GEICO DECEPTIVE Ripoff BAIT AND SWITCH TACTICS Fredricksburg Maryland

Open letter to the public:

I recently had the misfortune to have to work with the auto insurance department of Geico.

I filed a claim against a Geico insured motorist who had decided to manuver his vehicle into a lane in which mine happened to be occupying. After exchanging license and insurance information with Mr. MaGoo I called my insurance company and then his, Geico.

Much to my dismay instead of working with the cute and witty lizard that they use to promote their company, I was connected a deceptively charming person who recorded my call and told me they would launch an investigation. This person I will refer to as the Cheshire Cat called me 2 days later to inform me that the investigation was over and that Geico would be responsible for paying for the repair of my damaged vehicle.

You could have knocked me over with a feather. It was too easy. I couldn't believe in an insurance company that worked at the speed of light and accepted responsibility for their clients illegal and destructive activities. They told me they would pay all the damages; I will buy a lottery ticket, they told me they even had the body shops selected that I could take my car to; praise the lord, they even told me that they would pay for the rental while mine was being repaired, halleluiah!

I was walking on clouds. Being from Poland I was used to getting the short end of the stick and I have to admit I was a little dubious. Because I am such a skeptic I decided to call Geico each day for 3 days in a row before I handed my car over to a Geico sponsored body shop. You can imagine my doubts relying on the 2 professions that according to my American friends have a long and proud history of sticking it to their clients, an insurance company married to an auto mechanic. Is this not a marriage made in hell? The Cheshire Cat, forever smiling assured me daily that it was true they accepted the claim against them and would be completely paying for the repair bill and car rental.

It was with some hesitation that I handed my keys over to the nice toothless gentleman at the repair shop. This man was a caricature of the cartoon when the client brings his car into the repair shop and asks how much and the grease covered mechanic responds "How much you got?" This is where my fairytale takes a turn for the worse.

A few days after I leave my car with the nice gentleman I receive a call from the Cheshire Cat. He informs me that they have received further evidence and that they are now reviewing my case. I ask the always smiling and ever elusive man what evidence they would possibly ponder that could erase the conclusion that they had already come to. I was informed that they had a call from their client an 81 year old man with coke bottle glasses whose vision was so impaired that I had to write both of our general information down because he could not read my drivers license or license plate. Apparently Sherlock Holmes went back to the accident scene and with no debris, no skid marks combined with a heavy traffic area and his keen eye sight he could prove he was not at fault. Never mind that he violated 2 Maryland driving laws and sideswiped me in my lane pushing me into a curb he was definitely not guilty.

I don't blame d**k Tracey; he would probably like to avoid having his insurance premiums going up. Unfortunately Geico in good faith informed that they were responsible for the repair of my car and assured me during my numerous follow up calls that they definitely were paying my repair bills, in their words case closed. They didn't change their minds until my car was in their possession. I can't even have my car released until they approve it.

Let me summarize it. Geico reneged on their promise to pay for my repairs and car rental. They are holding my car hostage at the"Geico Approved Auto Body Shop." They are reversing their decision on phantom evidence. They took away my freedom of choosing the mechanic I would use at half the price or waiting until I was in a better financial position to pay for the repairs (there is just cosmetic damage). They are doing all this with a big, wide, smirk on their face.

I am beginning to learn now how your OJ Simpson was found not guilty and how there were no weapons of mass destruction. People like the good claims people at Geico served of that jury and provided the intelligence on Iraq.

I would say avoid Geico at all costs. I would also challenge the Geico public relations people that seem to answer these rip off reports, to prove me wrong. Please tell me how you can send someone into a repair shop they have never used to repair a vehicle that you have promised multiple times that you would pay for. Additionally please explain to me in layman's terms how you find new evidence at a crash site that has no cameras, skid marks or debris? If you can convincingly I will write a retraction, sing Geicos praises and send you a personal check for $500.Good Luck Geico.

Joanna
Arlington, Virginia
U.S.A.

Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on GEICO Insurance