21st Century Insurance

Better...

Business Bureau:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
1. I have not received the $50 back from the company.  The insurance company owes me $50.00 for the period of 2/5/2014 to 2/11/2014.  The representative who I spoke to on February 5, 2014 indicated that I will receive a credit of $50 for reducing my coverage from 2/5/14 to 2/11/2014, not the 2/11/14 to 8/11/2013 as the company later letter indicates.    
 
2.  I did not ask the company to change my name and initials to my name.
 
3.  I would like to file a report about the company's fraud and misrepresentation to their customers due to their dishonest business practice.

Thank you for allowing me to respond to Mr. [redacted]' concerns.The concerns that Mr. [redacted] presented to the Revdex.com on October 5, 2016 have been addressed in response to a complaint we later received on October 14, 2016 from the California Department of Insurance. On October...

26, 2016, we sent a letter to Mr. [redacted] in response to his concerns, and the California Department of Insurance - Consumer Services and Market Conduct Branch also received a copy of our response. Mr. [redacted] should receive our response within 7-10 business days from the date it was sent.We appreciated Mr. [redacted] for having been insured with us over the past 28 years and regret that we have lost his business. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

Case:   201590                         To Whom It May Concern:Thank you for notifying 21st Century of the concerns presented to the Better...

BusinessBureau. We appreciate the opportunity to respond to this inquiry.As an insurer, it is always our intention to provide excellent service to ourpolicyholders, and we regret the difficulties that the customer experienced. Aspart of our standard, new business procedures the consumer was asked tocomplete an underwriting questionnaire for the purpose of validating vehicleuse. When timely response was not received, the annual mileage for the insured vehicleswas adjusted to reflect the national average for non-retired operators. The insuredsubsequently provided the requested information and the policy has been restoredto the original six month premium. The insured’s refund of $13.54, will bereleased within the next five business days.We thank you for your time and attention, and we apologize for any inconveniencethis matter has caused. If we can be of any further assistance, please contact us.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
 
As I previously stated I had asked for a refund of the $15 “bank fee” on the basis of their definition and reason it occured.  Their reply was that “They assess a $15 fee when a premium payment is returned from the bank”.  The fact that I had canceled my credit card due to the data breach needs to be considered as well and it is ludicrous that any official at 21st Century Insurance company would feel the justification to charge any individual because they feared their account was compromised by shopping at Target.  Furthermore my bank showed no record of any attempt to collect the funds (see attached letter) which means that no charges were imposed from my bank and like any declined attempt to use a credit card,  this proves that there was no cost to the merchant because there was no “reversal of funds” or money changing hands.
 
[redacted]
 
It is a disgrace that any company doing business with the general public as big as 21st Century sacrifice their public image by refusing to credit this small fee (or any goodwill gesture when asked for that matter).  They have artificially created this charge and imposed unethical fees on unsuspecting loyal customers for the sole purpose of generating revenue.  Every single credit card paying customer has an expiration date on their credit card and that is the name of their game.  I find their 1st response an insult for wasting my time and theirs over such a small amount to keep a current loyal customer happy.  I would like to see them do the right thing for me and any other unsuspecting customers that are getting slammed with these fees to empower their phone representatives to credit this unfounded charge and restore trust with their customers.  This is not better business. 
 
Thank you,
[redacted]

February 26,2014
              To Whom It May Concern:
 
Thank you for notifying Farmers of the additional Inquiries presented by [redacted] We appreciate the opportunity to address her concerns.
 
As stated In  our previous response, we are unable to provide coverage for [redacted] uncle's home. as it does not meet our underwriting guidelines. While we did not receive the application that [redacted]  referenced in her most recent correspondence, it Is possible that the document was an application for insurance with an unaffiliated company. If our contracted agents cannot place business with our company or our affiliates, they are contractually permitted to seek alternate coverage through an unaffiliated
company or broker. We wish to assure [redacted] that our company's inability to offer coverage is in no way related to the surrounding geography or neighborhood of her uncle's home, but is rather specific to our underwriting guidelines concerning loss history.
 
[redacted] indicated that the Ford Agency refused to bind coverage for her uncles home. Please note that agents are Individual small business owners, and as such, they have the ability and right to refuse any piece of business that does not meet our company guidelines. however, our expectations of our contracted agents are that they will deliver excellent customer satisfaction, and we do regret [redacted]s unfavorable experience.
 
Please contact me by email at [redacted]  if we can be of any further assistance.

