Computer Repair Shops Take Advantage Of Customers With Insurance

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It turns out that the auto industry isn't the only place that will overcharge you for repairs covered by insurance. It seems that computer repair shops will take advantage of you too when they think insurance is footing the bill. This is my shocked face. :eek:

The researchers behind the new work, based at the University of Innsbruck, came up with a study design that's ingenious in its simplicity. They bought a series of identical refurbished computers and disabled one of the two RAM chips in them. With the operating system they had installed (Windows 7 Pro), this created a self-diagnostic message on boot that correctly identified a memory problem. They then took these computers into randomly selected repair shops throughout Austria. The person then said they'd like an itemized bill. Half the time, however, they added that they needed the bill because the repairs would be insured.
 
I'm not sure how it's taking advantage of you when it's insurance that's footing the bill.
If it's anything like medical, insurance companies will slash the original price down to something even cheaper than you can normally get.
 
Heh, throw in the dentist too. First they ask you how much benefits you have left and they'll find a way to take 75% of that amount if it gets them a big profit. For example, a dentist I went to for a root canal charged $750 for the root canal ( I had $1000 left in benefits) and while I was in the chair, she was telling another patient it would cost her $1500 for the root canal (because she only had $2000 in benefits left). I'm like, WTF?
 
Pretty sure insurance has not much to do with getting taken advantage of. Video game technicians (peeps who installed Farcry and a sound card and now know everything) will tell clients all kinds of crap to upsell. The shop I used worked at didn't even do insurance jobs. Have cash or walk.
 
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Of course that happens, even to the point where hardware for other fleet PCs could be repaired that way... and more.
 
we add a bs fee any time we have to deal with a homeowners insurance. every time its at least 1 call that can be an hour long and instead of getting paid then you have to wait and they always say your price is to high and talk you down
 
Hypergreatthing said:
I'm not sure how it's taking advantage of you when it's insurance that's footing the bill.
If it's anything like medical, insurance companies will slash the original price down to something even cheaper than you can normally get.
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The problem is that actually increases insurance prices, as well as bumping up prices across the board in the industry. Medical insurance and separation from market forces are a big part of why medical care has become so expensive.
 
I work in IT support, and we do some computer repair as part of the job. I can say that sometimes it's not overbilling that is the issue: many times, when a customer is footing the bill out of pocket, we minimize costs by underreporting hours, not charging for parts we used, or ignoring work we think should be done but isn't part of the scope. On the other hand if a customer has a contract with us, we go ahead and do everything, report all the hours, and note all of the parts used.

It's a matter of wanting to do the job right, but feeling guilty (unreasonably so) for charging the full price. When I don't have to deliver a bill directly to the customer, it's more comfortable to charge for everything.
 
KevinSMayfield said:
The problem is that actually increases insurance prices, as well as bumping up prices across the board in the industry. Medical insurance and separation from market forces are a big part of why medical care has become so expensive.
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And the fact that hospitals are REQUIRED to treat anybody and everybody even if they can't/won't pay.

When I was up in Tennessee (edit: was Arizona.. getting trips mixed up), we had to go to the emergency room, and it was completely filled with what was obvious welfare recipients as well as homeless people. That was the worst I have personally seen, but I am sure it is just as bad or worse in other areas with large numbers of welfare recipients and homeless.

So, because of the hospitals being required to provide "free" care for whatever and whoever shows up there, they are forced to make the paying customers subsidize the non-paying customers so that the hospitals can stay in business.

And even if you have medicaid or medicare, those two scum government entities pay out so little that a lot of places have stopped accepting them. I know this for a fact, and anybody that handles billing in the medical industry can tell you the same thing.
 
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KevinSMayfield said:
I work in IT support, and we do some computer repair as part of the job. I can say that sometimes it's not overbilling that is the issue: many times, when a customer is footing the bill out of pocket, we minimize costs by underreporting hours, not charging for parts we used, or ignoring work we think should be done but isn't part of the scope. On the other hand if a customer has a contract with us, we go ahead and do everything, report all the hours, and note all of the parts used.

It's a matter of wanting to do the job right, but feeling guilty (unreasonably so) for charging the full price. When I don't have to deliver a bill directly to the customer, it's more comfortable to charge for everything.
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When I did/do computer work outside of my current day job, and even before I worked here, the person I worked for did billing much the same way.

We would not charge for all the hours a lot of times as we took the stance that it would cost too much for the customer as well as how old the computer was. And computers past a certain age we would tell the customer that it would not be worth their money to fix it.

