Another "customer service down the shitter" thread

[Quick86]

So last Saturday I got my car insurance renewal in the mail. I have been with AAA for car insurance since I was 16 years old. My wife has been with them since for 6 years. We combined policies when we got married 2 years ago. In my driving record I have one ticket and one accident both from over 7 years ago. My wife has zero on her record. We have three cars, her 07 Cobalt, my 04 Yukon, and my 84 Mustang which has been in storage since October getting upgrades.

My renewal showed up and went from $760 every six months to $900! So I called my agent last week Monday and he was tied up with another customer. His assistant said she would relay the message and he would call me back. I called him again later in the day because I had not heard back, he said they had been working on their system and had techs in there trying to get their internet connection back so he could look in to it but would have to call me back. OK... So 2 days went by - no call back. I called again, he was with a customer. Called again Friday - busy again. Called at 9am this morning after shopping car insurance all weekend --- nope, still busy.. OK, final straw... As most of you know I swore by AAA - but this customer service and rate jump pissed me off. I had been with them for 11 years. I checked all the good insurance companies that I dealt with when I was at the body shop and by far Progressive was the cheapest. AND I am getting more coverage with the Mustang @ full coverage even though it's in my garage and not moving.. And STILL $150 cheaper every six months...

So I just tried to call my agent to cancel our car insurance - still busy. Told his assistant what I was calling for and she said "oh no! Let me try to get a hold of him..." --- waited on hold.. She gets back on and says he is still tied up and asked if he can call me back. I said "Whatever works for you but either way I want my car insurance canceled today." ..

I've worked in a customer service industry where call backs are needed - and NEVER have I let someone go this long without hearing from me!


Reminds me, I need to call the local GM dealer because it's been 3 weeks since they ordered the part for my recall....

 

[silver95taurus]

Same with my AAA agent based from Dearborn. I sent her an Email with the exact information I required. She responded 5 hours later with "ok" and never heard back till I called her a week later to put one of my cars back on.

AAA also increased my house insurance by 100 a year. I'd switch if it wasn't still cheaper than the others between my house and the new car I'm buying this week.

 

[91trunk]

My AAA went up, but my agent is a family friend and he explained it would. The service I get with him his worth the small increase. I've had to deal with Progressive on the body shop, service and sales end and they are a pain in the ass.

 

[Quick86]

I think it depends on the Progressive rep in your area. The Lansing regions guy is top notch compared to most I have dealt with. AAA's adjuster is great as well. But with my son on the way every dollar counts.

 

[1BADAIR]

Same here. been with AAA since 16. Will not be renewing next month

 

[raroz28]

Progressive's customer service is awesome. I have had to deal with them a lot in the last 6 months and they have been top notch. I'm very happy.

 

[sofa king]

Mine with Farmers did the same, with similar CS results.
I had been with the same people for 18yrs, all of a sudden new people there and I can't get either of the people I've been dealing with on the phone.
Since nobody could explain why the rate went up about 25%, I bailed. Try to stay loyal, but nobody gives a crap about that anymore, why bother...

 

[lethalss]

I'm baffled that people think loyalty means anything with 1) insurance companies, and 2) jobs. You're just a number.

 

[sofa king]

I don't think it means anything...However, I also don't care to change providers every 6 months. Usually if I got a lower quote or something like that, I could call and say WTF and they would adjust accordingly.

 

[Beigg]

I don't think it means anything...However, I also don't care to change providers every 6 months. Usually if I got a lower quote or something like that, I could call and say WTF and they would adjust accordingly.

this.

 

[LT1Pat]

I cancelled AAA a week ago, they were double the rates of my new insurance company

 

[Chris Hansen]

I've been insured with Progressive for the last two years. They have been great with rates on all of my cars too. I just called to insure my new ride last week and was floored at the price. I pay 800 a year for 2014 Mustang GT at 23 years of age. Can't beat 66 bucks a month for full coverage.

