Here in CA, car insurance premiums have suddenly gone crazy. My 6-month premium went from $684.00 to over $2,000.00 - no claims, no accidents, tickets, nothing. When I spoke to a representative, he said all insurance companies raised their premiums. I checked around & he's right, but he raised them much more than other companies. Of course, I'm angry. Since my policy expires next month, I went with another company & also lowered my coverage. Today, I phoned my old insurance company to cancel, since it was automatically paid with my credit card. The rep. asked me "Why are you leaving us?" (as if he didn't already know) I answered, "Are you sure you want me to answer that?" He said, "Yes." I said "Two reasons: you're greedy and I don't do business with thieves." Complete silence for a few seconds. Then he asked, "Who are you with now?" I said, "Irrelevant & none of your business." He said, "Well, hey I'm just doing my job." I said, "I know. So were the SS guards." Complete silence again. I said, "Have a wonderful day. I know I will." I'm still LOL'ing......
Same in Texas, especially Harris County (Houston). Our car insurance and homeowner's are both eye-popping. A lot of homeowner's insurance companies are moving out of this area and some people can't get coverage at any price. I don't know where it's all going to end.
Tony, although I do understand your frustration, I think you were too upset with him, jobs are hard to come by now. I'm guilty of taking out my frustration on others at times too, but I try to control it more now. So far our insurance hasn't gone up that much, then both our vehicles are over 30 years old.
I agree. When we changed insurance carriers I just sent Allstate an email, canceling the policy. No need to be an ass to someone trying to do their job.
I agree Beth, but then I also understand @Tony Nathanson frustration with things going on now, sometimes we take it out on the wrong ones, I know I have. I do try to come back and apologize when I can.
I'm curious if 2K was for just one car. Mine has not jumped like that. It seems high to me but nothing like that. Of course, I'm not in California.
A few weeks ago, several homeowners lost their homes in fires. Their homeowner's insurance companies (who have been taking their premiums for years) are refusing to pay, forcing a long costly legal battle.
Actually, it takes a lot to get me that angry, but ripoffs & greed will do it and there is a lot of both going on now. And asking me what company I changed to? I didn't want to hear about how they're better than my new insurance company. He could have just said something like, "Yeah, everybody is raising their rates now."
You guys might get a chuckle at a similar ripoff I had with the Dept. of Water & Power & how I handled it. After dealing with them politely & getting nowhere, I wrote to the Governor who forwarded my letter to the City Councilman: Paul Koretz, Councilmember Valley District Office 15760 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 600 Encino, CA 91436 Dear Mr. Koretz: I am writing to see if you can assist me with ongoing issues I've been having with the Department of Water & Power for several years. We had major plumbing upgrades & repairs on our property, including replacement of supply lines from the street to our home. DWP was supposed to give us rebates on our water bill, since several leaks were repaired during the upgrades. I was instructed to send them invoices, which I did - totaling over $60,000.000 from three licensed plumbing companies. DWP sent me an e-mail, confirming that they received the invoices. After we did not get any rebates, I contacted DWP & was told "We haven't received any invoices." I sent them the invoices again & I also sent them THEIR previous e-mail to me, confirming receipt of the invoices. Only then did we get partial rebates (a few bills that said, "No payment necessary at this time"). More recently, after we started getting ridiculously-high electric bills - over $600.00 for electric, alone (when our electric is never over $112.00) I contacted them & asked when our meter was read. An employee gave me a recent date. I knew that was a lie because our meter is behind a locked gate & is not facing the driveway & it is impossible to read unless I open the gate. I asked to speak to a supervisor who first tried to convince me the meter can be read with the scope the meter reader has. After I explained that the meter wasn't facing the driveway, she had me read the meter numbers to her while she was on the phone with me. After I gave her the numbers, she told me they were very different than the numbers provided by their meter reader. She also stated that the fabricated numbers their meter reader provided would certainly account for the outrageous bill. The DWP supervisor assured me that I would receive a proper bill, which I did later, with the accurate electric charges for that billing period - around $107.00. Now, our recent DWP bill is again outrageously high - $789.06, with NO increase in our usage and absolutely NO water leaking anywhere on the property. The water section alone is $390.42. And, when the water bill is high, the sewer charge is also high, since it is based on water usage. The electric is $303.73. I phoned DWP again & was given the same line - "Your meter was read," with another fabricated date. The DWP employee directed me to look at the graph on my bill, which shows a huge spike in water usage. I stated the obvious to her: "YOU put that graph on the bill, so you can make the lines as long as you want, to justify charging whatever you want." Every DWP employee tells the same lie they are trained to tell. I asked DWP to install a digital, radio frequency meter (like the Gas Co. did to prevent fraudulent meter readings) so the meter can be read from their office. They gave me a number to call for their city employee who installs radio frequency meters (818) 771-2118. All I get is a recording, instructing me to leave a message. I have left numerous messages for him, including my name, address & phone as requested on his recording. No one has called me back. DWP (of course) prefers to continue ripping off customers instead of solving the problem. Hoping you can provide assistance. Thank you The end result: The Councilman's office contacted me immediately & said, "Our office spoke to management at DWP & I guarantee you they will be there tomorrow morning to install the digital meter. And I have also forced them to reimburse you for your bills for 12 months as a penalty." And, that's exactly what happened. You can't always be nice to scam artists; you'll keep getting screwed.
Thanks for telling me, Tony. That amount is ridiculous and I would be angry too. Mine is much less and it's stayed the same for the last 18 months. I better watch out for the next renewal.
Yes, the news reported that the ridiculous increase will show up on the next renewal. IMO, EVERYONE should discourage such practices by lowering their coverage; otherwise they are rewarding greed & encouraging more of it.
The problem with that is, if a person has a lien on their vehicle, the lien holder usually requires full coverage insurance. We don't have car loans, but we still carry full coverage because our vehicles are new and repair costs would be astronomical. Plus, in Texas we are required to carry liability insurance at a minimum unless we provide proof of financial responsibility. (I'm not showing anyone my bank account.)
That is great Tony, as you said sometimes being Mr.Niceguy just doesn't work. Looks like the corrector aka me, is being corrected.