And so it goes on...:
Mr. Kevin Kullar
E-mail:
kevin.kullar@openroadautogroup.com Dear Mr. Kullar:
I am writing further to our August 12, 2011 meeting regarding your recent claim. I appreciate you bringing your concerns with the handling of your claim to our attention.
I was sorry to hear your vehicle was vandalized on the night of the Stanley Cup riots and you feel further victimized in the handling of your claim. Although your claim occurred on the night of the riots, it was not classified as a Stanley Cup riot claim due to the location of your vehicle (River Rock Casino, Richmond) at the time of the loss. As such, your claim was not handled following the protocol for vehicles damaged during the riot.
I commend you for your organization of the documentation supporting your dispute as to whether your vehicle should have been written off as a result of the damages incurred, or repaired.
I contacted <withheld>, Material Damage Manager at the Centralized Estimating Facility, to address your concerns and your request to have ICBC buy your repaired vehicle back.
I can confirm that the discrepancy between the original estimate and the final estimate was due to three factors:
1. Additional repair times determined by the repair shop.
2. Parts that were thought to be repairable but later determined should be replaced.
3. Decision to completely repaint your vehicle due to related paint scratches and damage.
The estimator, <withheld>, used an Audatex Autosource report to determine the Actual Cash Value (ACV) of $25,063, which is ICBC’s standard procedure for determining the ACV of any vehicle. Audatex Autosource is an independent provider of vehicle valuation services used by many insurance companies, to help determine the market value of vehicles. I’ve attached a copy of the report for your records.
I can understand your frustration in believing the value determined by the Audatex Autosource report was too high considering you had the vehicle on the market at $21,000 and it hadn’t sold since you first posted it in April 2011.
As you mentioned in your documentation, <withheld> confirmed there was a mistake made in calculating the salvage value of your vehicle at the time of the original calculation by <withheld>. He agreed that the valuation of your vehicle at over $25,000 was too high and, even though he may not agree that the value should be as low as $21,000, he completed a total loss calculation using the value of $21,000 and a more realistic salvage value, which resulted in a maximum repair cost of $16,464. This amount is still above your actual repair cost of $13,772.30.
Vehicles will typically be considered a total loss at 70 to 80 per cent of the ACV, which also includes taxes. However, a complete maximum repair calculation is also required when making any decisions regarding repair vs. total write off. This includes the ACV (plus tax), less salvage (plus tax). We do not take that number and then deduct a further 80 per cent, which could account for the discrepancy in your own write-off threshold calculation.
I understand <withheld> has already apologized to you for <withheld> not contacting you with the new repair estimate, or to return your calls when you were notified of the new repair amount by Richmond Auto Body. This is not acceptable customer service. I understand the issue has been dealt with and Mr. Beach is aware he should have called you himself and returned your phone calls. I also wish to extend my apologies for the lack of customer service. It certainly is not up to ICBC’s standards and I trust you will not encounter such treatment in any future dealings with any of our employees.
After a careful review of the circumstances of your loss and discussions with <withheld>, as well as my manager, I do not believe it was an unfair decision to repair your vehicle, as opposed to classifying it as a total loss. As such, we are not in a position to buy your repaired vehicle back. The additional costs ensured all minor paint scratches and damage were addressed, and there would be no issues with paint match and blending with non-repaired panels of your vehicle.
If you believe there are unresolved issues of administrative fairness, you may wish to submit a request for review to the ICBC Fairness Commissioner, Mr. Peter Burns. I have provided a link below with more information about the Fairness Commissioner’s role and to an online form for submitting your request:
http://www.icbc.com/about-ICBC/raising-concerns/fairness_commissioner Please note that the Fairness Commissioner does not have jurisdiction over complaints or disputes that relate solely or primarily to the amount of a final payment for repairs or claim settlement.
You also have the option of submitting an appeal of the repair costs vs. write off through an independent arbitration process. I have discussed and confirmed with <withheld> that he is willing to participate in this process with you on behalf of ICBC. I have provided a link to information about the arbitration process:
http://www.icbc.com/claims/Repair-replace/bcami-vehicle.pdf. If you would like to proceed with arbitration, please contact <withheld> at 604 777-4563.
While I regret that we are unable to satisfy your request to buy your repaired vehicle back, I hope I have been able to explain ICBC’s position in the matter.
If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours truly,
<withheld> CIP
Customer Relations Advisor
pc: <withheld>
