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Auto Insurance Claims/insurance overpaid my property damage claim

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Expert: webfoot - 5/4/2007


Question
State Farm paid me $x.xx to fix my car. A second adjuster also paid the body shop $x.xx.  The adjuster realized the mistake and asked for the money back.  I wrote a check to the insurance company, with my claim number on it.  The funds were withdrawn.  A couple of weeks later the funds were deposited back into my account.  A few weeks after that the adjuster called me again to ask for the money.  Again I sent another check, this time to the adjuster's office and in c/o the adjuster's name.  It was deposited back into my account again.  That makes it three times they have given me this money.  At what point do they lose claim to that money?

Answer
It sounds like you've done all that you can do and at this point, I'd just ignore them.  I'm not an attorney but I can't see any court going beyond the fact that you paid what they asked for and they sent it back.  End of story.  The fact that it happened a second time just makes them look plain stupid.  If it were me and they tried to bring up the issue again, I'd let them take all the way to court and then counter sue for harassment.

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webfoot

Expertise

Auto damage, liability, insurance fraud. I am a full time auto insurance adjuster with experience in collision, theft, liability and fraud investigation. I am also an ASE Master Auto Tech and I-Car Collision Platinum certified. My experience includes 15 years in the auto repair industry, a B.S. in Criminal Justice, Law enforcement and auto insurance. ****** NO "PRIVATE" QUESTIONS WILL BE ANSWERED. I HAVE FOUND THAT NEARLY ALL PRIVATE QUESTIONS COME FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE CONSIDERING OR ATTEMPTING TO COMMIT FELONY INSURANCE FRAUD AND I'M NOT HERE TO HELP YOU! ****** I AM HERE TO ANSWER AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR, CLAIMS PROCESS AND SOME SIMPLE LIABILITY QUESTIONS. I CANNOT ADDRESS COMPLEX LIABILITY SCENARIOS WITHOUT HAVING ALL OF THE INFO FROM BOTH SIDES IN FRONT OF ME. QUESTIONS ABOUT PREMIUMS OR HOW INSURANCE IS RATED SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO YOUR PERSONAL INSURANCE AGENT WHO KNOWS A WHOLE LOT MORE ABOUT YOUR HISTORY THAN I DO. I'VE NEVER SOLD INSURANCE AND DO NOT KNOW IF YOUR INDIVIDUAL INSURANCE RATES WILL GO UP IF YOU MAKE A CLAIM. THOUGH I'VE HANDLED SOME VERY MINOR SOFT TISSUE INJURY SETTLEMENTS, I PREFER NOT TO ANSWER INJURY RELATED QUESTIONS. I'M NO INJURY EXPERT AND I'LL LIKELY SAY SOMETHING TO HURT SOMEONE'S FEELINGS AS I BELIEVE THAT MANY SOFT TISSUE PAIN AND SUFFERING CLAIMS ARE OVER DRAMATIZED. UNLIKE MANY OTHERS, I AM ON THIS FORUM AS A VOLUNTEER WITH NO PRODUCTS OR SERVICES TO SELL AND PROMISE AN UPFRONT ANSWER BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE IN BOTH SIDES OF THE INDUSTRY. IF YOU PROVIDE ME WITH A HONEST VERSION OF EVENTS, I PROMISE A CANDID AND HONEST ANSWER IN RETURN. I CANNOT ADDRESS ALL CLAIM SCENERIOS DUE TO DIFFERING STATE LAWS AND REGULATIONS, BUT WILL DO MY BEST. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT AN HONEST ANSWER MAY BE ONE THAT YOU DON'T LIKE SO IF THAT IS GOING TO BE A PROBLEM, PLEASE DON'T ASK THE QUESTION. LASTLY, I DO NOT ACCEPT RATINGS AS I DON'T DO THIS FOR RATINGS AND WISH TO SPEAK FREELY.

Experience

20 years in automotive industry, Currently in insurance claims, worked actively as technician and shop owner until about 10 years ago. Current ASE Master Auto Tech and I-Car Platinum Collision Certifications, B.S. Criminal Justice and 10 year auto insurance/extended warranty background

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