The insured’s policy was set up on a monthly, recurring/automatic bill plan with a deduction date of the 2nd . Our procedure is to submit our monthly pull file during the early morning hours of the due date, EST. It seems likely that the insured’s bank received and processed the...

pre-authorization prior to the intended due date. We assume that this occurred due to the difference in time zones.  As a courtesy, we have waived the $25 returned payment fee, and the remaining balance is $45.02.
We wish the insured will with his new provider.

Thank you for allowing me to respond to [redacted]’s concerns. We are sorry to hear that [redacted] was not satisfied with the service he received when he contacted us on November 10, 2014. I have reviewed our file and found that on October 30, 2014, [redacted] called and...

requested to suspend coverage on his 2000 Nissan Altima. [redacted] indicated to our Customer Service Representative that his vehicle would be in the shop for repairs for an extended period of time. As [redacted]’s vehicle did not carry physical damage coverage, we were unable to accommodate his request for a storage policy. [redacted] denied our offer to cancel his policy at that time. On November 10, 2014, [redacted] called and requested to cancel his policy as his vehicle was still not operational and did not know when it would be repaired. As [redacted] was still the owner of his 2000 Nissan Altima, the Customer Service Representative canceled [redacted]’s policy effective the date of the call in accordance with our guidelines. We assessed a $50.00 cancellation fee and charged premium for coverage provided up until November 10, 2014. [redacted] currently has an earned premium balance of $56.32 for coverage that was provided up until November 10, 2014. The cancellation fee, as well as other possible policy fees, is outlined on the bottom of the policy declaration page in the gray box. It is also noted by policy endorsement. The fee and the assessment thereof is filed and approved by the California Department of Insurance. It was not until after he was advised of our exceptions to waive the cancellation fee did [redacted] state that he sold his vehicle. All prior information provided by [redacted] indicated that he still owned the vehicle. We would be happy to backdate the date of cancellation and waive the cancellation fee if he can provide proof of transfer of ownership of his 2000 Nissan Altima prior to November 10, 2014. Without this documentation, [redacted]’s earned premium balance of $56.32 is valid and due to be paid immediately. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

On 11/6/13 the insured’s son was involved in a collision using the insured’s vehicle. In response to an Underwriting Questionnaire, the Insured disclosed that his son did not live with the insured, did not maintain insurance coverage, had regular use of the insured vehicle and kept the...

insured vehicle at his personal residence. Consistent with our guidelines, on 02/14/13 we added the Insured’s son to the policy effective 12/17/13 (the beginning of the term.) The six-month premium increased from $1959.89 to $3200.58.
 
The Insured remitted thee payments totaling $1725.18. $3200.58 (total premium) - $1725.18 (payments) = $124.89. $124.89 - $5.00 (fee) = $119.88 (pending refund.) The refund was released 03/21/14.  Thank you.

We are in receipt of the inquiry filed by [redacted] to the Revdex.com. Ms. [redacted] alleges when she took out this policy two years ago, she requested to have the same coverage as her former policy.  Thank you for an opportunity to review this matter and...

respond.According to our review of phone records, Ms. [redacted] requested full coverage on her policy and when asked if she wished to have a $500.00 deductible she agreed that was the coverage she wanted. We did not find that there was an error on our part writing the coverage Ms. [redacted] requested.
Ms. [redacted] can make changes to her policy at any time by calling [redacted]  If Ms. [redacted] has additional questions regarding our coverage review, we encourage her to contact Claims Supervisor[redacted], or Claims Manager [redacted]

Thank you for allowing me to respond to [redacted] concern.
I reviewed our file and found that [redacted] was on our 2 Payment Plan and set up for automatic payments from his credit card. We attempted to take a payment of $108.00 on September 2, 2014. The payment was declined by...

his bank.  As a result of the returned payment, he was assessed a $10 Returned Payment Fee and a $5 Late Fee. On  September 4, 2014, we mailed a renewal cancellation notice and billing advising that we must receive a payment of $123 before September 24, 2014 in order to continue his coverage. The proof of mailing for the Cancellation Notice is available should he wish to review it.
We did not receive the necessary payment and the policy canceled effective September 24, 2014. The policy was assessed a $50 Cancellation Fee and the Late Fee was reversed. This left [redacted] with and outstanding balance of $86.
The policy is not eligible for reinstatement due to the length of time the policy has been canceled, but we can offer [redacted] a new quotation to start a policy and transfer the balance from his prior policy to the new one.
Additionally, we respectfully decline to waive the applicable billing fees as we made an accomodation on April 8, 2014 and waived the Returned Payment Fee and Late Fee resulting from his declined payment on April 2, 2014. 
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
The business did not answer any of my complaints nor did they account for their breaking of the law in coming to the conclusion that they did, regarding my claim and their sheer incompetence in the mishandling of it . Their response was redundant and did not cover any ground whatsoever. When someone can actually answer my questions instead of avoiding them it will be inevitable that they have to admit fault which is why I assume they keep avoiding answering the questions and getting to the point at hand.
I will not drop this as NO INVESTIGATION WAS CONDUCTED ; thus their assessment was void. I will continue taking this to the highest levels possible until the at fault decision is removed from my record. 
Regards
[redacted]

