subject: Glendale Windshield: Seeing Clearly Through Auto Glass Scams May Not Be As Easy As It Seems. [print this page] In the previous column we introduced you to the confusing world of windshield replacement scams. (To review the previous article, visit http://www.suntecautoglass.com/city-sun-city-west-youngtown)
In this article we will display to you some of the normal ways con artists approach drivers in an attempt to make money off your insurance policy, and subsequently, from the increase in your premiums. Also mentioned is what has been happening to some of the crooks who haverun such scams.
In Part 3, the following report, we will focus on incentives, both sincere and dishonest ones, the impact the fraudulent windshield repair actions have on our overall--and your personal--economy and how you can spot and safeguard yourself when you are presented with becoming a participant in such scams.
There are more ways to carry out windshield replacement scams than probably any one of us could think of. Windshield replacement scams are aimed at tricking insurance companies and have involved both large and small glass replacement or repair, and also car rental companies.
It may seem challenging to know the difference, sometimes, between honest companies offering incentives as sales promotion or discounts, and dishonest ones offering gifts as a form of enticement or bribes to get the unsuspecting car owner personally involved in these insurance fraud schemes. Windshield replacement scams can be rather basic to see but involve a Small believed and judgment on the part of the consumer.
The essential to avoid becoming a victim of this form of fraud is in consciousness of sorts of scams being accomplished, the ramifications of being involved in a scam operation, and knowing how to clearly identify the distinction between sincere offers and dishonest ones.
Some prevalent Auto Glass Scams We Can See in Goodyear and Any City, Any Day
Here is a common situation any of us can identify. A driver drives into an automated car wash to clean up the car. Someone there, while the motorist is waiting his or her turn, approaches and offers to fix a rock chip in the windshield. The person, often referred to as a auto glass harvester, explains that they can repair the crack at no cost to the driver because the state regulation on insuring auto glass allows for auto glass repair or windshield replacement with zero dollar deductible; therefore, the repairs can be accomplished free of charge. The scammer then asks the motorist for his insurance policy number and information for billing.
As an incentive for the driver to ignorantly partake, he or she may be offered no cost dinners for a year at a well-known local restaurant, a freezer full of steaks, a cash rebate of what would be the insured deductible, season tickets to the ball game, or some other offer which may well cost far more than the cost of a new windshield! The motorist gets a receipt for the auto glass repair (maybe $25 for multiple chip repairs) and the insurance company gets a bill for hundreds of dollars for a new auto glass replacement. In fact, the insurance company can receive claims again and again on the same policy account number without anyone ever knowing it, unless the policyholder happens to check.
The Accidental Windshield Repair
A Variant of this auto glass repair scam is that the basic repair is started but an accident happens which ruins the windshield. For example, while a small restore hole is drilled to facilitate the repair by stopping the spread of a crack and, woops, the drill penetrates the internal laminate. Its the laminate layer that gives safety glass its shatterproof characteristics. when this happens, the integrity of the windshield is destroyed and the windshield safety glass is ruined. Now, there is no option but to replace the entire windshield. That variety of replacement likely turned over to a fly-by-night company that does the work in a cheap, shoddy, sloppy manner with cheap materials by someone who does not possess the necessary skills. This combination causes the driver ongoing problems with a windshield that was not needed, improperly installed, and possibly not even wanted.
Is the address on your bill or claim the same one where the work was done?
Another variation of the method came through one convicted Louisiana con artist who was billing insurance from a street address in a rural Mississippi town. The address was a house address and the homeowner knew nothing about the company or the fact that his address was being used as a place of business for windshield repair. The reason for this is that legit glass shops in rural areas are allowed to bill the insurance company more for windshield replacement than would be allowed in more densely populated and more competitive urban areas. This illegally increases the revenue taken from the insurance company by hundreds of dollars per window.
Some might think or say, Whats the difference since the work was free? The difference is that the con artist stole money not only from the insurance company, but also from every one of the companys policyholdersthose who really foot the bill through their insurance premiums. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Nothing is for free.
More to come in the next issue
In the next article, the third in the series, our discussion will focus on another unusual approach that can affect those who rent cars, the widespread impact of these scams and how the prosecution of this crime can affect the driver. We will also provide you with things to watch for and several tips on how you can keep yourself safe from those who would take your money in needless repairs.
