Bad News/Good News

[RonR]

Long story short........

I have a friend who's been insured with the same company as I have for 25+ years (just like me).
He had an electrical short in his basement (old radio gear/powerstrip) which caused $75K damage, mostly smoke/water.

Our insurance company fixed the house to replacement value, paid everything, then DROPPED HIM. Told him
since he'd had one loss, he'd likely have another, and their stats backed them up. He argued that if they dropped him
they sure would never recover their loss! Didn't fly with them.

Basically, they gave him 3 phone numbers to what amounted to "high risk homeowner" insurance companies. Calls
to them yielded the lowest price of $2K MORE each year than what he was paying for the same coverage! He tried
other locals and none would touch his rennovated house, due to his loss.

Our insurance said "reapply after three years and we'll THINK about taking you back!" So, he's out $6K IF our company
will take him back!

This was his first Homeowner claim in over 25 years! One strike, you're out! Don't you love em?

Ron

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

Re: I\'ve Been There

About four years ago my then eighty year old Mother was driving and was hit broadside. No injuries but the car was declared a total loss by the adjuster and she offered my Mom $2900 in settlement. I had, of course, told Mom to sign or agree to nothing and just get me the adjuster's number to call.

I called the adjuster and was exceedingly polite as I explained I just wanted to make sure Mom understood everything and thanked the adjuster for all of her help in this. Then, almost as an aside, I asked, "By the way, I've always been curious.... How do you determine what a wrecked car was worth before the wreck?"

She immediately said, "Well, we use the (whatever) guidebook." I pulled out my copy from my desk and looked up Mom's car and asked, "Are you in the May edition? Page 37??"

She stuttered and stammered and finally said, "Yes." I went on to explain that she was in the wholesale column, not retail and hadn't added for low miles, etc. Further, that no addition had been made for sales tax, title fee and plate transfer costs. By the time I was done, that $2900 offer had increased to $4200. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

I ended up negotiating a $3500 check and keeping Mom's car. I had a body shop put on a used rear clip and rear door on the damaged side, straighten the floor pan and paint it. I bought a used wire wheel cover and, all in all, spent under $1100 on it. I sold it for Mom and it brought $3700.

I then bought Mom a $6000 car instead of a $3000 car with the 'proceeds' from this entire deal. Certainly some work was involved, but I think the return was worth it. Besides, it's my Mom. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Golfgar4]

Re: I\'ve Been There

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Besides, it's my Mom. )</font>

Ah, what a boy will do for his Mom! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Even putting that aside, it is amazing what a little knowledge and experience will do in helping out situations like that. I absolutely believe that many of these companies, and I'm not just talking about insurance companies, bank on the fact that the "consumer" doesn't have a clue about what's really going on.

When I got out of the service, we had been living in the Washington D.C. area. As part of our permanently leaving the area, we closed (read that as paid off) every account that we had with any stores.

A few months after we had returned to Wisconsin, we received a letter from a department store that we had done business with. They claimed that we still owed them something a little over $200.00. Well, over the next few weeks we corresponded back and forth sending them copies of our "Paid in Full" receipts, etc. It did no good, and they were threatening legal action. I contacted out local Chamber of Commerce (we didn't have a Better Business Bureau in our town) and explained what had been going on. They took all my information and said they'd get back to me. The next day they called and said not to worry, that it was all taken care of. When I asked what had happened, they said they discovered that the store would contact customers who had recently closed accounts and claimed that money was still owed, knowing that because the amounts they were asking for were relatively small amounts, most people would pay it just to make it go away! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Like I said, big business knows just how gullable most consumers are, and they won't hesitate to take advantage of them until they're challenged.

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

Re: I\'ve Been There

<font color="blue"> the store would contact customers who had recently closed accounts and claimed that money was still owed, knowing that because the amounts they were asking for were relatively small amounts, most people would pay it just to make it go away! </font>

Garry,

The IRS did that very thing quite a few years back. I know because I got one of the notices. It was for something like $89.37 and, probably like a lot of folks, I considered what my time was worth to go dig out the records and set a meeting with them to go over everything and just wrote the check. It wasn't until a few years later that the news reported the IRS had done that and I just had to kind of chuckle to myself about it. They got me. I paid it. Life goes on. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[barogers]

Re: I\'ve Been There

Along the same topic of the IRS pulling that same stunt, I too got a notice several years ago stating that I owed about $10,000.00 /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif, well we went back and forth for some time and just to get them off my back for the time being I started making payments. Well after a couple of years making payments the money that they said I owed was mysteriously not owed any longer /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif. How could this be? No explaination what-so-ever. Did they finally get around to verifying that I really didn't owe it? Probably not. But of course the money that I paid hasn't been sent back to me in any form and its been 2-3 years since then. Wonder if I should send them a notice stating they owe me money plus interest /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif?

 

[barogers]

Here is a picture showing the damage to my tractor from the attempted theft.

 

[barogers]

Here is a another picture showing the damage to my tractor from the attempted theft.

 

[barogers]

And another.

 

[jhburke]

Re: I\'ve Been There

I had a similar experience with a doctor. He went belly up and the bank that had loaned him money on his assets. Then sent us a bill claiming we owe for medlical care. My wife is a retired business teacher and keep complete records of everything. Nipped that in the bud. She even made believers of the IRS. I went to the audit with her and her orders to me was keep your mouth shut. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Our appt lasted about 15 minutes. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[CountryBoy]

Re: I\'ve Been There

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( and they got hit with a 40% increase a few months ago. The reason they were given (as told to me by them) was because they had never filed a claim )</font>

Say what ?????????