Texas Hail Storms and Paintless Dent Repair

25 years ago I had one fix my hail damaged vehicle. It wasn't quite as sleazy as your experience.

I'd do it again.

quote:

---

There has to be a catch, the claim was 8k I assume they probably did the repairs for 2K and pocket the remainder

---

Yea they overcharged the insurance company enough to freely give your deductible back.

quote:

---

They finished the claim process, waived my deductible, made my truck look new and gave me a check for $500.00 There has to be a catch, the claim was 8k I assume they probably did the repairs for 2K and pocket the remainder

---

I ain’t no expert but why does that smell like fraud brother?

quote:

---

I ain’t no expert but why does that smell like fraud brother?

---

State Farm let them get away with it, I had filed a hail damage claim but they didn’t have anyone who could come assess the damage for 3-4 weeks.

They told me to just let the company fixing it submit the photos, they put it under a black light or some such.

quote:

---

There has to be a catch,

---

Yes.

You aided and abetted insurance fraud.

Is that common in Texas?

quote:

---

You aided and abetted insurance fraud.

---

Here’s what I’ll do, next time my payment is due I’ll use my newly acquired $500.00 to pay the premium.

Then we are all even

Is there a real question here or is this just a brag?

If they saved you your deductible AND wrote you a $500 check back, yeah that’s fraud.

Currently, PDR can write whatever they want as long as they are writing from the “dent matrix”- 1-5 dents quarter size on a panel is ~$125 and “oversized dents” are $40-50 each. Most insurance companies will allow one markup for things like double panel, aluminum or glue pull (limited to 25%). They’ll write for the R&I’s (remove and install) for things like headliners, headlamps, fender liners, etc. most of the quality techs don’t actually need these R&I’s done anymore, but they get paid for them anyway.

Now, it’s common knowledge in the bodyshop industry- the good techs contract with shops and the hacks work under tents. You’ll get better deals from the tents and quality work from the shops.

The only time I’ve ever saved a deductible/written a check back to the claimant is if they didn’t want some of the work done. On trucks, we commonly perform what we call the “front foot”, where we only repair/push the front of the roof that you can see from the ground.

I dealt with a hail storm every ten years or so in Louisiana. Since moving back to ATX, it’s a yearly occurrence.

I hate hail.

quote:

---

I have a friend who is a hail chaser. They'll move to the town for a while and fix the dents. He gets to travel all over and makes enough in 6 months to have the rest of the year off.

---

Your friend is a fraud and a horrible person. He raises your premiums.

quote:

---

If they saved you your deductible AND wrote you a $500 check back, yeah that’s fraud.

---

All the people that came by and left flees, cards had the same thing on them with their company name address phone number logo.

They all waive the ded, provide a free rental and give you a check with their name address on it for $500

I agree that it sounds fishy but I just got my Truck back today and my check

You would think the insurance companies wouldn’t put up with it but whatever