I flew to Dallas yesterday to pick up our vehicle arriving from Korea only 12 days past the RDD. Was counting ourselves amongst the lucky considering how long many of you have been waiting and not knowing anything about your vehicles. Lucky...until I opened the door and saw green splotches on the black upholstery in the back seat. A closer look revealed all the upholstery, carpet, seatbelts, vinyl areas (including the steering wheel) and even the removable carpet floor mats that were sealed in a box in the back were covered in green mold. As I sat back down in the lobby wondering what in the world I was going to do with this situation and the Dallas VPC folks were conferencing on what they were going to do, I got a call from IAL in Georgia informing me they were following up on my email inquiring about the status of my car and they would get back to me as soon as they confirmed its status. This was the third such call in response to my calls and emails that Id received from the IAL home office SINCE being informed by the Dallas VPC that our car was ready for pick up. I told the young man there was no need for them to research any further as I was at the Dallas VPC looking at my car in the parking lot as we spoke. He was clearly just a person whose job was to deliver that exact message and nothing more, and he was so flustered by what I told him that he practically hung up on me. The Dallas VPC personnel sent my car out for a thorough cleaning and detail so I could at least drive it, gave me the forms and instructions on filing a future claim on the mold problem and were as accommodating as they could be in the situation. This was not their fault and I do not blame them. I took a number of photos before it was cleaned, filed a claim with USAA to be sure it was documented in our files and sent them the photos. When I get home, we will take the car to an insurance adjustor to determine the extent of the mold damage and file a claim with IAL. Unfortunately, USAA has already informed us through an email that our car may be a total loss based upon the description of the damages and the photos. Our car is a 2006 Honda CRV with less than 60,000 miles, new tires, excellent condition (kids have been out of the house for awhile) and paid for. Declaring it a total loss is not in our interest but mold is probably the worst thing that could have happened to it and my research tells me it is unlikely we will ever be able to completely eradicate it from the soft surfaces and electronics of the car. Theres no way to know why this happened, only to guess that a window was rolled down at some point and then the rolled back up after moisture was inside the car. Im trying to keep my perspective on this whole situation. After multiple deployments sending my husband into harms way, watching young people suffer life-altering injuries and witnessing unspeakable grief at so many memorials I lost count, this is not the worst thing that could happen to us. A car is only a thing just like all our possessions, even though we get very attached to them. Yes, this happened due to unbelievable incompetence and gross negligence. Yes, someone needs to be held accountable for all the problems with IAL. Yes, we are likely going to have to get another vehicle and this experience will end up costing us money we didnt plan to spend and shouldnt have to, especially when we are very close to retirement from the Army. But in the end, even if it causes stress, any problem that can be solved with money isnt the worst that can happen to us and is only a temporary situation. And I guess we will continue to consider ourselves lucky. I hope everyone else gets their vehicles soon and everything is resolved so you can get on with your lives and put this bad experience behind you.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 13:11:38 +0000
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