ABC11 Troubleshooter helps man get help with van repair nightmare
CARY, N.C. (WTVD) -- It was supposed to be routine car maintenance. Instead, it turned into an ordeal that left a handicapped Cary man without his only mode of transportation.
Peter Gschwandtner said it happened while he was at Merchant's Tire & Auto Service Center.
"I heard a crash when I was in the break room, and I had no idea this was my van. All of a sudden, someone, a manager came in and said that my van was ruined in the front," Gschwandtner said.
Gschwandtner said Merchant's Tire immediately told him that the company's insurance would take care of the damages to the van.
The insurance company for Merchant's, Sedgwick, sent Gschwandtner a letter confirming they would pay for $3,000 worth of repairs for the van. The repairs were supposed to take nine days.
Sedgwick also agreed to pay $10 for loss of use for each day of the repair.
However, when Gschwandtner's van got in the shop, he said more damages were found.
Being without his van was a big inconvenience, since Gschwandtner is confined to a wheelchair. He said his van gives him freedom.
"Without it, I'm stuck," Gschwandtner said.
During the repair, he was not given a rental car. Instead, he had to pay $16 a day to ride the bus to and from work.
"All of a sudden, I kept getting things from the insurance company saying, 'First, we are going to cover this but not cover that,'" Gschwandtner said.
He said Sedgwick would not agree to pay for the bus fare in full, and wanted Gschwandtner to pay for some of the repairs as well.
"Everyone was acting like somehow I was involved in this, and I had nothing to do with this, I was just in the break room," he said.
Gschwandtner was upset about how his situation was being handled, so he reached out to ABC11.
We contacted Sedgewick and a rep said they couldn't comment specifically on the case, but said they work with their claimants to get a resolution.
He said they agreed to pay the entire $4,700 for the repairs, and reimburse Gschwandtner for the bus fare in full for all the days he was without his van.
"I'm very glad you guys were here to fix things for me," he said. "I'm very happy to have my van back."
