Skip to main contentFor years, Leif Hansen has positioned himself as the only honest man in the local auto-body business. In his ubiquitous radio commercials for Leif's Auto Collision Center, he vows to fight stingy, unscrupulous insurance companies that deny consumers high-quality repairs they deserve under the law.
Two months ago, Tigard police got a call from an insurance official who claimed that Hansen wasn't bluffing. On Feb. 20, Eric M. Ronzo, an adjuster for Geico Insurance, reported that Hansen shoved him against a car and spat on him while Ronzo was inspecting a Geico-insured car at the Leif's shop in Tigard.
Ronzo told officers that Hansen threatened him with such taunts as "I know where you live!" and "I am on to you!" as he flew into a red-faced rage. Police responded by arresting Hansen and charging him with harassment.
Hansen denied the charges, and after he produced four eyewitnesses (all of them his employees) who said they didn't see or hear any such confrontation, Washington County prosecutors decided not to pursue the matter.
Hansen told WW he's long battled insurance companies, and Geico in particular. He says the industry conspires to minimize repair bills. "The customer often ends up using shops insurance companies recommend," he says, "and a lot of these shops are so desperate that they take the jobs and try to do them for incredibly cheap prices." According to Hansen, shops use inferior parts and skip needed work.
On his website, Hansen vows he won't "allow any insurance company to cheat your collision claim." A recent ad campaign touts "Leif's $6,400 challenge." Hansen says he'll pay that amount to any qualifying customer who brings in a car repaired at another shop at a level meeting his high standards. Such in-your-face marketing strategies do not endear Hansen to competitors or insurance companies.
"Geico has always had it in for me," Hansen says.
But Ronzo, the Geico adjuster, says it's Hansen who's pulling a fast one on insurance companies and customers alike. Ronzo told police that Hansen was upset with him because he reported Leif's Auto Collision Center to Geico's fraud department. In an interview with WW, Ronzo elaborated, saying Hansen passes off repairable damage as work requiring new parts, effectively overcharging insurance companies.
In addition, Ronzo noted that the state's consumer protection office has received a steady stream of nearly five-dozen complaints about Hansen's business in recent years, a figure confirmed by Jan Margosian of the Department of Justice. The complaints claim Hansen doesn't honor his advertised promises to waive insurance deductibles and provide free loaners.
"You've got to feel for the customers who hear the ad and don't know what they're getting into," Ronzo says.
Hansen, not surprisingly, views Ronzo's accusations as further proof he's got insurance companies running scared.
"I've been at this since around 1993," says Hansen, who claims that now he's considering suing Ronzo for defaming his good name. "They've turned over every stone and have nothing."
WWeek 2015