I had to get car insurance immediately on a used vehicle I had just purchased so I wasn't able to shop around a whole lot and had to do it all online since my work schedule conflicts with everyone else's schedules. I found Acceptance Insurance to be almost the cheapest but was the easiest to get started then and there and easily could go to the office to get my proof of insurance.
A few days later I recieved a bill for the following month's payment. I'm in panic mode because I didn't expect to have to pay in for another few weeks and didn't have the cash to be able to pay it then and there. Since their "payment plan" wasn't very descriptive that I had read online I called them up to find out what the deal was. This letter is telling me that if I don't pay it in 2 days it's going to be canceled in 3 weeks.
The woman on the phone tells me that's the day they would like to have the payment but I have until the cancelation date on my bill or it will be canceled. I double, triple check this information with her because I couldn't afford the intial payment with another insurance company because I had just given it to Acceptance. She tells me the same thing and I feel better now. They still want their money then though since they tried charging my prepaid card the monthly payment without prior permission to keep charging it. It ended up causing me to lose $3, at least, that had been on there. Thankfully I don't put money on it anymore due to the extreme fees. Guess what? I start getting phone calls while I'm asleep, since I work nights, from them. I wasn't able to answer and they never left a message. This happened every other month or so that they would call me before the due date.
When they sent out my renewal notice they have a higher price listed which wasn't extreme but when living on a budget every dollar counts but I can't really afford anything else and again it's convenient to just stay with them. When I go to make my first payment for the following 6 months, it's a few dollars higher than the letter. I figured that it would decrease my monthly payments but no they're higher than before. I thought over time insurance was suppose to decrease. At least that's what they told me!
I find myself not in the siituation to argue about a few dollars so I continue my coverage. I have to have it. This month ran tight due to less hours at work but I had the money before the due date. I don't have a credit card and the local agent is in a very bad neighborhood and wont accept cash either so it's easier for me to give my mother the money and have to go online and pay it for me. She had an emergency and had to go out of town the day that I wanted it paid. She asked when it was due by and I told her the date. She said it would be ok for the extra day.
When she gets back I log her into a laptop and start the process to make the payment and it says it cannot make the payment at this time to call back during business hours which are Monday through Saturday. It's Sunday. I'm in a panic mode because my insurance is going to drop, it's going to cost me more to reinstate it, my premiums are going to go up, and I don't have insurance on my car. I calmed down thinking it will be fixed the next day.
I call the following morning and speak with what seemed to be the dumbest person trying to read a script to me. He sounded as though he had a hoagi stuffed into his cheek waiting for the call to end to take his next bite. He procedes to tell me that the policy canceled at 12:01 Sunday morning. He said that it had to be paid before the date, when another associate told me I had until that date to pay it so I had to pay a reinstatement fee of $15 that he claims is mandated by the state, not Acceptance.
I decided to play mean and start asking why my policy increased and he hasn't a clue what I am talking about! He reads my bill and tells me that my bill was cheaper than last month. I told him, "No kidding! That's because I renewed my policy last month." Can you tell me why my policy was more this time around that last time around. He tells me about how the costs of parts have gone up, this, that and the other like he's just guessing off the top of his head with some horrible guesses! Also, don't forget the addition fees that my state charges! I then asked why my actual payment due had been hire than what was on my statement that they had sent me.
He said that that's because the state wants their money up front so they have to put it on the first bill. He's just absolutely not understanding anything. It was quite early, maybe he was hungry. Everything sounded bogus and made up. Each time he tried justifying the pricing he blamed my state. When asking why my monthly payments were hire than they were suppose to be he told me that they state increased their fees. Didn't he just tell me that they put the state's fee's on the first bill? See, absolute lies! I have to pay it, right? I finally just told him to shut up, that I wasn't an idiot but have no choice but to pay it so connect me to someone else since I don't want to talk to him! I go back into the system and guess who answers? HOAGI MAN! I ask if anyone else worked there and said I didn't care send me back! This time he sent me to some bogus extension so I had to call back anyways!
Oh well, I'm more angry that their billing is completely off the wall and no one can seem to explain it properly. Now it's costing me extra and I don't doubt one bit that my policy will increase the next time it's up for renewal because of this! I don't believe for one second that my state makes drivers pay a reinstatement fee. Then to top it off, they want me to drive an hour away to sign a paper saying that I know my policy expired. UH HELLO! I don't have insurance! The other option was for the policy to reinstate at 12:01 tonight. I think I will wait!
It's all very shady and no one has any valuable information. I must say the last lady I spoke with trying to pay it over the phone, was sooooo sweet that I feel bad writing this now. She told me their systems were down and that's why they couldn't accept my payment from the prepaid card and that it wasn't because of the card like the lady before had said.
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