We did have a few customers that insisted that we work on old as dirt systems.. so we did have a few of those. And those ones we really didn't feel bad about charging for the full amount of time since we were having to waste our time working on a super slow system after we told the customer it wouldn't be worth it.
 
I've done a few insurance write-ups for systems hosed over from power outages/surges and such. Only one or two of the people did *not* ask me to jack the replacement $$$ up really high. Machines ~3-5 years old, the current replacement value would put you into a much better machine. But no, they wanted it all. :eek: I gave them my typed up letter with the replacement cost I deemed acceptable. Take it or leave it. I'm not going to risk my reputation over it.
 
Domingo said:
I had no idea computer insurance was a thing,
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Same here. I read the article and kept waiting for an explanation as to what this computer insurance is and how people get it. I assume this has nothing to do with the additional upsell for warranty/coverage when people buy computers.
 
amddragonpc said:
Heh, throw in the dentist too. First they ask you how much benefits you have left and they'll find a way to take 75% of that amount if it gets them a big profit. For example, a dentist I went to for a root canal charged $750 for the root canal ( I had $1000 left in benefits) and while I was in the chair, she was telling another patient it would cost her $1500 for the root canal (because she only had $2000 in benefits left). I'm like, WTF?
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That's why there is an upper limit to what they can charge by the insurance companies, mine did that originally charged $120+ for a cleaning or whatever it was, but the insurance company only allowed $100... so that was the cost of my cleaning (the dentist didn't charge me the difference). My wife had a deep cleaning done, and now she's billed for a different service even though it's the same cleaning during her cleaning days... which of course is charged at a higher rate. Regardless I'm happy I've been with them long enough that they cover 100% of the bill. The insurance company only allows xrays every 12 months too, and luckily when the office goofed and did them after 6 months I didn't pay, the office just ate the cost. And lets not get me started with the dentist seeing me for all of 90 seconds after a hygienist cleans and then pops up an additional $95 charge for the dentist seeing you. Before insurance though, there was a pretty deep discount if you paid cash the day of, 20% or something.

And yeah computer insurance? WTF?!
 
sfsuphysics said:
That's why there is an upper limit to what they can charge by the insurance companies, mine did that originally charged $120+ for a cleaning or whatever it was, but the insurance company only allowed $100... so that was the cost of my cleaning (the dentist didn't charge me the difference). My wife had a deep cleaning done, and now she's billed for a different service even though it's the same cleaning during her cleaning days... which of course is charged at a higher rate. Regardless I'm happy I've been with them long enough that they cover 100% of the bill. The insurance company only allows xrays every 12 months too, and luckily when the office goofed and did them after 6 months I didn't pay, the office just ate the cost. And lets not get me started with the dentist seeing me for all of 90 seconds after a hygienist cleans and then pops up an additional $95 charge for the dentist seeing you. Before insurance though, there was a pretty deep discount if you paid cash the day of, 20% or something.

And yeah computer insurance? WTF?!
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I think "computer insurance" has more to do with homeowners insurance as pretty much all policies cover the contents of the house as well.

I have seen it play out this way a few times with people I know.

Bad storm comes through and they get a lighting strike and fries pretty much everything plugged into an outlet. Each time, the homeowners insurance covered the cost of replacing it.

Not much you can do about power coming in through the ground wire. That is what is going to happen with a lightning strike.
 
Elemental damage, theft, sure but for a hard drive failure or virus infection? If so I'm telling everyone.
 
Nothing new about charging more for the insurance company.

Especially in Ontario...

The insurance company screws you over for money by charging ludicrous amounts.

And the company billing the insurance company bills them accordingly.

The dentist thing is perfect...

I paid $400~ for 4 teeth to get fillings in, I asked him outright, what it would cost if it was going through insurance/benefits, and it was about 3x the price.

I thanked him for his time, and told him hopefully next time I have benefits, and have a nice day.
 
cyclone3d said:
I think "computer insurance" has more to do with homeowners insurance as pretty much all policies cover the contents of the house as well.

I have seen it play out this way a few times with people I know.

Bad storm comes through and they get a lighting strike and fries pretty much everything plugged into an outlet. Each time, the homeowners insurance covered the cost of replacing it.

Not much you can do about power coming in through the ground wire. That is what is going to happen with a lightning strike.
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Then the insurance company claims act of god, and denies your claim:)
 
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