TICKED Right Off!

Canada
August 15, 2007 3:46pm CST
Okay here's what's happening in my world of anger fits right now! haha sorry if you don't want to read a post where someone rants on, please feel free to bypass this discussion. Okay well i'm so mad right now i could just scream, i think i did actually! We all have insurance, on our vehicles anyway, and if we don't, we should, because we could get in a pile of trouble. Have you ever had 2 insurance policies on the same vehicle? no not on purpose, i mean this is what the company did! Okay so about 6 or 7 months ago or somewhere around there, i had to end my insurance policy with this one company, well not the company but the branch, because i could no longer go with them because i was a couple hundred miles away and i needed a city policy instead of a farm policy as we moved. well they canceled me and then told me, i called in to make sure it was canceled so that i could open another one, don't want to be driving without insurance right? well over the last few months, with my totally empty bank account (i don't have a paying job, well not one that makes more than a couple bucks here and there) they have been withdrawing monthly sums of different amounts, so that i can't put a stop payment on it. i called in about 4 months ago when i first noticed my bank account was being overdrawn without my consent. i was hung up on, and never called back. i really did think it was stopped. 2 months ago, i called in, they said it was dealt with. through this time i was non stop trying to cancel payment with my bank, but they couldn't do anything because one, my account was over drawn a couple hundred dollars or more because of the withdrawls they were trying to make already and becuase they took a different amount out every month. yesterday. i get a letter in the mail saying they were taking out 139.08 i was really wringing angry at that point and called in to find out what in the world they thought they were doing. well, i was told she'd call me back, when i said no i want to know what's going on now, since it only takes a second to pull up my file and i already gave her all of my account info, then she hung up on me without a word. i called the bank and put a stop on ANY transactions coming in or out of my account, to protect myself, as i already owe the bank over 6 hundred dollars in over drawn fees. i called them today, told them if i get hung up on one more time i'm lawyering up, getting the better business beaureau involved as well as the police if they can help me. the lady asked me then what was going on, AGAIN, it was the same lady. well i tell her, as she can see, my policy was canceled, SEVERAL months ago, i then went to a branch in the city and paid my policy in full, so that i didn't have to worry about monthly payments. now, i'm getting withdrawls made all the time, different amounts, well she had no idea aparantly, and was sending off a letter to head office to have it worked out... thing is, what about all the money i lost, what am i going to do about that? i'm stuck in a puddle of unpaid debt because of these jerks, and there's nothing ican do? i want everything they cost me with my bank, every penny, but i doubt they'll do that for me now, i told her i expect to hear back within the next day, 2 at the latest and things better be worked out. If i don't get a call back, i don't know what to do besides call in again and hound them, i think i'll be calling the BBB anyway, and getting them involved if i get no word, but otherwise what on earth do i do? have you gone through this? what did you do? OMG i'm sooooo ticked off!!!!!!!!
4 people like this
4 responses
@ky1119 (698)
• United States
16 Aug 07
Here's just a bit of advice. Now I don't know much about what they have to reimburse you, so I'm no help there, other than I hope you have proof of cancellation and a receipt where you paid in full. Since you've received a letter with an amount on it, what you need to do this time is go to the bank and tell them you need to revoke an ACH. Stop payments are for checks, ACH is for electronic debit. The price to revoke an ACH varies by bank. That would probably be your best bet to stop this next transaction attempt. Good luck and keep us posted!
4 people like this
• Canada
16 Aug 07
Okay, legally they have to pay out any debt concurred by them wrongly, this is what i've been told by a lawyer. yes, i have cancellation papers, as well as a recipt and the pink card saying i got insurance through a different branch of the same company, the lawyer told me that the pink slip is actually all i need. also, what i did was put a stop Transactions on my account, not a stop payments, in better wording, i locked my account, so even I can't access it with my card, or direct withdrawl, or money transfer, no one can take anything out or put anything in until things are worked out because i've frozen it. thanks
1 person likes this
@ky1119 (698)
• United States
16 Aug 07
Sounds like you have everything covered then. Good luck!
2 people like this
@wiccania (3360)
• United States
16 Aug 07
Last time I looked into something like this, the rule was that if it was their error, and it certainly sounds like it was, they are responsible for any over drawn account fees that you were charged as a result. They have to re-pay everything that they've charged you incorrectly plus the overdraft fees you've been charged as a result. It's possible that the bank will credit those anyway.
4 people like this
• Canada
16 Aug 07
thanks hun, the bank already told me that there's nothing they can do because they attempted to block the company from pulling every time i asked.... i spoke with a lawyer and though they have to pay out those fee's they might refuse, causing me to have to put out a pile of money to take them to court, i'm just hoping all goes well when i talk to them next and insure that i get my money back.
