The deductable is part of the legal contract that you have with your ins co. There is no scam involved here. If you try to get it waived or the shop says that they will waive it.... that is fraud.....period.
What you need to tell the small claims referee is that you had an "accord and satisfaction." The agreement was that the repair company would do the fix for the amount of the insurance draft only. The consideration for that was your agreement to use them instaead of the competitor who gave you the other quote. As evidence, use the fact that they gave you the trailer without asking for or receiving the $500 and that they waited weeks to ask for the check.
The fact that you have deductible on your insurance contract is irrelevant. That issue is between you and your insurer and only affects the net amount they are obligated to pay. If a repair facility agrees to do it for the insurance proceeds only (i.e. no deductible) that is perfectly OK.
FWIW I'm an attorney and deal with these kind of issues everyday.
Good luck.
* This post was
edited 07/20/08 10:13pm by Big Baldy *
Quote: Posts are not allowed in which a local or state consumer action board and/or legal counsel is/have been involved. This includes posts related to future, ongoing or past lawsuits.
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