On the evening of December 19th 2017, my wife and I were involved on a traffic accident on interstate 90, right before Mercer Island exit 8. We were hit from behind and smashed into another vehicle in front of us. We had received a recent cancer diagnosis and were coming into town from Spokane, to meet with a specialist the following morning. With state patrol assistance, we were able to get our vehicle towed to a nearby towing company. Turns out they were next door to the Bellevue Collision Center. Bellevue seemed to have good online reviews and we were able to speak with Sergio to get the ball rolling on our insurance claim. We were considerably banged up and needed to hobble into our doctor appointments the next day.
Sergio understood we were from out of town and said he would expedite the repairs. This was the beginning of the Bellevue Collision Center saga.
The insurance company of the vehicle that hit us (Allstate) took complete responsibility, provided us with a rental vehicle and we didn’t even need to turn in a claim with our own insurance company. The repairs were authorized and were moving ahead (or so we thought). After a few weeks we called Bellevue to check on the progress and were told they were waiting on parts that had not come in yet. After a couple more weeks we called and they were still waiting on a backordered part to complete the repairs. We were told Sergio would get back with us (never happened). I continued to call every 1 ½ weeks to be informed by an employee that they were working on the vehicle a couple of hours a day and the wrong bumper had been received.
On a subsequent call another bumper was again received that was wrong. Long story short after numerous calls and messages were left, we finally received a call that the Jeep Grand Cherokee was ready. This was over 2 months since the accident (if this is expedited service, I would hate to see what the non-expedited time frame is). We traveled from Spokane on February 23rd, 2018 to pick up our Jeep and return our rental truck. We were informed at Bellevue Collision Center that the rear bumper parking sensors were not hooked up. We would need to take it in to a local body shop when we got back home and get this taken care of. No problem right? After 2 months, we were just glad to get our vehicle back. Our drive back home on the pass was very nerve racking, visibility was bad and the roads were not good, traffic was a snail’s pace, however we were fortunate that the pass didn’t close before we made it through. We were very glad to have our sure footed Jeep with snow tires, such a safe vehicle in these conditions (or so we thought).
Both my wife and I were coming down with a bug and by the time we got back to Spokane we were incredibly sick. I had to go to the ER and was treated for bronchitis. When I was up to it (about 3 weeks later) I took our vehicle to the local authorized Jeep dealer in town (Dishman Dodge Jeep Body Shop). This is where all hell breaks loose- I was informed that an incorrect bumper was installed and that’s why the backup sensors could not be connected. Dishman said that just by looking underneath the vehicle, they could see that the repairs were done incorrectly. They would need to pull the front and back bumpers which would run $300+. So I contacted Allstate again and after several weeks they were able to assign an adjuster for Spokane.
So now the jeep is inspected and we find out that even though the invoice shows almost $13,000 in repairs have been billed and paid for by Allstate, the repairs have either not been done, or been done so badly that the work needs to be redone. The body shop is horrified to find that parts were actually zip tied on and billed items were never done, paint is flawed, etc. The Allstate adjuster (who thought we might be just being picky) is telling us that this is a clear case of insurance fraud and it was good that we brought the vehicle in to be checked out. We have videos and documentation. This Allstate insurance adjuster works for the insurance company of the vehicle that hit us and yet he has gone above and beyond in contacting both Sergio and Arsenio at Bellevue to explain the itemized detailed repairs that need to be done to fix their mess. The estimate is nearly $6000 and as Allstate has already paid for the work, they will not cover it again.
So the vehicle has been at the dealer body shop since about the middle of March. Between vacations and numerous excuses and delays from Bellevue, here we are over 5 months later and the vehicle is still in pieces at our local body shop. We have paid for 6 months of insurance on a vehicle that we cannot even drive. Bellevue Collision Center has still not stepped up to fix this mess. An honest business would have taken care of this by now… Apparently, they think they can get away with this. While Bellevue Collision Center admits fault, they continue to delay or make excuses as to why they cannot get payment to the Dishman Dodge Jeep Body Shop to complete the needed repairs. We were contacted recently by Zurich (liability insurer for Bellevue) and they are covering $700 for the a/c brackets that were installed backwards and damaged the radiator. Their adjuster was horrified by what he saw, however, they do not cover insurance fraud for work that was not done, or done improperly.
So we are moving forward at contacting a law firm in Seattle to handle this case. We do not believe this to be an isolated case and we are working on getting news coverage for this story, so that other families can avoid being scammed. The only reason we found out, was because we took our vehicle in, to be looked at by an authorized dealer. Anyone that has had work done at Bellevue Collision Center should have their vehicle inspected by an authorized factory dealership body shop, to make sure that work that was billed to the insurance company, or owner of the vehicle was actually done and that their vehicle is safe to drive. This case may just be the tip of the iceberg. If other victims come forward, this may well turn into a class action lawsuit, with multiple parties suing for damages. If you would like to contact us with your story, you may email to: [email protected]
We are contacting the local BBB, so that people can be made aware of and protected from the fraudulent business practices of this company. We are also filing a report with the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, so that this business can be properly investigated. If this business is not shut down, at the very least someone should be facing jail time.
