager suggested I drop off the rig on August 17th, a Friday, late in the day. This way, I will be able to pull directly into the bay and they can start at 7AM Monday. Great!

As for the repairs on the house, I am postponing them. I am going to make sure my corner is well sealed and I will have the work done in the States this winter where I am going to pay less. I’ll take my time and look for a shop where they would be okay with the cats remaining in the rig while I sleep in the yard in my truck, or something along those lines.

I asked the guy if he could do the tow set up on my Ranger. He said no and that there’s a place in St-Jean that could do it, but he wouldn’t recommend going there and that I should got a little further afield to a place he knows in Ville Lemoyne. Yes, the place he wouldn’t recommend is They Who Shall Not Be Named. I should have really done my research back in June. 🙁 I am going to look into ordering my parts and having them shipped to New York or Vermont and then just have the installation done here.

I’ll be moving back in over the weekend, but my cats are probably going to stay in the garage. It’ll be way too hot for them in the rig these days and they are very happy where they are.

Needless to say, all is much better with my world tonight!

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Bad News and Good News

I picked up Miranda today and made a call to another nearby repair place. He told me that not only are they not equipped to stretch a frame, they are booked for the rest of the summer and that I should expect the same from any other RV repair place at this point. He was not surprised by how I was treated by They Who Shall Not Be Named Again.

He also told me that the major repair to be done is the frame, so I should start by calling Ford and finding a place to get that done; the rest would cascade from there. He told me to introduce myself as having an E450 chassis with a 32′ motorhome on it, not that I have a 32′ motorhome on an E450 chassis.

If I get lucky, I will be able to find a Ford place that will subcontract out the hitch and fiberglass work and give me a total price for the job, or I might end up having to find a hitch place and then a fiberglass place.

My adjuster at Aviva is away, so I called her replacement who was MUCH nicer. She said that she wished she could write out a cheque for all the repairs I want to have done because of what I’ve been through. A gal can dream. *wry grin* Anyway, I was told that, yes, I should wait for approval before going ahead with work, but that I can present the existing estimate and if the shop says they can work with those numbers, then approval is just a formality.

I am understandably feeling overwhelmed and discouraged at this point. I am going to make calls in the morning but I suspect that I might as well move back home because this won’t get resolved until September. 🙁

The good news is that yesterday I started paid training in a field that I dabble in but would never have expected to actually work in (it involves graphic design and programming). I love what I am doing so far; it’s creative and requires brain work. I’m really excited about doing this work, but the learning curve is really steep and I’m pretty sure I had smoke coming out of my ears tonight! 🙂

What’s awesome about this work is that I’m still an independent contractor. So I don’t have guaranteed work with this new client who will supplement, not replace, the transcription. This means that instead of earning, say, 90% of my income from transcription and 10% from writing and related activities, the 90% might become 75%, which will add a bit of much needed variety to my schedule.

Transcription is slow this month, so it’s the perfect time to start on the training since I don’t have to spread my attention span too far. Between Miranda and the training, I have enough on my plate.

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A Wasted Month and Back to Square One

I went to VR Expert today to check on the status of the repair work. NOTHING had been done. It has been HOT the last few weeks and the guys felt that there was an ‘odour’ in the rig so they couldn’t work in it. I went in, opened windows and air hatches, and 10 minutes later, the ‘odour’ was gone. Gang of idiots who couldn’t call me right away to come and take care of the problem!

I asked why the outdoor work covered by the insurance wasn’t done. Because they do all the work at the same time, never mind that I told them that I need the insurance work done first to get the cheque for it by the time my work was done.

The service tech really doesn’t care if he gets my money or not. The work on the motorhome, including the part covered by the insurance, is $4,000 and the tow package installation would have been another $2,000. I wish my business was running so smoothly that I could afford to give up $6,000!

I told him that I would be checking back on Thursday and that if nothing was started that they could do just the insurance portion and forget the rest. The guy said that would suit him just fine! I have until now been very polite and patient and haven’t called every two days for updates. This was the first time I got angry with him, so where this attitude is coming from, I have no idea.

So Miranda has been in the shop for a month for nothing. I am convinced at this point that I am going to end up picking her up Friday with absolutely no work done on her. That means I have to start all over again to find a shop to do the insurance portion, have to get the insurance company to cancel the cheque to VR Expert waiting to be mailed out, have to get a new estimate, have to get a new insurance approval, have to wait again for a shop to have time to take me…

Needless to say, forget the overhang repair at this point. It’s too late for that. I’m just going to take a cooler day, remove the trim and existing Eternabond, apply new tape, and the seal it in by reapplying the trim over top.

I am so angry and I just want to cry.

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Meeting With the Third Party Adjuster

This morning, I met the third party adjuster regarding the claim for things Aviva won’t/can’t cover.

I liked this guy. He didn’t sit there, listen to me prattle, then tell me, “I have everything I need. I’ll let you know their decision when it comes.” Instead, he told me flat out that he feels my claims are justified and, most importantly, they are not fraudulent.

I went in there to argue for $2,700. At the end, he said he had enough to recommend I be cut a cheque for $2,800 but that he suggest I pull out a couple of tax notices of assessment in support of my claim for lost income. I had claimed $500 per week for two weeks, for a total of $1,000. He said that he felt I lost three weeks of income. I went over my notices of assessment and was able to average out to $500 a week between 2010 and 2011, so my claim went from $1,000 to $1,500. I am now waiting to hear about about a $3,300 claim!

I don’t like to talk about how much money I make/live off of/my budget, but I know that the above information is going to raise a few eyebrows. All I will say is that in 2010 and 2011 I also partially lived off of withdrawals from my nest egg. So, no, I am not living on just $1,100 a month. This is the most detail I am ever going to provide about my financial situation. 🙂

Because of the major tropical storm/tornado that happened at the end of May, the adjuster is super busy. So he said that he won’t have a final answer for me till the fall, but that he will do what he can to have a cheque for me by the beginning of October. So it looks like I will likely be getting something. I still need to save up this summer for the toad conversion, but I may not have to save as much to hit the road in the fall. This story may end up having a happy ending after all.