Event - I was rear ended on US1 near Homestead in October. At a red light, I coasted into the middle lane from the left lane and was still clipped on my left rear by somebody in the left lane. I called Geico. Their numbskull operator was of no use and actually suggested that I could leave the scene if no one was hurt. I telephoned 911. I later learned you should use 311. US1 is considered a state highway. I had to wait over an hour in the heat for an officer to appear. I took pics. He seemed to be managing the incident report to benefit his non-English speaking homey. Even though I explained that we are a non-fault state (not sure that is exactly accurate) and had no reason to misrepresent and didn't really care what he wrote down. I was just trying to get out of there. He told me that the lane changer is at fault in Florida even if in front. I haven't fact checked this. I guess it could make sense if you believe our legislators are morons or possibly it was an attempt to curtail incidents where people jam on their brakes to cause a collision. He wrote me a citation for $175. Emailed it to me. Told me I could BUY the incident report. I continued on. I emailed the cop subsequently to try and amend the report as exculpatory facts came back to me. He did not respond. I then called his precinct. He finally called back (I suspect to leave no paper trail) and basically said he wouldn't change the report. Gave me some bs about losing my license if I averred that I wasn't totally coherent after the accident. Said if I had said I wasn't clear at the original time he could have prevented me from leaving. Said the cameras on the traffic poles (at the accident site) don't record.
Lesson - I guess (if you want to drive away) don't admit to PTSD, etc. Let the other guy give his account first. Then correct their mis-recollections. Call 311. Don't drive away. And I guess (per the State of Florida Highway Patrol), don't ever change lanes. And always say you put on the blinker and checked the mirrors. BTW - I had. The guy behind must have been going fifty while the rest of us were down to ten. And no one who witnessed the wreck would admit to it and give a statement. I was Alone. His family took off.
Ticket - This was a pain to figure out where to send the fine (ticket clinic never responded and was a pain and more expensive) and the instructions on the citation were confusing. I had 30 days. The Miami Dade Court House (305-275-1111) does it for the highway patrol down there (yet can't do the actual policing/responding). Plus they have to approve traffic school (a formality). I had to leave a call back request. No one ever picked up. 9-4. At end of the automated part, you get a clerk option. Press 0. They (I think they only have one person) directed me to the website (www.payflclerk.com) to pay. You will need Citation #. That had a box to check for traffic school. I did that. You had to go to another site (www.flhsmv.gov) that had a list of options. I did that. They gave me 60-90 days to complete. Chose one for $20. Did a 4 hr course. Passed the test. They said I had to email the certificate. But, the site had an option and it sent it to them. I emailed it anyway and called them to make sure they had it.
Insurance Company - They kept texting to get info from me. I learned you have four years to file a claim. I called the 800 number and got some advice. I got onto the Geico site. Filled out a form. Made a reservation to have the damage inspected (one option - twenty miles away) by an adjuster. *You can upload your own photos too via app or link (but there are annoying rules) Showed up. Was informed that I wasn't on the list. Called Geico. They said I was. Impasse. Gave me another location (not on the web site list) one mile away from my house and hour later. Not a full fledged adjuster. They took pics. I also sent Geico an email with all the relevant information about the other driver, etc. The gave me a claims adjuster that they quickly switched. Notified by mail. I went away for two weeks. Got home and nothing was done. I called Geico. They said the pics hadn't been submitted. I made an appointment at the same place for more pics. Got there and the guy said he bitched Geico out because he HAD sent in the pics and they dropped the ball. They eventually texted me to go to the website for the claims adjusters report/estimate. That had a list of items to be replaced and a sum payable to me for it. I had to send this to the repair shop. Plus I had to choose to have a wire transfer or check sent for the sum. I did nothing. The default was a check if you didn't respond in a few days.