Bellevue Collision Center Reviews
On the evening of December 19th 2017, my wife and I were involved on a traffic accident on interstate 90, right before Mercer Island exit 8. We were hit from behind and smashed into another vehicle in front of us. We had received a recent cancer diagnosis and were coming into town from Spokane, to meet with a specialist the following morning. With state patrol assistance, we were able to get our vehicle towed to a nearby towing company. Turns out they were next door to the Bellevue Collision Center. Bellevue seemed to have good online reviews and we were able to speak with Sergio to get the ball rolling on our insurance claim. We were considerably banged up and needed to hobble into our doctor appointments the next day.
Sergio understood we were from out of town and said he would expedite the repairs. This was the beginning of the Bellevue Collision Center saga.
The insurance company of the vehicle that hit us (Allstate) took complete responsibility, provided us with a rental vehicle and we didn’t even need to turn in a claim with our own insurance company. The repairs were authorized and were moving ahead (or so we thought). After a few weeks we called Bellevue to check on the progress and were told they were waiting on parts that had not come in yet. After a couple more weeks we called and they were still waiting on a backordered part to complete the repairs. We were told Sergio would get back with us (never happened). I continued to call every 1 ½ weeks to be informed by an employee that they were working on the vehicle a couple of hours a day and the wrong bumper had been received.
On a subsequent call another bumper was again received that was wrong. Long story short after numerous calls and messages were left, we finally received a call that the Jeep Grand Cherokee was ready. This was over 2 months since the accident (if this is expedited service, I would hate to see what the non-expedited time frame is). We traveled from Spokane on February 23rd, 2018 to pick up our Jeep and return our rental truck. We were informed at Bellevue Collision Center that the rear bumper parking sensors were not hooked up. We would need to take it in to a local body shop when we got back home and get this taken care of. No problem right? After 2 months, we were just glad to get our vehicle back. Our drive back home on the pass was very nerve racking, visibility was bad and the roads were not good, traffic was a snail’s pace, however we were fortunate that the pass didn’t close before we made it through. We were very glad to have our sure footed Jeep with snow tires, such a safe vehicle in these conditions (or so we thought).
Both my wife and I were coming down with a bug and by the time we got back to Spokane we were incredibly sick. I had to go to the ER and was treated for bronchitis. When I was up to it (about 3 weeks later) I took our vehicle to the local authorized Jeep dealer in town (Dishman Dodge Jeep Body Shop). This is where all hell breaks loose- I was informed that an incorrect bumper was installed and that’s why the backup sensors could not be connected. Dishman said that just by looking underneath the vehicle, they could see that the repairs were done incorrectly. They would need to pull the front and back bumpers which would run $300+. So I contacted Allstate again and after several weeks they were able to assign an adjuster for Spokane.
So now the jeep is inspected and we find out that even though the invoice shows almost $13,000 in repairs have been billed and paid for by Allstate, the repairs have either not been done, or been done so badly that the work needs to be redone. The body shop is horrified to find that parts were actually zip tied on and billed items were never done, paint is flawed, etc. The Allstate adjuster (who thought we might be just being picky) is telling us that this is a clear case of insurance fraud and it was good that we brought the vehicle in to be checked out. We have videos and documentation. This Allstate insurance adjuster works for the insurance company of the vehicle that hit us and yet he has gone above and beyond in contacting both Sergio and Arsenio at Bellevue to explain the itemized detailed repairs that need to be done to fix their mess. The estimate is nearly $6000 and as Allstate has already paid for the work, they will not cover it again.
So the vehicle has been at the dealer body shop since about the middle of March. Between vacations and numerous excuses and delays from Bellevue, here we are over 5 months later and the vehicle is still in pieces at our local body shop. We have paid for 6 months of insurance on a vehicle that we cannot even drive. Bellevue Collision Center has still not stepped up to fix this mess. An honest business would have taken care of this by now… Apparently, they think they can get away with this. While Bellevue Collision Center admits fault, they continue to delay or make excuses as to why they cannot get payment to the Dishman Dodge Jeep Body Shop to complete the needed repairs. We were contacted recently by Zurich (liability insurer for Bellevue) and they are covering $700 for the a/c brackets that were installed backwards and damaged the radiator. Their adjuster was horrified by what he saw, however, they do not cover insurance fraud for work that was not done, or done improperly.
So we are moving forward at contacting a law firm in Seattle to handle this case. We do not believe this to be an isolated case and we are working on getting news coverage for this story, so that other families can avoid being scammed. The only reason we found out, was because we took our vehicle in, to be looked at by an authorized dealer. Anyone that has had work done at Bellevue Collision Center should have their vehicle inspected by an authorized factory dealership body shop, to make sure that work that was billed to the insurance company, or owner of the vehicle was actually done and that their vehicle is safe to drive. This case may just be the tip of the iceberg. If other victims come forward, this may well turn into a class action lawsuit, with multiple parties suing for damages. If you would like to contact us with your story, you may email to: [email protected]
We are contacting the local BBB, so that people can be made aware of and protected from the fraudulent business practices of this company. We are also filing a report with the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, so that this business can be properly investigated. If this business is not shut down, at the very least someone should be facing jail time.