1 person likes this
@soccermom (3198)
• United States
16 Aug 07
Okay Spit, now you're talking my language...insurance. LOL Was this a major company or what is called a "substandard" company? I'm not trying to judge, but it sounds to me like you got swindled by one of the 100's of substandard companies. I have a lot of questions about this, as I work for a very large insurance company, and everything you are talking about just stinks to high heaven. First off, if you were staying with the same company why didn't they just transfer your policy to a closer agent and let that agent make the necessary corrections to your policy? This is not unheard of, I deal with it almost daily. i.e., "Joe" just moved here from Chicago, wants to stay with the same company so he has his policies transferred to my office, and I make whatever changes Joe needs from there and the billing adjusts itself to reflect those changes. Why did they insist on funds transfer from your bank account before they would start coverage? Were any other options provided to you? We offer funds transfer too, and you only need one month premium to get started instead of 2 the traditional "paper bill" way, but the option is yours. WHy did they continue to withdraw funds from an account that's empty? It should've come back as NSF, they should've frozen the "draw" and contacted you right away. And legally if they are withdrawing any amount other than the amount initially agreed upon they are required by law to contact you! It doesn't matter if it's more or less. And why did this representative have to write a letter to the home office? There should be a number she can call to deal with this right away. Or the office should supply you with that number if this is not be dealt with the way you think it should be. I'd be angry if I were you too. This whole situation is unacceptable. Save your bank statements, they have to reimburse you for all that premium for a policy that you didn't have plus the overdraft charges it caused. Don't be surpried if the agents office is unwilling to deal with you since you said you were going to lawyer up. That's one of the first laws in an insurance agency, if the policy holder sayd "lawyer up" it becomes the home offices problem. Check into who the DIrector of Insurance is in your state, and file a complaint! It takes a little time to get the ball rolling, but once it does it goes rather quickly. Everything this agency has done is unethical, and insurance sales people are bound by strict laws and guidelines. It sounds like several were violated. Good luck to you Spit, I am so sorry you are going through this. It's situations like yours that give all of us a bad rep. Let me know if you need any advice, I'm here for you!!
• Canada
16 Aug 07
Sorry i was so angry i didn't explain it 100% What happened was that i missed 2 payments, my hubby was out of work, and i didn't work, so when they tried to withdrawl there was nothing to take. so they canceled my policy. when i tried to reinstate it, they told me that the computer wouldn't let me get it reinstated, nor let me get another policy because it wasn't the first time that had happened (my hubby's out of work once a year in the field he works in) they also told me i couldn't really go through them because i was so far away and i needed a city policy. so from there i made sure it was totally gone, and went to a different branch of the same company here in my city, and rather than getting a month to month policy i just paid for a 6 month policy up front, so i didn't have to worry about having the money every month for it, and could still be insured. I'm not sure what kind of company this is, all i know is it's The Co-Operators Canada, their all over the place. Anyway i didn't transfer the policy because there was no longer a policy to transfer, so i just got a new one at the local branch. Every time in the last several months that they withdrew money from my account it came back as NSF, but never once did they call me to let me know this happened, they just tried a second time a few days later. Anyway, i just called them, it's amazing what legality talk can do, my new lawyer told me exactly what to tell them, what's legal, what's not and so on, which mirrors pretty much exactly what you just said (Thank you Darling!) and the lady from the insurance agency just asked me for all of my bank statements so that they can figure out what to do with this, thank you goddddddddd maybe this money can actually pay for the next 6 month policy i get, it gets pretty frustrating not having much money! Omg girl, it's been too long, and there's so much we should talk about, if you have yahoo or msn messenger, please send me a private message so we can chat up the internet lines! i missed you!!!!
1 person likes this
@soccermom (3198)
• United States
17 Aug 07
I am such an airhead, I totally forgot that you are in Canada! LOL Well at least now I have an idea that the laws are similar there. That's crazy they wouldn't reinstate you at one branch and made you end up going to another. With the company I work for they leave it up to each agent whether or not to reinstate, and if one agent says no and you go to another the home office catches on pretty quick. I'm glad getting a lawyer helped you. I've only been threatened with legal action once, and it was by some crazy lady who literallly tried to burn down her house, three times and turn it in. Nothing came of it. I hope this company straightens things out for you quickly. I always took the stance with my policy holders that "life happens" and i do whatever I can to keep them happy and safe.
@lightningMD (5931)
• United States
15 Aug 07
i wont do direct withdrawls anymore. They get to screwed up all the time. And overdraft fees kill you. I think insurance prices are way to high but we have to have it. I send a paper check through the mail. I dont really trust the on-line banking yet either. Guess I'm old fashioned.
3 people like this
• Canada
15 Aug 07
Yeah i don't blame you, but with this insurance company (and it was the cheapest) i had no choice but to have it direct withdrawl, or i couldn't get it. now their screwing me in the left ear, and it's just got me tied in a knott. which is why from now on i'm doing like i did with the last policy and paying it in a lump sum up front. i'm so sick of this.....
3 people like this