ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING COMPANY
by Richard on Feb 4, 2020
1 out of 5 stars
My daughter recently got into an accident that was 100% not her fault. The problem started when the car was written off, and they lowballed me on the offer. I did some research online using the Canadian Black Book and found out they were offering less than half the value. When I pointed this out to them, I was told that they were sticking with their process (I think they find the 10 cheapest comparable cars and give you the average price) and that they would send me forms to submit a dispute. I had receipts showing that I had spent more on repairs in the last 18 months than what they were offering me. Didn't matter. No discussing it with them. With previous insurance companies, there was always some back and forth discussion, and some compromise. Not here, just a take it or leave it attitude. The worst insurance company I have ever dealt with. Since the payout is so low, my daughter cannot even get another comparable car.
This insurance company is by far the worst I had to deal with. The basically steered me to go to a "preferred shop" by claiming that my repair claim wont be guaranteed or that I may not be fully covered and extra prices might be charged to me.
So I went with the shop that they suggested and when I received the car it was so poorly reassembled and they didn't do all the work. They also used a non certified aftermarket part even though I was told verbally that it would all be OE and everything would be fixed to my satisfaction. They played the "You signed the agreement" card to try to wipe their hands clean.
When I complained the insurance company told me I was ungrateful and selfish for complaining. They didn't take my complaint seriously until I told them that I was forced to go there and that if they don't restore my car to pre-accident condition that I would be following suit for both them steering me to a preferred shop and approving non certified parts onto my car. Not long after they agreed. I know its mostly the body shop I went to that should be blamed but I have to blame the insurance company for forcing me to go there and not taking responsibility and pushing the blame over to me.
I have since changed companies and even though most companies are the same the one I am with now is a little better.
Remember to always go to a dealership with their own body shop that only uses OEM parts. NEVER agree to use a preferred shop.
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Do not insure your car with this evil company!
Yesterday, my fiance was in a collision, thankfully he was not hurt but the car was wrecked. he was not at fault, and it says so in the police report. Since we put in a claim however Economical has given us 24 hours of hell, and I expect many more days of hell to come.
First, they refused to loan us a vehicle until they can get the police report, so they can prove he was not at fault. We gave them the incident number and the contact information of the police officer who responded to the scene. The incident number says my fiance is not at fault, they refuse to believe that, and they refuse to speak with the officer who responded to the crash. The lady who is in charge of the claim spent more time on the phone lecturing my fiance about how he doesn't have their most expensive insurance plan to compensate for this crash than actually helping. She also insisted we contact the police and get the report from them in order to speed up the claim process. Needless to say the insurance is responsible to collect the police report, so the police would not give it to us and were even horrified that the insurance asked us to collect it.
Next they asked my fiance to go to the impound by Friday (the collision happened on Wednesday) to fill out the proper release paperwork that would allow the insurance company to take the car from the impound lot. We get a call from the impound lot an hour later stating that the Economical has informed them that they would be picking up the car the next morning. They impound lot called us because they thought it was strange, because no paperwork had been signed yet to release the car, which had just came into the lot that day. My fiance said he would be there in the morning to sign said paperwork, remove the licence plates, and collect our belongings.
This morning he goes to the impound lot only to find out Economical had sent a tow to collect the car in the morning before he had gotten there. Somehow they had taken the car without the paperwork filled out and took our licence plates and belongs with them! They essentially have stolen the car because we did not have the paperwork filled out that gave them permission to take the vehicle. Now we are fighting them to get our belongs and licence plates back! The people we have spoken to on the phone have been nothing but rude and awful to us, essentially saying it's our fault they took the car without our consent.
On top of that the lady in charge of the claim won't answer our phone calls. I am outraged! Do not get insurance with this company and save yourself the stress and horror we are going through now.
