Not under Warranty...

[repsac]

This sighting is actually in progress as I type. (or will be at least) The person I'm about to call has no clue what's going to go up here, but I figure this might be an interesting experience.

Backstory:

Right before my father passed away, something went wrong with my mother's navigator's suspension (rear end). However, due to the funeral and various other constraints, the car sat in the garage until about two weeks ago. (give or take, about 6 months) It was not driven the whole time.

Well, I decided to get it fixed, and called up the local Ford dealer. They said bring it in, and after a rather bouncy ride there, I dropped the car off. I rented a car from Enterprise, and went about my way. At the time, I was told that the repair wouldn't be covered under warranty, but I agreed to pay anyway.

After about 5 days (yeah, took that long for parts to come in) I get called and told that the car is ready. My cost is just over 300 dollars. Most of that being labor. No biggie really, I head up with mum, pay, and head home.


Here begins the suck:

Couple days ago, we get a phone call from the dealer. They're wanting us to pay for the car. See, it wasn't covered under warranty, and well it can't be a free repair. But...I've got the receipt see, the one that says I've already paid. They've even gone so far as to accuse my mother of lying, saying that quote "If we don't have any record of you paying it, then you didn't pay it." She hung up on them. ( my mom's a saint.)

So, I'm about to call right now and see what's up. Mayhap to ream someone a new one. Thus begins the suck.

I'll let you know what happens.

[Becks]

:wiggles in anticipation: I'm making popcorn for this!!!

[digilight]

I would hazzard a guess and say that since the car was released to you, and you have also probably signed off on the paperwork when you recieved the car back, and payed by either cash or credit card, and oh yeah have the receipt for it that they are barking up the wrong tree.

I don't know any mechanic that will release a car until its payed for unless you are doing terms with them. We use a family friend for our mechanic work (he owns a shop so its not a backyard mechanic). He sometimes gives us terms on larger jobs. But we still see him, pay him, and sign off on the work after its done. And this is a friend, a dealer isn't going to fudge it up either (unless you payed cash and they cleared the ticket in the system after it went in their pocket).

[repsac]

Oh that was a fun bit of an experience. It comes in two parts, and the fun NEVER stops.

1.) I call up the Ford dealer, asking first for the Service Dept. After a bit of wrangling, and listening to what music they have on hold, I'm told by K there that yes, the car was paid for and no, I don't owe them anything.

SUCCESS! oh...wait...

1b.) Not TEN minutes after the first call, I receive another from a lady called D. D is very upset with me. Stating that if I wanted to solve things I'd just pay the bill and not go calling service since service doesn't handle billing. They don't know what's going on, and if I knew what was good for me, I'd just wise up and pay. If I don't pay, then D was within her rights to have the vehicle impounded, since it was still on their lot. I ask if D is going to be there a while, and state that I'm going to "Swing by to sort this out."

(Now, since I've had the car for two weeks, I have to wonder HOW on earth it was still at their lot. Maybe some law of physics and time that I don't know of. Did I leave the flux capacitor running and forget again?)

2.) It doesn't take me long to get up there, adding insult to injury, I drive the Navigator. I ask to speak with D in billing, and am ushered off to wait. Keeping my receipt in hand, I wait and wait, and finally she agrees to see me. She's very rude, and a bit belligerant with me, but I quietly listen. When she ask what I plan to do, I just smile and say "I plan to talk with your boss about this actually. Mostly why I'm here in fact." She responds that HE can't help me, and begins her spiel about how I need to pay, credit, yadda yadda. I quietly unfold the receipt, and lean across her desk placing it in front of her. She looks down, and says quote "What's that? I don't need that. I need paid." My response is "It's the Receipt from where I first paid."

She gave me an odd look, bent down, read it once, twice, and then looked up. I could visibly see the blood drain from her face. Reaching over I took it back, slowly folded it again and showed myself from her office.


I kept my promise too, I did speak to her boss about it, and he was NONE too amused. I suspect D has some explaining to do, and heads could roll. However I will always cherish the look on her face when she realized just how deep in it she was...

