Allstate Insurance

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/05/18) */
Thank you for forwarding Mr. [redacted]'s concern to our office. Customer concerns are important to us and we appreciate the opportunity to address them. Due to privacy concerns, we are unable to post a specific reply here for public view, although...

we have sent a letter to the customer on 5/18/15 in an attempt to address any issues. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience or frustration he may have experienced in this matter.

Review: I was quoted $35.00 a month for insurance for automatic withdrawal from my checking. $187.00 was actually taken. Caused my account to be overdrawn.

I was given a quote for motorcycle insurance for $35.00 from a man named [redacted] an agent with Allstate insurance. I agreed to that amount, and agreed to have that amount detected monthly from my checking account starting February 8,2013 The next withdrawal March 8,2013 Allstate took $187.00 out of my account. I check my accounts daily so I caught the charge in time. I called [redacted] immediately, and he said, "I don't understand why this happened". "Let me look into it and fix this". I then replied, "I understand, but I was not expecting this amount, and I have other bills about to hit my account". [redacted] said "I will fix this just give me 24 hours". I agreed. I did not hear from [redacted] after 24 hours so I called him. I told him that My account will be overdrawn and that I just want cancel the policy. [redacted] said that he understood my concern but he could fix this. He said that there was an issue at underwriting and that's why my premium went up. I reiterated the fact that I could not afford this amount and that I wanted to cancel the policy. He assured me that he was going to fix it. Well he did not fix it. My account was overdrawn. I ended up calling the Allstate 1800 number, only to be treated as all this was my fault. We finally got ahold of A women by the name of Mrs. [redacted] She told us that the reason our premium went up because they hired a third party Nexis Lexis, which told them that I had an at fault collision on my report. I assured her that the information was false, but once again this was all my doing. So I had Geico fax the accurate information to her, But she said that I needed to contact Nexis Lexis to make a dispute with them. So I did. Today is June 15,2013, and I still have had no resolution to this drama.Desired Settlement: Like I told [redacted], (who by the way, told me that he would give me a flat cancelation, and cover all my overdraft charges) all I want is the money that they basically stole from me. I understand how things get messed up, but I shouldn't be blamed or taken advantage of due to a company's incompetence. I would like A flat cancellation as I was promised.

Business

Response:

Business' Initial Response

I am sorry Mr [redacted] feels that way. It truely was unfortionate that Allstae's underwriting did not catch his at-fault claim when the policy was written. This is the first time this has happen to me in over 5 years of writting insurance with Allstate. I realize not everyone reads the insurance details but the [redacted] did sign the paperwork that stated the quoted price is subject to change if unseen tickets or accidents are discover during underwriting. I did truely feel bad the way this unfolded and I spoke with Mr [redacted] wife a number of times and did my very best to help the situation. I was just as frustrated with Allstate for raising the price as the [redacted] were. 5 years writing insurance and this is the first time I've ever had something like this happen. I understand that things like this are bound to happen over the years in business. I know I could have been more proactive and called the [redacted] more often but I've definitely learned from this experience and I am more determined than ever to offer level 10 exceptional service to my customers.

Review: I purchased a vehicle from Integrity Motors on Florin Road. I already had 2 other vehicles under an insurance policy with Progressive, however I was told I needed to get insurance through Allstate, the company this dealership partnered with, in order to drive the car off the lot. The next day I contacted Progressive and learned I could have added my new vehicle onto the policy I already had with them. I immediately contacted my insurance agent with Allstate, [redacted], to cancel coverage with Allstate. Mr [redacted] was very rude in yelling at me once I told him I felt they had insured me under false pretences. That I was informed I had to get insurance through them and although I told him I currently had insurance, I was still made to believe I had to get their insurance. When I told Mr. [redacted] I wanted to cancel the policy that day he said that was fine but I would have to pay a cancellation fee. This was also never discussed with me.On March 30, 2014 I received a payment confirmation from Allstate, stating they had automatically deducted $78.39 from my bank account for April"s premium. Since I presumed I had cancelled this account on 3/9/2014 with Mr. [redacted], I immediately contacted Allstate to inquire as to why, since I cancelled the insurance, were they still deducting money from my account. The representative I spoke with from Allstate stated the account was still active and she would definitely cancel it and backdate it to March 9, 2014 the date I initially contacted Mr. [redacted]. Now I find they may not even refund the $78.39 they took from my account for April as well as the prorated refund for cancelling 5 days after I signed up. Thank you for looking into this matter.Desired Settlement: I would like refunded to me the amount of $78.39, the premium deducted from my bank account on 3/28/2014 for April's premium. Also, since I cancelled the insurance 5 days after I paid the premium of $78.39 for March coverage, I would like a prorated amount returned to me.