Review: In July I called and l made my car insurance payment and I asked the lady when my next payment was due. She said 110 was due on August 21. I do not know her name cause it was never given to me and also when I call I never get the same person twice. So I called on August 23 to make my payment. I was told my policy was cancelled, because it was not payed on the first. When I called earlier in the week the automative service said what she did in July that 110 was due on the 21st. The lady I talked to on the 23rd told me it was cancelled and that I owed 107.50. I payed the amount and she directed me to sales wherr they quoted me a new policy of 350 down and 230 a month. My other policy is only 75 a month, so that is quite a markup on the new quote. I am without insurance, I never received any notices in the mail nor a phone call. I would just like my old policy reinstated with the same 75 dollar price. I feel it is unfair due to no notice and it is a remarkable difference in the new quote

compared to the old one. I have had no accidents or tickets that would cause an increase in the monthly balance. I really like this company and hope we can resolve this issue so I can continue business with them.Desired Settlement: To have my old policy reinstated with the 75 dollar a month price.

Business

Response:

Dear Customer,

Thank you for your referral through The Revdex.com regarding your automobile insurance policy. We appreciate the opportunity to review and respond to your concern.

We sent a written response to you.

Please feel free to contact me with any concerns or questions.

Best Regards,

Representative

Review: I had an issue with my debit card that I used to set up Auto Pay for my monthly payment. Unfortunately, I lost my debit card that I used to make my monthly payments the same day as the payment was due. My bank closed the card but I had another account and I immediately transfered money and contacted 21st Century Insurance to make my payment. Well they had already tried to run the lost card and charged me a $20 reject fee and a $10 late fee. I explained what happened but they refused to waive the fees and would not accept a payment from me without including the fees. The representative said that if my bank will provide a letter that says that my card was closed due to fraud they would waive the fees otherwise they would not be waived and would need to be paid. I thanked them politely and said I would make the payment myself online. I made the monthly payment of $112.40 and it was cleared from my bank on 09/23/2014. On 10/16/2014 I was told that my policy was cancelled due to non payment of $30.00. They cancelled my policy for a late fee or soft debt and would not reinstate my policy unless I paid additional cancellation fees and a larger portion of my premium. Long story short in order to reinstate my policy I would have to pay them almost $300. I asked for a supervisor that was very apathetic and unbendiing. She said "We want your businesss but it's or policy and we can't reinstate you unless we get the additional money. The only thing she offered me to was that I had 30 days to reinstate however I might have to pay more fees and in the meantime I would be without coverage. This is unacceptable! I have never in my life have ever heard of a company cancelling a policy because a late fee was not paid. Never mind that I paid the monthly premium payment and tried to do the right thing by getting the payment in as quickly as possible.Desired Settlement: I would like to have my policy reinstated without paying the extra cancellation fees immediately as I have not shopped for other insurance. If this is absolutely not possible then a straight cancellation with nothing at all owed to 21st Century Insurance. No late fees and not cancellatiion fees of any kind. Do not try to collect those fees from me. I am willing to negotiate reinstatment but something reasonable. For example I will pay the $30 to reinstate and continue making my premium payments at $114.40 until the policy renewal

Business

Response:

Thank you for allowing me to respond to [redacted]'s concern.

I reviewed our file and found that on September 23, 2014, we attempted to take a scheduled payment of $112.12 from the credit card that we had on file. The payment was declined by her bank. Due to the declined payment she was assessed a $20 returned payment fee.

[redacted] contacted us via live chat on September 23, 2014 to review her billing. At that time, she advised that her card was closed by her bank. Our rep advised her to submit documentation from her bank advising that they closed her card in order to waive the fee. She was also advised that she would need to make of $132.12. As she stated, she went on the internet and made a payment of $112.12. When the full amount due of $132.12 was not paid, a $10 late fee was assessed and cancellation notice and billing generated for $30.

On September 24, 2014, she contacted us again via live chat and she was told that we would waive the fees if she provided documentation from her bank. She advised that she contacted her bank and that they were sending the letter by mail.

On September 25, 2014, we mailed a cancellation notice and billing for the $30 in unpaid fees. We did not receive the documentation from her bank, nor did we receive the required payment before October16, 2014. As such, her policy canceled and she is subject to our reinstatement requirements.

