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Freeport, NY, Shop Owner Found Not Guilty of GEICO-Brought Claims of Insurance Fraud Lorraine Pilitz, owner of Autotech Collision at 120 E. Merrick Rd. in Freeport, NY, was accused of submitting fraudulent records for an insurance claim in September of 2010, but a jury recently found her not guilty on all five felony counts. According to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, Lorraine Pilitz (formerly Christie-Pilitz) 54, of Merrick and owner of Autotech Collision, (also known as Autotech Collision Rockville Center) was charged in September 2010 with three counts of fourth-degree insurance fraud and falsifying business records. If she had
Lorraine Pilitiz sits on one of her company tow trucks in 2005. Photo credit: Newsday File, 2005 / Dick Yarwood
been convicted, Ms. Pilitz could have faced three years in jail. On June 22, a jury found Ms. Pilitz not guilty on all See Not Guilty, Page 21
State Farm and PartsTrader Defend Parts Program, Questioned about Benefits to Shops
See PartsTrader Defends, Page 42
P.O. BOX 1516, CARLSBAD, CA 92018
Perhaps the most interesting question at the latest Collision Industry Conference (CIC) came at the end of a 2-hour discussion regarding PartsTrader, the electronic parts ordering system State Farm is requiring its Select Service shops in four markets to use (see related cover story). Denise Caspersen, the collision division manager for the Automotive Service Association (ASA), asked State Farm’s George Avery the same question the association first posed to the insurer formally five weeks earlier in a press release, namely,
what benefit, financially or operationally, does required use of P a r t s Tr a d e r offer shops? “If State Farm is not able to George Avery clearly demonstrate the benefits of this pilot application to the repair community, then this application should not move forward,” ASA’s June 12 press release stated. While Avery skillfully addressed most of the questions and
Change Service Requested
by John Yoswick
VOL. 2 ISSUE 5 AUGUST 2012
AASP/NJ Joins in Opposition to PartsTrader The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey (AASP/NJ) has joined the groundswell of shops and associations in opposing State Farm’s pilot parts-bidding program. “We are in total agreement with our fellow industry associations and members such as AASP National, SCRS, AASP/MA, AASP Illinois and the many individuals who showed up at last week’s CIC meeting in San Antonio, who are standing together to voice complete opposition to this latest intrusion into our members’ Charles Bryant businesses,” says AASP/NJ Executive Director Charles Bryant. “We are calling for all of our colleagues across the country to speak up and voice their displeasure with a program that could potentially devastate the industry.” AASP/NJ President Jeff McDowell echoed Bryant’s statements.
“How many more times are we going to let the insurance industry change the rules to their advantage? Things are hard enough out here. Enough is enough,” McDowell said. Although the PartsTrader pilot Jeff McDowell program has only been introduced in a few test areas, AASP/NJ said it is encouraging members to get as much information as possible before it reaches New Jersey. “You will see that the vast majority of shops who have ‘volunteered’ for the program have regretted it. We don’t want that happening in New Jersey and we will do everything we can to prevent it,” said Bryant. Bryant thinks the controversy is one the collision industry needs to act on immediately. “We hope the rest of the country continues to step up and join us. It is our industry. We need to keep it that way,” Bryant said.
PartsTrader Coverage Continues from Cover Stories
See additional coverage of PartsTrader on pages 12, 24, 43, and 55
PartsTrader Draws Blistering Reaction at CIC, Shop Owners Line Up to Comment in Person by Autobody News Staff
A capacity crowd of more than 400 heard State Farm Claims Consultant George Avery and PartsTrader CEO Rob Cooper give an overview of the very controversial parts procurement system at the CIC in San Antonio. Avery, who is also the incoming Chairman of the CIC starting in January, has endured some harsh criticism since the details of the PartsTrader program were first announced. Avery and Cooper outlined the program for the few unaware of it, and explained State Farm foresees shops ordering all their parts
(recycled, aftermarket and OEM) from a single provider, PartsTrader. Avery attempted some comic relief by joking that he had a button made up saying, “I Love My Job, I Love My Job, I Love My Job,” but questions and Rob Cooper comments from approximately 20 members of the audience made it clear that while electronic parts ordering was understood and largely positive, there was significant apprehension about inSee PartsTrader Pushback, Page 22
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