GEICO has refused to pay on a claim that they first promised to pay. I have been going back and forth with GEICO for over two months now. GEICO has no record of a phone call that I made to them on October 16... I proved them wrong by pulling the phone records from my place of employment. They did not care that their records were incomplete and erroneous. I have sent two complaints to the insurance commissioner's office, the second is still pending... Following is the text from the second complaint:
This is a follow-up to my first complaint that I submitted in December. Since that submission, GEICO has embarked down a path of the most unprofessional and incompetent behavior that I have ever experienced with any company. I did not receive a direct phone call from GEICO in response to my complaint to you, but rather a voicemail left on my home phone, a number which I did not give them as a contact number. They had my work number, but chose to leave a message at my home.in that voicemail, Tina, who chose not to leave her last name on the voicemail, detailed the data that GEICO had in their system regarding my policy. She spoke of several conversations in which I had with GEICO, but conveniently left out the important phone conversation that I had with a customer service representative on October 16.in that phone conversation, which lasted thirteen minutes, the rep told me that I was to call back on October 20 and make a payment for the balance and that things would be “taken care of.” I followed the instructions, but found out a month later that my policy had been canceled at that time. I don't understand how I could have paid $260 in August, $200 at the end of September, and another $105 on October 20 and have my policy canceled. Tina has continuously stated that the payment on October 20 was for arrears, but I was NEVER told this on the phone in the THREE conversations that I had with GEICO representatives from October 11 - October 20.
As I stated before, my policy changed twice between August and October, and I had no idea that I was in arrears. Nobody, on those two occasions when I changed the policy, informed me that my policy was in arrears. GEICO even had a phone conversation documented when my grandmother called at the end of November, but conveniently had no record of my conversation with GEICO on October 16.
Tina also stated in this voicemail that my policy canceled on October 13. How could that be if they say I, on October 12, made payment arrangements for October 15? Why would I make payment arrangements two days after my policy was to cancel?
I just made a call to a GEICO representative tonight... Melissa was her name, 10:30pm was the time. She informed me that my two payments, $260 made on August 21 and then another $200 payment on September 27, brought my account current, except for $40.00. GEICO then renewed my policy on October 1 for another six months... Brand new policy! The rep tonight told me that the amount I was due at that time was $179.60 (approx. $120 for October and the balance from September.) If I had paid that amount, my policy would have been active and my next payment due in November. Please note that in August and September, I paid what was told to me to be the amount due at that time. I then took an automobile off the policy on October 11, which lowered my payment even more. I can’t understand why GEICO would have renewed another six months if I was facing cancellation from the past policy? Again, it doesn’t make sense. Which policy were they canceling... The old or the new?
I reiterate from my last complaint a statement that Ms. Webb made to me, and which she now denies, that she was “surprised that my claim was denied.” She added that she was in customer service for many years and that when a policy was changed, it would stop all cancellations against a policy.
As a result, I had a conversation with Michael, a senior supervisor at GEICO (and Tina’s supervisor), on October 28, where we discussed my concerns about the voicemail that was left by Tina. They proclaimed that I never made the October 16th call. I told them I had the phone records to prove it, and Mr. White asked that I retrieve those records and fax to him to show that this call was made. I did this, as instructed, and faxed over as soon as I received them (on January 10). On the fax, I instructed Mr. White to call me at my work to confirm that he received the fax. I called then again the next day, and then again twice the next. It was two days after when I finally received a call from Mr. White (Friday, January 12) and said he received the fax and that I should receive a call back on Monday regarding the phone records and their impact on my claim. I received no response until I called again on Monday afternoon, where I was informed that it would now be another five days (Friday, January 19) before I would hear anything. Apparently, the gentleman who was to review the records and make a decision needed that time to do so. On Thursday, January 18, I received a call from Marty informing me that Tina received my fax (please note that this is now EIGHT days after I faxed them over) and that it would be next Friday (January 26) before I would hear anything. She stated that this was because the gentleman who needed to review it was on vacation all week and wouldn’t be able to get it until Monday, January 22. (today). Please note that Mr. White had informed me three days prior that the gentleman already had the documents and would get me an answer by Friday (January 19). I informed Ms. Webb of this fact, with her apologizing to me for taking so long to get back to me, and, that once she had gotten back to me, “had given me wrong information.”