Business

Response:

I apologize to this customer for her experience. I personally have never spoken with this customer. she referenced me by name because I am the owner and my name is on all paperwork. I've spoken in depth with my staff member who wrote her auto policy. Here's what happened. This customer called our insurance office to get a quote (we leave a stack of our business cards at dozens of car dealerships in the area). We specifically remember this customer because her husbands driving record was too bad and we told them we could not provide insurance unless we excluded her husband, which we eventually ended up doing. The initial call to our office by the customer was on Friday Feb 28th. The quote was given but the customer did not end up buying the car or the insurance until the follow day. The NEXT DAY, March 1st the customer called back to start the insurance. Does that sound like someone being forced to buy from us? It may be true that the auto dealership may have required them to purchase full coverage insurance for her to leave the lot but how does that involve our insurance company? the customer gave us her payment info, signed the entire contract and this was all done over the period of 2 days. There is an acquisition cost associated to writing an insurance contract. If a customer cancels within the first 6 months of inception of the policy, the company charges a 10% cancellation and that was clearly stated in the signed contract I have here in my office for this customer. She insisted on getting the insurance with us even though we told her we would have exclude her own husband form the insurance. This customer is playing the victim here. Plain and simple.

Consumer

Response:

I am rejecting this response because: I never contacted Allstate for coverage. The dealership I was purchasing the car from contacted Allstate and set everything up. The reason the coverage did not start until the next day was because I was unable to complete the paperwork to purchase the car on the initial date. Now, Allstate has again deducted $78 from my account, which I have since closed. They are also attempting to charge me for closing my account but I cancelled insurance with them over a month ago and they are still attempting to deduct money from a closed account and wanting to bill me.

Business

Response:

All phone calls are recorded through our Voice over internet phone systems. I have invited this customer to listen to the recorded conversation so she can hear for herself that she was insistent on getting the car insured with my company. I have listened to the recorded conversation and I stand 100% convinced that this lady has no business whatsoever making a complaint. She wanted the insurance and I have the recorded conversation to prove it, she gave us her bank info to take payment for the insurance, and she signed the insurance binder for the insurance. What more can I do with this lady? I'm sorry if she has buyers remorse about the car or the insurance but that's no excuse for trying to say the insurance man forced her to buy. This customer is not some young 20 year old kid. She is an adult who is trying to get out of a cancellation fee that is given to all customers through corporate to anyone who cancels within the first 6 months of writing the policy.

In short, I have the recorded conversation. I've been in the insurance industry for many years and I currently have 13 employees in my agency. I'm not going to lay that on the line over a 78 dollar dispute. I put name and reputation 100% behind the recorded conversation. This customer has no business making this complaint and I have the evidence to prove it. She wanted the insurance and she bought the insurance.....plain and simple. I invite this customer and the Revdex.com to listen to the conversation and I offer to make it available to you both. I feel in order to make progress we need all parties involved to PLEASE listen to the recorded conversation between my staff member and this customer.

Consumer

Response:

I am rejecting this response because: Although the conversation may have been recorded, I was not the one who initiated the phone call. Integrity Auto along with Allstate led me to believe I was only able to get covered with Allstate in order to drive the car from the lot. I was invited into the conversation these two companies had already initiated, after I informed them I already had coverage with Progressive for two other vehicles I own. I was not given the opportunity to contact my current insurance company to add the new vehicle, but was informed I needed to pay the premium with Allstate that day. I still feel I was given false information by both Integrity Auto as well as Allstate when they were aware of the coverage I already had with Progressive. What person, in their right mind, would take on a second insurance company and have to pay a separate insurance bill when they already have insurance coverage. I would not even have had to make a premium payment on the new car had I been able to add it to my Progressive policy until the following month.