Parents totaled their car 2 weeks ago. They have insurance. They called their agent, had it appraised, totalled, written off, all business as usual. I just happened to be in the room as they had a phone conversation with a private adjuster who I assume works with multiple firms, and what I heard set off every warning bell imaginable.
First she seemed hesitant to give a simple number as to what the insurance was going to pay out. She eventually gave an initial claim and then gave another smaller number that I assume is what my parents can expect after regular fees. Then she was very interested/nervous about where the totaled car was being stored and kept mentioning storage fees. My brother works at a dealership and my parents initially had the car towed there hoping it was fixable and when they learned it was a wash, my brother just held it there no problem. So even after assuring this lady multiple times there would be no fees, it seemed like she was still very adamant/concerned. I guess it's possible the dealership would normally charge something and it would potentially be taken out of her/the insurance companies margins, but it really just seemed like another red flag to me. When my mom went to ask how they moved forward and when she send the title into the dealership/insurance company the lady FULL STOP said absolutely to not involve anyone but her. That's where I really felt like something was up. She (the adjuster) went on to say the company will give them the run around and it will take months to get the money etc. Then she says the easiest thing to do is to meet in person and sign the title over to her personally and then to bring a debit card and she'll wire them the money. I feel like my parents eyes lit up with dollar signs and ignored everything wrong with this whole situation. Am I being paranoid? To me the company would write the car off after being appraised and mail a check. Business as usual. Boring, like insurance should be. This lady just screams scammer to me and I'd hate to see my parents taken advantage of. The adjuster wants this all to go down in person in the parking lot of a random shopping center in two days. Any advice would be appreciated! Hopefully this is just standard practice nowadays and I'm wrong.
Submitted March 31, 2021 at 07:58PM by TotallyJawsome2 https://ift.tt/3dqrXfZ
