Sarah B (Minnesota)-Thanks so much Franklin. I very much appreciate all your great advice and assistance in guiding my next steps. This is my first (and hopefully last) car accident. Knowing I can reach out to you for help is giving me some confidence while I navigate this diminished value process. I’ll keep you posted on my progress. Thanks again. –Sarah

Karen E (Minnesota)-We heard back from State Farm again on our DV claim that you assessed at $4,000……the Supervisor made us an offer of $2850 on our claim (original offer was $0 from claims agent). Do you have an opinion/advice on whether we should accept the amount or counter, etc.?

Heidi C (Minnesota)- Frank was very nice to work with. Very professional – requested all the documentation, information and photographs necessary to do a thorough job. I felt comfortable that he really knew what he was talking about even in my very specialized (at least I thought it was) Italian Glass artwork. He knows his craft – and is a super nice guy besides. Feel very confident that you will be treated fairly and accurately.

Katherine T (Minnesota)- Thank you, Frank! I really appreciate your help. It is nice to have this knowledge. From past experience we know that CarFax reports with accidents are used to reduce the sales price and/or trade-in value. This happened to us and we were blindsided. We purchased a car before CarFax started reporting minor accidents, so it was not on the report. When CarFax started to include all accidents on their reports and updated their database, our vehicle now showed 2 accidents! We found this out at the dealership and we lost over $3000 on that trade. I didn’t want that to happen this time! Again, thank you.

NOTE TO VEHICLE OWNERS IN MINNESOTA: The above comment is from a car owner in Minnesota who was told by State Farm Insurance that she was not eligible to make a third-party diminished value claim unless she sold her vehicle to demonstrate that she suffered a loss. I referred her to the Minnesota Department of Commerce where I was sure that she would be told that no such “sell your car or take a walk” requirement exists in her state. Or any other state for that matter. Was I surprised when Katherine called to inform me that the requirement did exist. Of course I called the Department to inquire and was told by a representative that the requirement was, indeed, a requirement. Minnesota residents must actually sell their cars in order to prove the existence and amount of diminished value in that state.

Although a representative from the Minnesota Department of Commerce verified the “must sell the car to qualify for diminished value” my instincts told me to dig deeper which I did in an email. Soon afterward I received a call from the Department’s senior investigator who expressed his surprise at what I had written. He assured me that no such requirement exists in Minnesota. He was also amazed that members of his staff were providing Minnesota car owners with false information. How many Minnesotans who have been eligible for third-party diminished value claim compensation over the years have been derailed not only by insurance companies but also by those whose job is to protect consumers, representatives of the state?

Kudos to the Minnesota Department of Commerce investigator who got right to work correcting a grievous error and also to St. Lucie Appraisal for running it down.

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