Honda Care- APCO Corporation- Easy Care chose to cover one leak vs both as one was cheaper and claimed the other one is older than when the extended warranty coverage began Atlanta Georgia

I noticed a leak coming from under my vehicle about two weeks ago so I called Acura Care to obtain information on the process of taking my vehicle a Non-Acura Vehicle under Acura Care/Easy Care warranty for repair. I informed the customer service representative that I will need a rental car while my BMW is being repaired at the BMW Service Center, as the BMW dealer only offers loaners if the vehicle was purchased directly through them, which was not my case since mine was from DCH Montclair Acura.  

The customer service representative then advised me that Acura Care typically covers six days for a rental car but they could approve additional days if need be. I was also told to make sure I take my vehicle to the BMW Service Center early in the morning so that the Service Advisor submits my claim early enough for approval, hence I took my vehicle to the BMW Service Center the morning of Tuesday, June 30th, 2020 for diagnostic/repair and requested a rental car accordingly.

I was then told by the BMW Service Advisor that my car had two major leaks where one is a Differential Leak and one is the Oil Pan Gasket Leak. He also informed me that he would be submitting my claim to Acura Care before noon to ensure the repair starts asap. In an effort to assist with the process, I called Acura Care to let them know that their approval of my repair claim was needed asap and that time is of the essence since I have a rental car.

The customer service representative reviewed my file and told me that they will have to reach out to DCH Montclair Acura for information before they could approve my claim so I requested a call back with an update. Unfortunately, no one reached out to me that day so I waited until the next morning and called BMW to verify if the repair started, but it did not and thus I followed up with Acura Care who informed me that they were still waiting to receive some paperwork from DCH Montclair Acura. I told the customer service representative that we were already in day two and no work has been done on my vehicle so he assured me that I would receive a call from a claim manager asap. The day ended and the call never came through.

I reached back out to the BMW Service Center on Thursday morning and was informed that the Acura Care requested pictures of the leak before they could approve the claim so I called Acura Care for an update. I was then advised that the claim manager was reviewing my claim and would get back to me by close of business that day. At or about 7pm EST, the BMW Service Advisor called me to let me know that he heard from Acura Care and that my claim was denied. I immediately called Acura Care and was told about the denial so I demanded to escalate my concern to someone higher. The customer service representative took my number down and said that I would be hearing from the Claims Manager soon.

The Claims Manager, John Sutherland, contacted me the next morning to reiterate their decision. I asked him for clarification so he informed me that the denial was based on the pictures he received from the BMW Service Center which showed that the leaks were older than 45 days which meant longer than when the Extended Warranty coverage became active. I advised him that making such assumption based on pictures did not make sense and that I only noticed the leaks two weeks ago. After a long back and forth conversation, he decided to have an inspector (or who he referred to as a camera and two legs) go the BMW dealer and take additional pictures.

He then mentioned that the earliest the inspector could go would be Monday, July 6, 2020 so I told him that Monday would be the 7th day of having a rental car and yet no work has been done on my car. He responded by repeating that Monday will be the earliest the inspector could go to the BMW Dealer. I explained to him that had I been told on Tuesday (when I dropped off the car for repair) or when I called prior to that, that more paperwork may be needed or that the service advisor needed to send pictures or that an inspection is required, I would have taken my car and brought it back to the BMW dealer whenever the claim was approved.

I also mentioned that I was previously told by a customer service representative that though the contract covers six days of a rental, an extension is possible if need be. He then advised me to go read the Contract Agreement that he needed to speak to the sraff as the coverage is only for 6 days per the Contract Agreement. He also mentioned that I will receive an update on Monday when the inspector uploads the pictures.

I waited until noon on Monday to receive an update but no one called me. I then called the BMW Service Advisor whom let me know that the Acura Care inspector came and took pictures of the leaks so I reached back out to Acura Care. The customer service representative informed me that it takes up to 24 hours before the inspector uploads the pictures and the Claims Manager reviews them.

I followed up again on Tuesday morning with Acura Care and was advised that based on the photos the inspector took, it was determined that the Oil Pan Gasket leak was longer than 45 days ago whereas the Differential leak is more recent. As such, my repair claim could only be approved for 6 days of car rental and the repair of the Differential leak which was for $516.03 whereas I would be responsible for any additional days of car rental and the Oil Pan Gasket leak for $1791.63.

I immediately called the BMW dealer and advised them to proceed with repairing the Differential leak and to hold off on the Oil Pan Gasket leak until further notice. I also asked the Service Advisor whether he was able to determine based on looking at the vehicle when the leak started and he said “absolutely not”. He then informed me that the car should be ready the next morning and that I would be responsible for four days of car rental and a $100 deductible not to mention that he could only release the vehicle if Acura Care submits payment for the claim. 

I then called Acura Care back and asked to speak to a supervisor and was transferred again to the same Claims Manager, John Sutherland. I requested an explanation regarding their findings but he kept on repeating that the denial was because the pictures show that the leak is older than 45 days and that the warranty does not cover pre-existing failures from before the date the coverage begins. I tried to explain to him that per the Service Advisor who provided the diagnostic on my car at the BMW Service Center, it is impossible to determine when a leak started by looking at the car or pictures. He then said “that is their opinion and we have ours”.

I told him that my car was taken to the BMW dealer for a reason which was to do a diagnostic and repair which meant they are the ones who are knowledgeable about what is wrong with the car and how to fix it and unfortunately, reviewing pictures that an inspector took is not ground to deny my claim. He then reiterated that the pictures show a leak older than 45 days so I requested to see evidence on the pictures that confirm their findings i.e. an expiration date of some sort, any tangible proof that would warrant the denial. All he said, was that the pictures prove that the leak is older than when the extended warranty coverage began.

After a long back and forth communication about the issue, I realized that despite what I try to tell him, the conversation was not going anywhere and that the only reason they partially denied my claim was because the Extended Warranty contract equaled $2627.74 so they chose to cover the cheaper leak of $516.03 rather the whole claim (excluding rental car) which would have been for $2307.66 ($516.03 for the differential while the Oil Pan Gasket leak was for $1791.63).

I then requested to escalate my concern further. John Sutherland informed me there was no one higher than him to speak to regarding the matter and that If I have something else to say I should look at my Contract Agreement and mail my dispute to the Legal Department. I informed him that I needed a copy of the denial letter so he advised me that the Legal Department will send it to me electronically next week. As such I disconnected the call.

While per the Vehicle Service Contract, a Mechanical Breakdown or Failure is not covered by the warranty if it occurs prior the contact’s effective date of 5/13/2020, looking at the car and/or photos of the leak does not suffice to determine that one leak started recently while the other one occurred before the contact’s effective date of 5/13/2020. Not to mention that per the statement/invoice I rec’d from the BMW Service Center that worked on my vehicle, they could not determine the time when the vehicle started leaking. As such, the denial of my claim was not warranted.