I bought an Audi A8L for an incredible price in the US and did all the paperwork and steps to import it to Canada myself. Was in mint shape. One winter an exhausted snow plow Pickup Truck worker doing parking lots at night turned onto a street as I followed him. Then suddenly put his trick in reverse and I could not do anything but slam on the horn but by the time he reacted he drove into the front corner of my Audi. It looked pretty darn minor with a dent to the front fender and a broken headlamp. Under the hood the washer fluid canister bracket was bent, some hoses were scuffed, some wrinkling of the inner wheel well, and the front bumper was damaged and scraping. Then came the shocker!!! The damage repair bill was around $12,000.00. Yes I know it is a $108,000.00 retail car new but my car was already 5 years old. I only paid around $43,000.00 Canadian for it at 4 years old. Like I said a killer deal. So I begged my guy at Economical to please not write it off. He said I am sorry but his guidelines dictated that they could not pay to fix the car at that age and with that amount of money. I was perplexed. This car looked like it had very little damage. I said how could this car be written off and taken off the road? Then I asked myself the same question in my mind... how can the repair cost around $12,000.00? went back to the auto-body shop that was expensive I admit as they specialized in premium cars (Audi, Mercedes BMW) and specialized in Aluminum Body vehicles. I said to them the insurance is going to write off my car! I cannot let this happen. I asked the body shop what on earth is making this repair bill $12,000.00??! They replied, "When we fix a vehicle, we bring it right back to the way it was on the dealership lot". I said what do you mean. He pointed out some A/C hoses that literally had some tiny scratches in them from the washer canister metal holder. He said these hoses get replaced. He showed me some very minor creases on the inner wheel well that did not affect the way the car ran, or handled or had anything to do with bad alignment. He said this needs to be bodywork repaired. he said the canister mount needs replaced. And a number of other small scuffed parts or slight dents or crinkled items that all get replaced to Brand New. I said listen, What if you leave the hoses, just bend back the small bend in the washer tank mount, leave the tiny crinkle and small dent in a panel under the hood. And a few other things. I said I only want replaced/repaired external things that affect the ascetic look or performance or handling of the car back to new. IE: New hood, New fender, new bumper, new side moldings, bend the holder frame back, I said I did not care about small scuffs in rubber hoses, or a tiny dent not affecting the car at all. Heck who will look under the hood and say hey look at that dollar-sized dent on the inside engine cavity. Like really? He said that is not their policy. It means they did it half-as-sed. I said if you do not get my repair bill down, this car will be taken off the road and either parted out or sold at an auction and I will lose it, and the chances of me finding another one in the same sweet condition and color are almost impossible so I will be back to square one. I agreed to sign that a few of these things would remain as is (cosmetic tiny issues UNDER THE HOOD like who cares. I am keeping the car for years so I am fine with it. I went back to Economical and said if I could get the body shop bill down a lot would he agree to fix the car? And he said yes! The body shop got my bill down by $5100.00 from the original $12,000.00. I went back to Economical, and he said GREAT JOB Kevin and then agreed at $6900,00 they would pay to repair the car. I appreciated his flexibility, his feedback, and his sharing with me some things I could do as unorthodox as they were, and at least I got to keep the car. Thanks, Economical for working with me as well body shop. Thanks, guys!
Don’t use ECONOMICAL! The worst insurance company ever! They're great at taking your money but god forbid you to have a claim with them, they don’t care! Their brokers and adjusters are terrible, they only care about minimizing the work done to your car, they say they will fix it right never do! I have over 300 emails trying to get my vehicle fixed properly over 14 months. There’s always an excuse, they never provide documentation, they always force you to chase the repair, timelines are blamed on a garage, shipping, Covid blah blah - it’s whatever the roulette wheel says this week! Just picked up my car after 14 months it’s pulling to the right and here the actual quote from the adjuster ‘ It is possible that the drift to the right is a combination of the worn suspension parts and the effect of the crown of the roadway which will naturally cause a vehicle to drift towards the shoulder.’ hahahaha crown of the roadway OMG that is the most ignorant excuse I’ve ever heard! Please don’t ever buy Economical insurance they don’t care at all about you or your property.