Please understand that this wasn’t the first time that Ms. Webb has given me false information. I received a call from Marty Webb on December 7 where she took my recorded statement about the accident and informed me that my claim was going to be paid. She reviewed all the expenses that GEICO was going to cover (such as medical, loss wages, rental car reimbursement, etc.,) and took the name and address of the place at where my car was being stored. Additionally, she sent out the necessary paperwork for me to have filled out by the doctors and such, which I received in the mail and now have on file. She asked me at that time to make arrangements with the auto shop where the car was being stored to expect a GEICO representative to pick up the car sometime that day. It was much later the same day that Marty called me and explained that they would not be paying the claim. I believe that Ms. Webb, at that moment she informed me that the claim was to be paid, entered into a contractual agreement to pay the claim... I will be discussing this with a lawyer this week. I have witnesses that can confirm that this conversation existed and that I made preparations that day for the car to be picked up from the auto repair shop.
It’s Friday, January 19 and I am expecting a call from Mr. White, as promised, regarding the claim and the phone records. I hear nothing, and leave a message on his voicemail at 6pm. I again call on January 20 and left another voicemail for Mr. White to call me immediately on Monday, January 22 (this morning). Needless to say, I received no communication from Mr. White.instead, I receive another voicemail on my home telephone from Tina.in all of my communications, I have asked that the calls be made to me at my place of work so that the calls could be recorded as incoming calls in our phone system records. This was for my protection... I have learned that phone records at my home cannot be retrieved except by court order, therefore work was the obvious alternative. As I said, Tina, not Mr. White, left me a voicemail at home stating they are standing behind their decision because they say I needed to have made yet another payment on October 20 (in addition to the one I made) in order for my policy to stay active. If this was the case, why did they tell me my balance was $105.32 on October 12 and October 16? Why wasn’t I told of the entire balance that was needed in order to keep my service active? It apparently wasn’t the $105.32 amount that they asked for and told me was the balance. It doesn’t make sense.
Sir/Madam, I do not understand why GEICO asked me to obtain the phone records if it would not change the course of this claim. GEICO has no record of the October 16 phone call, and I do. This shows an absolute breakdown of communication within their organization, and raises doubt as to their competency to retain accurate and comprehensive information. It is unexplainable that GEICO would have the ability to state what was said or not said in a conversation of which they have no record of in the first place. Furthermore, it is not believable that I could have made two payments in less than a month and not be covered. It would seem that GEICO would have canceled my insurance long before if I were so far in arrears.
I reiterate... I was told by a representative of GEICO and led to believe that my payment on October 20 was the payment required to keep my policy active and valid. The documentation shows that I made an effort to keep a full line of communication open with GEICO at all times since October 11. It is proven that GEICO has not been so efficient, and has failed at keeping accurate records and providing accurate information.
I have a full journal of communications that I have had with GEICO since all of this began, and can document all of my conversations with the many people that work with Marty Webb. All of this is available to you, if needed. It details all the problems that I have encountered, incorrect information that was given to me, who gave me the incorrect information, and calls that were not returned when promised. I also have recorded both voicemails left by Tina.
I am asking for more than just a call to this company. I am asking for a full investigation, and a meeting with an arbitration board. I will do everything I need to do to force GEICO to honor the promises that were made to me, including writing to the editors of newspapers (a copy of this complaint is to be delivered to Mr. Greg Dawson at the Orlando Sentinel), television stations, consumer business groups, the BBB, and local government officials. I will also be obtaining the services of a lawyer, if needed.
It is my hope that I have covered all of the information in this brief summary. If you have any questions for me to help you better understand the issues that I have addressed in this summary, please feel free to contact me at the numbers below. It has been almost two months that I have been left waiting on my claim to process!!!
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