Safelite Auto Glass Safelite Faulty workmanship brought a Rat in... Lakeland Florida

I filed a claim with my insurance to fix my broken windshield and after two appointments Safelite did come replace the glass. I was on holiday do I didn't really drive my car much for the next two weeks.  When I went back to work I noticed firstly that my windshield had a strange look at the bottom, kind of convex, but I just figured it was a replacement windshield and i would just have to get used to it.  I'm such a girl.  I had also realized that a furry intruder had taken up residence in my vehicle.

After many, many empty traps and several weeks of trying I finally decided the critter had won and I would let the repair shop find it, remove it and repair what damage had been done.  While waiting for the tow truck I began inspecting the vehicle.  I first noticed that my windshield was off center.  The weather stripping material was about an inch wide on the drivers side and only an eighth of an inch wide on the passenger side.  After inspecting further I noticed that the "cowl" vent (not sure that's spelled correctly) was lifted about a finger width high and 6-8 inches wide along the drivers side of the windshield.  This apparently had been left exposed by the installer 4 weeks earlier.  

The dealer has since tore my vehicle apart, granted this is a 2012 minivan.  The carpets are ruined, rat has caused damage to several components.  The a/c line was chewed the "cowl" drain chewed open at the top elbow which I thought odd.  I took photos of the opening as well as the repair shop. I made a warranty appt to have the centering issue inspected as well as the rat door that was left open.  

The Safelite tech showed up 3 days later, having a fowl attitude and wearing headphones the whole time, which is what I was told by the repair shop.  I called several days later when I never heard an outcome and was told that the repair shop said the rat damage had nothing to do with Safelite, what about the windshield issues?  I called and made a second appt to address these problems, which ended up being several days later.  I was told by the repair shop tech that tore my car apart, that it was very probable that the rodent entered through the exposed vent area which then gained access via the drain, which explains the chewed pipe.  

The day of the appt I had planned to be there to hear what each party had to say so I wouldn't have all the hearsay.  I never received a call to specify my appt time.  When I called for it I was then notified that my appt had been cancelled.  I was told several different stories until I received the manager which told me he cancelled it on the day I scheduled it.  By the way they never notified me of this. He told me that it was a ridiculous accusation and a rat could never have gotten in through the windshield.  Well no crap!  He was adimant that Safelite was not responsible for any of it.  I asked for a meeting with the regional manager at the repair shop to address all the issues.  He flat out refused my requests and stated that I could bring my vehicle to him yo look at the windshield placement.  No way!!  He could not give me a name of the repair shop tech who said it had nothing to do with Safelite, said his tech was off that day and probably wouldn't remember who he spoke to anyway because he sees hundreds of people.  

I followed up with their corporate office, which I had to try 3 different numbers before finding a good working number.  The rep called and spoke to this manager who apparently got with his supervisor and the tech that was off.  They now had a name which I followed up with at my dealership/repair shop.  When I called my service manager he verified that he never even spoke to their tech and would have had no knowledge of the condition of m vehicle because he hadnt even looked at it.  At this point I am still having to play a middleman role on the he said, she said game. I feel that this is incredibly ridiculous, frustrating and irritating!  I have ridden around with a growing rat, when it finally died it was about a foot long with tail, had the rain and car wash saturate my carpets, and have thousands of dollars of damage caused by the negligence of Safelite's installer.  I have basically been called a liar and treated as one, been left without a vehicle for 9 days so far and probably at least another 7, lost time at work and feel like a complete burden on my repair shop.  

I believe that this rodent entered through the opening that this tech left, it's just too coincidental that within a week of having the windshield replaced this rat took residence.  I do hope that they will do the right thing, although I don't hold my breathe. They have literally left me holding the Rat and I still have a windshield that was not installed properly.  I don't believe I will ever use Geico's suggested repair companies ever again.