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My wife had an accident with our vehicle, she was at fault. Up to this point, it’s all good. The problem was that my car was worth $20K and they spent $24K to fix it. Does that make any sense? Needless to say, my car’s value dropped to nothing. I called them to enquire and after a really bad customer service the guy literally said “We judge whether or not it’s a write-off.” Again... it’s simple math, why spend $24K in something that’s worth $20? Please, stay away from them.
Was hit from behind and pushed into vehicle ahead. At a full stop at a traffic light. Wanted car repaired but believe they wanted parts to sell so claim to repair rejected. It cost us money that we would not have had to pay if the company had just paid for repairs. The car had minimal mileage and excellent condition prior to the accident. Very frustrated. The client’s wishes of no concern. Paid out more than the cost of repairs would have been. Suggest looking for a different insurer.
I was in a collision which the third party was responsible for the damages, it took 3 months to get an appointment with the garage they suggested, the garage was a disaster in regards to customer services (completely unprofessional when contacted for an ETA), once the vehicle was returned to me it was filthy, dust everywhere in the vehicle from the repairs they had done, they not only returned my vehicle with a missing piece but the windshield was still not fixed (damaged during the side collision which affected the frame of the vehicle and cracked the base of the windshield), when contacted they refused to repair the broken windshield and suggested I open a new claim as if it was from a different collision this was suggested by a manager... The customer service is marked as 1 star due to the lack of professionalism from the handler that was assigned to my file, they refuse to admit that they made a mistake when inspecting my vehicle and are not only refusing to add the windshield to the claim they are "assuming" it was caused by a different collision, logically if there was a different collision the body of the vehicle would be damaged and a different collision would have been reported, which is not the case. The lack of solutions provided, lack of additional research and not following up with the customer has made this review what it is. This company does not have a good reputation and if they continue to provide a poor service with the retention of customers and referrals will diminish greatly.
I only wish there was an option to leave a 0-star review. This insurance company is a bunch of crooks! They are only decent if you never have to contact them or make a claim. BUT, the purpose of insurance is just-in-case, right? So you want a company that answers the phone or email and provides the service that you are paying for... I filed a claim for a fairly minor accident that I was not at fault for. It took 2 weeks to get a claim number and begin the process. They required I get an estimate at their partnered shop that is not even qualified or set up to fix my car. In the meantime, I got an estimate at a qualified shop and provided it to Economical for approval (still not approved). 8 weeks later after trying to contact them countless times, they reach out claiming the other insurance company wants me to admit fault. I referenced them back to the police report, detailed witness statements and the other drivers statement all admitting the other driver at fault. They backed off. 2 Weeks after that Economical called and said my car was a write-off (sight unseen). I asked how a car worth $36,000 with $6000 worth of damage could be a write-off and they replied, "it's just easier this way." I asked how much the settlement would be and they said it needed to be evaluated but probably around $4000-$6000. I said: absolutely not! It's now 6 months later and I haven't been able to get in contact with them since. What a joke of a company! I have read my contract in detail. A lawyer has reviewed my case and what they are doing is in fact illegal. Read other reviews, you won't find a single positive one.
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Long story short, they told body shop to start the work and then halfway through, they denied the claim. Now I'm stuck with a 20K bill which I can't afford. I have no choice but to have my car taken away by the sheriff and lose it. Now my credit with BMW is destroyed and my credit score will be tanking. I never missed a payment, any claims, an excellent driver. When I told friends about my experience, they also mentioned that they've been played around by Economical as well for 100% at fault no accident. This insurance company is a huge crook. I had another friend who told me she was under investigation. They came to her house for her to prove she lived there. Inspected her belongings and clothing etc. This company literally has to sniff through your underwear to insure you are not committing any insurance fraud and you are living where you say you are. I thought this was a joke but a disgusting and true story. Insurance companies need to be investigated!