As Mississippi lawyer John Eaves Jr. has toured the country, educating collision repairers on his efforts to stop PartsTrader and also to recover funds for repairers for repair procedures they performed but were not compensated for, many repairers have nodded their heads and traded stories of similar injustices done at their shops.

One such repairer is Jordan Wooten, general manager of Coastal Collision Works in Charleston, S.C. Wooten recently went so far as to personally email Eaves in a plea to have his shop included in the lawsuit. Wooten wrote:

I am writing you this letter because we have the same problem here! There are multiple tickets that have been short paid here at our facility. Not only is priming and buffing being short paid, but almost everything that cannot be double clicked on as an operation as well. You can also guarantee that almost every repair time that we ask for will be cut in half.

I have spreadsheets that show that State Farm pays an average of almost 30 percent less on every ticket than any other insurance company – and then has the nerve to tell me that it’s ‘not market.’ I’ve spent several hours of my time understanding the legalities of the phrase ‘not market,’ and I’ve come to find out that it’s ‘not legal’ to be doing what State Farm is doing here in Charleston. South Carolina has specific laws and legislation that have been put into place to make sure that appraisers and adjusters treat every claim fairly and without prejudice, but it seems there is no one monitoring the adjusters to make sure the laws aren’t broken.

I have made packets that show not only short pays, but inconsistencies and delays in claims as well. We have supplements that wait for 12 days before being addressed and initial inspections that have been waiting for 15 days. State Farm also warns the customer with a formal letter that says that if you go to Coastal Collision Works, you may be responsible for the balance owed.

State Farm has assigned certain individuals to handle every claim that comes through our doors. Only one appraiser looks at State Farm claims at our facility. It seems like there is a State Farm-approved chain of command that deals with us. Not only does it seem like it, I can prove it. Also, I am referred to an individual in a different state if I have any questions about claims. I haven’t been in touch with this person in over three months, so all of my concerns about unsafe repairs being requested, or questions about anything in general, cannot be answered and are still unanswered.

We also have a problem getting even simple things approved on the first supplement that they eventually wind up paying on the third or fourth supplement. In other words, State Farm’s fourth supplement looks like our first one we sent in because, in the end, a broken part is a broken part. It’s hard to say that they intentionally do it to us but, at the same time, I’ve sent them several emails explaining the problems we are having and nothing is being done about it (improper claims practice). Which brings me to South Carolina legislation.

I have a list of South Carolina laws that State Farm has broken – and evidence of them breaking them. For example, telling me that ‘car cover’ is ‘not market.’ And using that excuse to tell me that you’re not going to pay for something is what South Carolina calls a ‘false statement or misrepresentation.’ I have multiple estimates from customers who walk through our door from other shops that charge ‘car cover.’ I also know that State Farm is the ONLY insurance company not paying it.

Another one is all of the inconsistencies in operations covered by State Farm. ‘Every appraiser shall conduct himself in such a manner as to inspire public confidence by fair and honorable dealing,’ SC 69-16.8.

I know a lot of this is rambling on with no request, but something needs to be done…end of rant.

Request: Please put us on board with what you are doing in regard to short pays with State Farm. If you have one for tortious interference with business, put us on that list as well.

So far, Eaves has not replied to Wooten. However, his message to repairers all along has been that he will bring the litigation to those states he feels he can win.