We are still willing to waive the fees associated with the declined payment if she provides the documentation from her bank. We will not waive the cancellation fee as she did not take the appropriate action to prevent her policy from cancelling.

If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

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Review: was in a accident on 10/24/13 called claims they told me they would handle providing proof 2 the state that I had insurance, license was suspended for non compliance to prove financial responsibility, called they issued the state the document after I called them that was not filled out correctly, it is now going on 2 months no resolution yet my driver license still suspended but yet my insurance is still being paid,

talked 2 people there they admit it was human error but will not do any compensationDesired Settlement: I just figure they owe me a month of insurance for free for the aggravation

Business

Response:

We apologize for providing the incorrect term effective date to the Department of Motor Vehicles. On 12/16/13 we submitted a new Certificate of Compliaince to the DMV to confirm coverage. And, on 12/18/13 a member of our Compliance Department called the DMV and confirmed receipt. Generally, fines and/or reinstatement fees are waived by the DMV once the Certificate of Compliance is received. That said, if the insured paid any fines as a result of our error, we ask that he submit them for reimbursement. Once again we apologize for our error.

Review: I am a past customer of 21st. INS. they have been raising my rate each time the policy renews and so I got myself an other insurance company and canceled my policy with 21st century they said I would get a refund of the last month payment they said it would take 7 to 10 days to get it then they said that there was a 3 day hold on the 9th day of the 7 to 10 days and that it would take an other 7 to 14 days to get. This is not true they have no right to detain my funds any longer than today being 08/22/14Desired Settlement: the return of my money without delay I mean today that is what they said 7 to 10 days and today is the 10th day and today 08/22/14

Business

Response:

We accommodated your request and canceled your policy effective September 3, 2014. On August 25, 2014 we released your unearned premium refund of $74.65 back to the credit card that we had on file. Depending on your financial institution, the entire process can take up to three to five business days before you will see the credit on your account. We are very sorry for the delay in refunding the unearned premium.

Review: I canceled my car insurance with this company about 9/14/2013 as they were very high and I went with cheaper insurance. I was told I would receive a bill in the mail. I received a recording call on 11/15/2013 stating I owed 394.79 and needed to pay in 10 days or I would be turned over to a collection agency. I call the company and was told a billed was mail on 9-3-13, I explained I did not get it and was told to bad we mailed it, you owe it, what am I going to do about it. I explained I did not have the 400.00 at this time and could I make payment arrangements. I was told we cannot make payment arrangements at this time I just need to pay the bill, this is what I owed up to the canceled policy. I was also told I was lieing about not receiving the bill just to get out of paying it. They were very rude.Desired Settlement: I feel they should write off this amount as they were very rude and I was turned over to a collection agency. When I got a call from the collection agency it was a foreign person that did not speak very good English and was also very rude. I explained I did not receive a bill and again was told that was to bad, they were just doing their job. I have had problem in the pass with this company, taking out payments were the policy was not due and was told the pick a date was not working properly. I had to fight to get reimbursed 105.00 that my checking account was overdrawn and then when my debit card was stolen they could not take out the payment and my policy was canceled and then I was told I would have to pay 800.00 to restate. This company needs to retrain there customer service as some are very rude and if that is how they treat people not good.

Business

Response:

Dear Customer,

We reviewed your file and sent a written response to you.

We appreciate the opportunity to review this concern for you. Please let us know if you have any followup questions.

Best Regards,

Representative

Review: I have been a long-time customer of 21st Century Insurance for my auto insurance policy. Since the inception of my policy, I have elected to pay via a direct debit from my checking account. I have never been late with a payment until a billing issue recently when my bank debit card number changed. I thought that my checking account number had been filed for the bi-annual payments. In fact, my debit card number was on file. I would have been glad to update my billing information had 21st Century notified me of their lack of receipt of payment. They did not do so, and I had no way of knowing our policy was not current.

Instead, 21st Century chose to not communicate with me in any way, shape or form. In fact, they sent out new insurance cards for my wife and I, which we received shortly after the payment would have normally processed. THREE months later, 21st Century called to indicate they needed a $36 payment over the phone for a fee, which I gladly paid. They did not, however, inform me until after this payment was made that my policy had actually been CANCELLED for the past 3 months. My wife and I have been driving, unbeknownst to us, uninsured because of a clerical error on the part of 21st Century not notifying us payment had not been received. They claim that they sent a written notice indicating our policy was void. We received no such notice.

