ATLANTA — Totaled and pulled apart-- that’s how an Atlanta woman is describing her car after she says she was kept in the dark by her insurance company and that it would be totaled.
The car owner told Channel 2 Action News not only was she not informed but she later discovered parts were taken from her car.
Betty Hetherwick told Channel 2 investigative reporter Ashli Lincoln that she was just calling to check on the status of when repairs would be done when she found out the car had been totaled.
“I still don’t have the Lexus here, or the RX 350,” Heterwick said. “I thought it was in good hands.”
She said she came to the shop and found parts like the headrest, emblem, and spare tire were just a few of the parts missing.
“I was panic, panic. I don’t think I ever had a panic attack, but I think I had one that day,” Hetherwick said. “It wasn’t just the wreck that was missing, they had taken parts that had nothing to do with the wreck.”
Hetherwick claims she was never notified by Caliber Collision of Buckhead or her insurance company, Nationwide, that her car had been totaled.
“Has Nationwide given you any reason as to why they did not notify you?” Lincoln asked Hetherwick.
“No,” Hetherwick said.
“How does that make you feel?” Lincoln asked Hetherwick.
“Well, I don’t feel like they’re on my side,” Hetherwick said.
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In December, she said got into a minor accident with her car. During the next four months, she told Lincoln that she was in a back-and-forth with the collision company while awaiting parts.
She said after she called to check on the status of her car, the collision company told her:
“They said, ‘Didn’t Nationwide call you? Because they salvaged your car last week,’” Hetherwick said.
She said when she got to the vehicle, parts were missing that had nothing to do with the original damage.
“They had taken so much off of my car. They had taken almost $3,000 worth of parts off my car,” Hetherwick said.
Caliber Collision confirmed with Channel 2 Action News that the ball was possibly dropped regarding notifying Hetherwick that her vehicle was being totaled.
Management said the SUV was totaled for reasons related to supply chain issues.
In an email from a Nationwide adjuster sent to Hetherwick after she questioned the insurance company on why she wasn’t notified, the company said they decided to total the vehicle because a part was not available.
Prior to the pandemic, management said that wasn’t a common reason to total a vehicle.
They also deny salvaging the vehicle for parts and said it’s typically normal to remove additional parts of a car when making major repairs.
“This is so overwhelming what this has done to my life,” Hetherwick said. “You have to let people know you’re doing this to them, and they didn’t let me know”
Nationwide told Lincoln that they are covering all of the repairs needed. Hetherwick said she has taken her car to a different body shop to be fixed.
She told Lincoln that she also had to pay nearly $3,000 out of pocket in rental car costs.
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