Auto repair shop made repairs beyond the estimate dollars given by insurer. Shop wants me to pay difference, going to small claims.
Question Details: Insurance sent appraiser, and estimate dollars approved was clearly stated. Final cost came in higher as Insurance pays out $34 per hour; shop charges $38 per hour. Difference was around $175, insurance paid about of that. My wife signed a document when dropping off the car, but the document mentions nothing about it being CAR OWNERS resp., or that there was/would be a difference. The shop also said that this insurance company does this all the time (so they were aware there may be a difference in the end). Local repair shop wants me to pay difference, taking me to small claims.
Insurance Law Law Answers
If the shop told you about the insurance company's practices only after the problem came up, I think they are in the wrong, no matter what the document your wife signed might say (based on how you've described it).
If you had known that the shop wasn't going to take what the estimate said, you could have looked for another repair shop that would take the estimate. What that document says might be very important, though, and I'd suggest you have a lawyer read it and explain it to you, before you go to court to fight this.
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