Interesting you should mention invoices. I got my car repaired recently, and the invoice was about $1,000 more than expected. They assured me there would be no problem with the insurance, but obviously if they and the insurance company had their shit together, then it would have been reviewed and approved before doing the work. The insurance company may have eventually approved it and I hope to be getting a check soon, but the fact is, I paid them up front and have been left hanging for two weeks now. Neither business answers emails, calls me back, or does anything in a reasonable amount of time (it's been months since the claim). One told me that the delays of the other are in fact violating state regulations. Yet both companies are well-known and often recommended - I didn't choose them at random.
This is the sort of relationship I do not want to get into for ordinary purchases. It demands too much trust, which is hard to build and unnecessary for most things.