Repairs - An associate gave me the name of a repair shop (Seminole Paint & Body on 2601 Country Club Rd) close by that he had had success with at the time of the accident. I wasn't in the mood to do much research at the time. In a real funk over this. Their Google rating was good - 4.8 with 344 reviews. Yelp = 18 5 stars. The dealer was quick option two. But, they just struck me as unreliable/corrupt and wouldn't guarantee premium parts. I had also been getting good advice from their office people about what to do with Geico. They said the report had to have the Geico letterhead. I would sign over the check to them at the end. They would work with and bill Geico for any discrepencies. I docusigned an agreement. I arranged to have the work done after New Year's. They seemed to imply that they would be ready for action then. NOPE. Now, I'm not going to speculate on what was going on behind the scenes. However, they took twenty working days (they and the adjuster's report said ten) or 180 operating hours for a car that takes 26 hours to assemble from scratch. The cost from the estimate tripled. FYI - car was drivable and I had things planned = why it took so long to bring it in
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Repair Timeline - I called a week before to remind them that I was coming in. They said "oh, we didn't know if you were 100%". I had been calling them for months! I had had a reservation for before Thanksgiving that I pushed back because I assumed days would be wasted. I had brought it to them already. They took pics. They (Heather) said she would "now order the parts! But, it was no problem. They would get there in time". I dropped the car off (Monday 1/5) and went on a two week trip to give them time. They texted me two days later that they would be sending me status reports. The next day another text that "completion date was Wednesday 1/21". Already behind. I later learned that they needed to have ANOTHER Geico adjuster come in and that didn't happen until Thursday. They wasted the whole first week. Another text the next day that "repairs underway...seeing you in 12 days". Text on Monday 1/12 "on track to be completed 1/21". The next day "updated completion date to 1/23"! Text on Thursday 1/15 "on target for 1/23". Text Monday 1/16 "on track for 1/23". Text on Tuesday 1/20 "nearing completion". Text later the same day "updated completion date to 1/30". !!! Just as I was flying back.
In between the texts I had also been conversing with my repair manager Heather (when available). She preferred to leave voicemails. I assume because it was shortly only bad news. Always seemed to be at lunch. A million and one excuses. Never apologized. Never took accountability. I also spoke with others in the office (when she was gone) and received drips and drabs of the truth. I even eventually had to demand to talk to the manager (Destry) who ended up expediting nothing. He seemed to always be torn between here and another location. Call on 1/5 - learned they had only just met with Geico Adjuster Taylor Buckley. Said it was necessary because they believed whole quarter panel needed to be replaced. They had alluded to this earlier and probably should have had this call ready to go. They never blamed him for a delay in scheduling. There were few calls after the first "update" in completion. On 1/16 I was told that they were "just waiting on a light to be finished". On 1/20 they said the panel had arrived and had to be welded. Then had to be sent to the paint shop. On 1/21 the manager said "it would be done the next week". Probably Wednesday. He sent pics of the disassembled car on 1/23. In these calls, they also warned me that Geico was taking a long time to inspect and certify the repairs after they had finished (I was not told this was a step) and that may slow down delivery. I called my Geico contact and they gave me that other guy's number (of course my contact wasn't involved) and I called to make sure there would be no delay on his part and to get his opinion on what had been happening. They seem to cover each other's asses. They finally got it done by the end of the day on Friday 1/30. I had to keep pestering them to make it happen. I was traveling. I didn't let them know that. I picked it up on Monday 2/2. There were a few code malfunctions that somehow slipped through their inspection. Luckily, the outsourced servicer was there and "fixed" them. Or maybe just cleared out codes that will come back to bite me. The driver's seat belt was also pulled out off its spool. They fixed that. Not before blaming it on me. Wasn't. Maybe the code guy or detailer? The passenger window was scratched. Wasn't before. The tires were all flat. They filled them. After I pointed them out. Tremendous epoxy stench. I paid the $500 deductible to them via credit card. Signed over the check from Geico. They gave me a receipt and a line item report.
Conclusion - Accidents are a pain in the ass. I can't speak to the quality of their work. It looks ok. Some differences in caps, etc. I had no rental car coverage, so, the delays were a problem. They assume you have it. I guess. Maybe part of the lack of timeliness. I had to pay for all this rental time. I wasn't told of any extraneous issues (ie part shortages, etc). All the delays seem to be their fault. They are either too overloaded with work (I saw around thirty vehicles in the back lot) or understaffed or undisciplined. They told me the texts are automated bs. I assume every enterprise in this field does not have our best and brightest, so, as a result you can expect the same kind of experience. I just hope I never have to deal with this sort of thing again. All the photos and appointments with Geico seemed to be pointless. They said they would try and get my deductible back. Probably won't because of the police report. With this piece of shit cars, every fender bender seems to be a big deal/costly. I'll let you know if Geico tries to claw it's money back, raises rates or drops me. Can you believe that my first bill AFTER the crash went down! Maybe because the final tally hadn't hit them in the nuts yet? Or... I heard the state government made some adjustments that are lowering our car insurance rates around this time that offset any retribution.
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