As if dealing with the effects of my recent car accident wasn't enough I now am forced to deal with the financial burden of a rental car for the next 4 weeks.  The lady that hit me has Geico as her insurance company, and they are refusing to pay for my rental, even after they accepted 100% liability for the accident, until the repairs are completed on my car.

I spoke with Tracy Dean at the Geico claims office after I purchased a copy of the police report.  She stated that since Allstate (my insurance company) was handling the repairs that Geico wouldn't pay for the rental until after the body shop gives them the final bill.  In speaking with the body shop they stated that my car won't be done until March 20...a full month after the accident.  Even worse, I go from driving a 2011 full-size Chevy Malibu to a compact Chevy Cruze.  With a wife and 2 kids it makes it very difficult for us to go anywhere as a family since my daughter is in a car seat.  We even had to take the car seat out of Missy's vehicle to put it in the Cruze because of the smaller back seat.  When we bought the Malibu we actually looked at the Cruze and decided against it for this exact reason.

I'm getting a discounted rate through Allstate for the rental, but it's still costing me $204/week in rental fees.  I told this to Tracy, but she stated that there's nothing she can do.  This is completely unacceptable given the fact that I was not at fault in the accident, and Geico has accepted liability.  I'm now seriously considering taking the Cruze back and getting something bigger simply for the principal of the matter and the comfort level (or lack there of) of driving a smaller vehicle.  Then Geico can pay even more because of their lack of reason in these types of circumstances.

This could all be put to rest if Geico would agree to take over the billing for the rental.  I would have no problem if they simply did that, and then once the repairs were completed told me to take the care back that day or within 24 hours.  If I didn't then it would be on me.  Now it's ALL on me, and I did absolutely nothing wrong in this incident.

So in the end I get a damaged vehicle that will be decreased in value when I trade it in, a financial burden for the next 4 weeks, a rental car that's too small to go anywhere as a family, and nothing but excuses from an insurance company who touts their customer service.

Boycott Geico.  Go Allstate!!!

Update 3/1/13 @ 5:49pm

I spoke with Tracy Dean again this afternoon and gave her 3 choices.  The first was that Geico takes over the billing for the rental, and they never hear from me again.  The second was that I go back to Enterprise and rent the best vehicle they have with all the options, and tack on the daily insurance coverage instead of using the coverage on my Allstate policy.  The third was that Geico pays me the equivalent of what my hourly rate would be for me to take the next 3 weeks off since this is my primary vehicle.  She said that she see what she could do and would call me back shortly.

She called back with a voicemail that she contacted Enterprise and asked if they would be willing to continue with the rental and send Geico a bill when I returned the car.  Enterprise agreed, but said that they would not release the hold on my credit card until the bill was paid.  I can understand that, and I'm more happy that I don't have to come up with more money up front and then fight to get it back.

Allstate it still the best, but at least Geico made the attempt to handle the situation.  It should've happened before this, but never the less it's done.

Update 3/7/13 @ 2:17pm

Well, my last update apparently didn't work.  Enterprise called and said that there was an outstanding balance on my account that I needed to pay for.  I explained the arrangements with Geico, but they said that since Geico hasn't arranged direct billing that I was still on the hook for it.  I called Geico back, and they said that there's nothing more that they can do.  This is getting more frustrating by the day.

Update 3/8/13 @ 5:39pm

So today I spoke with a supervisor named Christopher at Geico about the rental issue.  At first he wasn't too eager to help, but said that he would see what he could do and call me back.  He finally called back on my way home from work and said that due to the circumstances he has arranged with Enterprise to authorize direct billing through next Friday since there's a possibility that my car will be out of the repair shop by then.  Any additional days will need to go through the normal claims process.  I agreed and thanked him for his efforts.

Update 3/15/13 @ 12:46pm

Talked to the repair shop today, and unfortunately my car won't be done until Monday or Tuesday.  Hopefully this won't cause any issues with Geico, but I guess we'll ahve to wait and see.

Update 3/19/13 @ 7:00pm

Finally got my car back today, and she looks good as new.  The shop said that I could leave the rental there and they would see that it was returned, so that's a good thing.  Back to normal life once again.

Update 4/3/13 @ 1:23pm

It never ends does it?  Enterprise called today and said that Geico has yet to make good on the remaining balance of the rental.  They said that Geico refuses to pay for the remaining 4 days since they only authorized up until the 15th.  I called Geico, and they changed their story saying that Allstate still hasn't sent them the final claim demand letter.  I then called Allstate and explained this to the claims agent who said that they already sent out the demand letter.  He in turn contacted the repair shop, and to my complete surprise the shop said that they would take care of the remaining 4 days of the rental.  Allstate said that they would then go after Geico to repay the shop, so hopefully they will get that taken care of.

Update 4/4/13 @ 10:41am

I think I'm finally done with this headache except for on thing.  Geico owes me 1 days pay for the day that I missed because of the accident.  I sent a message to Allstate, and he said they would follow up with them.  I then called Geico who said to fax over a copy of the doctor's excuse and a current pay stub.  We'll see how long this one takes.

Update 4/11/13 @ 11:13pm

Got a call from Geico today about the missed day.  They agreed to pay the same amount that I calculated, and in turn requested a release for this part of the claim.  I agreed, so they are supposed to send the check out tomorrow.