[claidhmore]

I do believe you won. Here's to hoping she learns how to keep up with paperwork, and how to treat customers.

[Princess-Snake]

I kept my promise too, I did speak to her boss about it, and he was NONE too amused. I suspect D has some explaining to do, and heads could roll. However I will always cherish the look on her face when she realized just how deep in it she was...

I would love to be the fly on the wall to hear that conversation.

[IT Grunt]

Oh yeah. I've got something like this going on with a doctor's office. We've been going there for about six months. A few weeks ago, they say our insurance isn't paying fully. Come to find out they're out of network. So the insurance gives us a number to give them that they can call and try to become in network, and if they do, they can resubmit the bills and get paid.

So, we give it to them. To date, we have not gotten a straight answer yet from the lady who handles billing if they called, and if they called, did they succeed. She's been belligerent and snotty with us the whole time, and hung up on my wife once already when she was trying to deal with the situation. We're about to switch doctors and pay them off to stop dealing with her bullshit at this point. We still haven't gotten a straight answer about how much we owe.

[Catwoman2965]

OH me too! Of course, the suspcious side of me wonders if she was trying to pull some scam; trying to get you to pay twice, somehow to her benefit....

Glad you got it straightened out!

[Becks]

FANTASTIC!!!!




Maybe she got you confused with another customer, especially with the whole "car's still in the lot" stuff...

[Geek King]

So, we give it to them. To date, we have not gotten a straight answer yet from the lady who handles billing if they called, and if they called, did they succeed. She's been belligerent and snotty with us the whole time, and hung up on my wife once already when she was trying to deal with the situation. We're about to switch doctors and pay them off to stop dealing with her bullshit at this point. We still haven't gotten a straight answer about how much we owe.

Have you spoken directly to the doctor about the situation yet? They may not know anything about the situation other than what the office is telling them.

[Primer]

Oh yeah. I've got something like this going on with a doctor's office. A few weeks ago, they say our insurance isn't paying fully. Come to find out they're out of network. So the insurance gives us a number to give them that they can call and try to become in network, and if they do, they can resubmit the bills and get paid.

The pain management place I go to opened up their own "surgery center" about a year ago. In 2007, my medical bills were such that since about August, insurance had been paying at the 100% level for in-network services. In early January, I received a bill for approximately $1500. My insurance company had already sent me statements showing that they had been paid, and I owed $0.

Over the phone, the surgery center told me that they were out of network, and "legally, they had to send me 4 bills, and then it would be written off." Sorry, but I'm NOT getting my credit dinged for this. I hand carried in my insurance statements showing that they were IN network, and I owed them nothing.

I went in, in person, and showed them what I had, and asked them to explain it all to me. I was not sucky, but I was calm and firm. They finally did figure out I was correct, and I've not received another bill from them.

All things considered, I'm going to find another pain doctor. I'm fed up with them anyway.

[Seshat]

To date, we have not gotten a straight answer yet from the lady who handles billing if they called, and if they called, did they succeed. She's been belligerent and snotty with us the whole time, and hung up on my wife once already when she was trying to deal with the situation. We're about to switch doctors and pay them off to stop dealing with her bullshit at this point. We still haven't gotten a straight answer about how much we owe.

Send a letter - a physical, written letter - with a copy specifically to the doctor or to the office' manager (hand-deliver it if you need to) and a copy kept for yourself. Make sure the letter is send in some manner that proves receipt of said letter. Keep the receipt proof.

Include in the letter the information you've given them about the insurance. An accepted format for information previously given is 'to confirm our phone discussion of (date), (information previously given)'.

Also include your request for information as to how much you owe.

With written evidence that you have attempted to provide them with not one, but two avenues by which they can be paid; any small claims court magistrate will toss them out on their ear. However, without that written evidence, it's your word against theirs.

The copy to the woman's boss, of course, is to try to keep the problem from reaching the courts in the first place.