Despite my justified infuriation with this development, I plead with their billing representatives that we would prefer to remain with their company for our insurance under our previous plan, they indicated they would have to re-quote my insurance premium. When they did so, the premium increased more than $1,000 per year. So on top of their failure to notify us of the cancellation of our policy, they attempted to extort money out of us in a ridiculous new quote claiming that we were previously uninsured. We were previously uninsured BECAUSE OF THEIR POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE, not out of our own design or unwillingness to be legal drivers.

This is a terrible company that provides horrible customer service. When we were in a wreck (not our fault - fault of another driver) a few months ago, 21st did absolutely nothing to assist us during the claims process. We, as their client, basically received zero benefits from their service. Then they caused us to drive illegally for three months because of their inferior internal communication process.

I hope no one ever does business with this company again. It's a euphemism to call insurance agents "thieves" and that's largely untrue of most. 21st fits the billing perfectly though. Dishonest, unfair, irrational, unsavory and outright lying people who deserve to be exposed.Desired Settlement: I wish for my policy to be reinstated. I do not seek any reimbursement for my hassle. I just want an honest apology and for 21st to reinstate my previous policy which was actually affordable for my family.

Business

Response:

Dear Customer,

Thank you for your referral through The Revdex.com regarding your automobile insurance policy. We appreciate the opportunity to review and respond to your concern. We sent a written response to you.

Please feel free to contact me with any concerns or questions.

Best Regards,

Representative

Consumer

Response:

Review: I had been a 21st Century Auto insurance customer for over a year. My payments were scheduled to withdraw from my Visa debit automatically. Latest was September 1st, 2013, a Sunday preceeding a Monday holiday. My payment did not go thru due to my bank issuing a new debit card a few weeks prior and my forgetting to update it on 21st's site. They immediately cancelled my automotive policy and did not notify me that there was anything wrong. I only found out today, September 3rd, when I got online to make my car payment where I saw that I had no insurance coverage. So I call 21st to fix the issue, and I'm told nothing can be done and I must obtain a new quote and policy. So I do all this, and woe if 21st didn't attempt to raise my premium nearly $100 per month (from $115 to $200) on account of the 2 day lapse in coverage and Illinois law. This is a scam.Desired Settlement: An apology from 21st Century for their devious exploitations and a renewal of my original rate. Or, they can cover my future costs accrued due to this "lapse" in coverage.

Business

Response:

On September 1, 2013, the Insured's policy was voided as the first installment toward the renewal was reversed by his bank. The cancellation was available to view online, and since the Insured was on paperless delivery, the Void Notice was available to view the following day, and was mailed to the insured on September 4, 2013.

Unfortunately, the policy did not meet our eligibility requirements for reinstatement. When the insured was requoted the policy was rated with a lapse in coverage, which is used as a rating factor, and increased the premium.

The policy is not eligible for reinstatement and we cannot cover future expenses incurred as a result of the lapse in coverage. We thank the insured for his patronage, and suggest he secure new insurance as soon as possible.

Review: On 2/9/15 at about 10:45 ET. 21st Century Insurance called my number, stating that I "recently requested a quote on auto insurance over the internet". Upon further questioning, I found that the quote was on a 1998 Nissan, which I've never owned (I've only ever used it to waste the time of telemarketers...). Since the vehicle that they were providing a quote for is completely fictitious, the claim that I recently have been looking for insurance quotes on the internet for it is totally false. Apparently, this company is using backdoor methods to disregard the National Do-Not-Call Registry. Since this disregard is illegal, it is also unethical, and shows a general lack of honesty and integrity on the part of 21st Century Insurance.Desired Settlement: Request a written apology, along with a promise to do all future business within the strictures of the National Do-Not-Call Registry.

Business

Response:

The quotation and it's origin are currently under review with our Marketing Department. Upon completion we will respond directly to the consumer.

Consumer

Response:

Review: I am being charged fees for a payment that was one day late because there was fraudulent activity on my debit card and my bank was forced to close that account on the same day my payment went through. I did not have time to call 21st century due to the serious nature of the banking issue. I explained this and I was told if I could get notice from the bank then I would not be charged the fees. I did get this information to the company but they are still charging me fees. Both the customer service Rep, [redacted], and the supervisor, [redacted] have been incredibly rude and unprofessional and are not honoring the promise that I would not be charged the fees. Also, I received a bill for double the amount that I owe even though I already made the monthly payment. I do not owe that payment until next month. Also, I have been trying to switch my automatic payments to my checking account and it never goes through. Also, I do not want automatic payments due to this problem but I have never been properly helped. Customer service is the worst I have ever dealt with. They are rude and it is emotionally exhausting dealing with them.Desired Settlement: No fees and next payment due on regular due date in August. STOP automatic payments or FINALLY add my checking account properly.

Consumer

Response: