7 On Your Side goes to Amazon to pay for damage after dented delivery
WEST SAYVILLE, Long Island (WABC) -- Those blue Amazon vans are everywhere, delivering from dawn until after dark, with an army of drivers more than a quarter of a million strong. But what happens when the nation's largest shipper drops off, then dings your car and doesn't pay up?
You call for Nina Pineda and 7 On Your Side for a special delivery.
"All of a sudden I hear a crunch and see my car," Ron Aloise said. "I said, 'Are you (expletive) kidding me?'"
It was a not-so-special delivery caught on Aloise's security camera.
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The driver of the two-ton Amazon box truck zigged instead of zagged on the curve in front, right into Aloise's wife Robin's 2-year-old Acura.
The car was dented and creased, running the length of driver's side doors.
"This whole door was crashed in, split open," he said.
Delivery debacles caught on tape have become a trend. Last month, we showed you a Door Dasher who smashed then dashed. After our calls, DoorDash apologized, paying out thousands of dollars.
This time, Aloise was there to get the driver's insurance information, and called the police -- but they never showed. But fearing his insurance rates would rise and he'd be out his $500 deductible, he didn't file a claim with his insurance.
"I'm retired and on disability, so I couldn't afford to take a $500 hit as well," he said. "Possibly pay for the whole car and pay for a rental."
His repair estimate was $4,080.77, but when he tried to file a claim with Amazon and it's third party claims company, he couldn't get a response.
"I'd email them and say, 'Hey, got an update for me? You know, what's the status? Is somebody coming to see the car?'" he said. "Nothing, no response. I call, leave a message. No call back. "
Finally, he got an email saying his claim was "resolved" and a check had been sent, so he got the Acura fixed. But when the check went MIA, the empty nesters with three kids and four grandkids were on the hook.
"My wife said, 'Hey, Nina Pineda, we'll call her and see if she can help,'" he said.
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We got in touch with Amazon, and the delivery giant delivered -- sending out a check FedEx that very night.
The third party claims administrator and Amazon both apologized, stating they "regretted this situation didn't live up to our high standards."
"Was amazing," Aloise said. "Speaking to you by noon on Wednesday, by 6 or 7 o'clock Wednesday night, there was a check coming overnight. Amazing."
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