 

[Birdie2000]

I heard several years ago that if you have a claim with Progressive they don't let you choose the body shop, you just give the car to them and they give you back a repaired car. Is there any truth to this?

 

[mustangmike6996]

I had Allstate, who I swore by until my rates JUMPED after I turned 27 and my wife turned 25. I ditched them for Geico and save HUGE amounts of cash.

 

[Quick86]

So I called AAA today to check the status on my refund for my policy. I was told my policy was still active. WTF!

I said I called on the 29th to get my policy canceled because after waiting a week and a half for a call back to see what was going on with my rates I had found the same for much much cheaper.

I canceled on the 29th and started my new policy that same day.


The gal on the phone said she needed proof of my new policy beginning on the 29th. I was irked but I said "OK, what's your email, I'll shoot over a PDF with my policy number, my name, my coverage dates, and payment history + schedule..."

I send it over, she gets it, and says "No, this won't work, I need the copies of your declaration pages that show what coverages you have on your vehicles."

I asked "Why? This right here shows I started a policy, made my payment with them, have a policy number, AND have automatic payments scheduled. When I canceled on the 29th none of this was asked of me. Why do you need to know what level of coverage I am carrying on my vehicles?"

She said "Well that's just our policy to back date a cancellation. If you'd like I can cancel it as of today and we can process your refund and have it too you in 10 business days."

So I said "Okay, well, is there a supervisor or someone above you I can talk too? Because this is getting ridiculous now."

She went on trying to avoid having to get a supervisor and I said "No, I'm really irritated that my agent never canceled my policy in the first place like he SAID he would, and that I am now having to provide proof of my new carrier? And I have to wait ANOTHER 10 business days to get my refund?"

She asked me to hold so I sat there for 15 minutes and she came back on and said "I'm sorry for the wait sir, we will cancel your policy for you as of the 29th and process your refund which should be to you in the next 10 business days."

I asked if there was a way to expedite the process and she said "It's usually faster than 10 business days but there is no way to do it any faster."

...Rah! Whatever, pathetic!

</rant>


I emailed her back and asked for proof of confirmation of my policy being canceled at MY request as of the 29th and was told I will be getting a confirmation in the mail within 3-5 days.

 

[DBK]

My insurance guy is awesome. Insures a lot of shit for me. He's in the car insurance business but goes out of his way to get me insurance for my house, other properties, etc, and my policies are peanuts compared to some of the nutjobs he writes for.

 

[Swifster]

I heard several years ago that if you have a claim with Progressive they don't let you choose the body shop, you just give the car to them and they give you back a repaired car. Is there any truth to this?

Progressive has their Concierge Service. You drop the car off at their service center, they ship the car to one of their prefered body shops, and it gets returned to the Service Center. They try to steer you to this service. But you have the right to use whatever collision shop you choose. Drop the car off where you want and tell them where it's at.

 

[05cesrt]

The catastrophic fund did go up again this year, but I bet they are all freaking out over Snyders thoughts of getting rid of no fault??

 

[igotaneed4speed]

I've had the same agent thru AAA since I was 16 and my parents have been with him for over 30 years, the same dude. I got my renewal notice around then end of January I have always paid 6 months upfront cash then auto paid the last 5 months. (with AAA you only pay 11 months out of the year) When I got my notice it had gone from me paying 100 a month for plpd on my daily beater to 150 a month, a 550 a year increase! My truck with full coverage went from 140 a month to 218 a month, a 858 a year increase. Mind you my driving record for the past 7 years has been flawless, zero tickets! On top of my rates going up, when I had called for homeowners insurance in June the year previous he was 400 a year over State Farm for the same coverage.

I called my agent to ask him why the rates went up so much, his response was that "all insurance rates are going up not just ours, its across the board" I asked why and he simple said "because, they are". I didn't ask any further questions and said thanks for your time and ended the conversation. I called State Farm since I had my homeowners thru them I figures they'd be the best deal and turned out I was right. I ended up getting the plpd for 80 a month with the same coverages and full on my truck for 110 with the same coverages. (I carry a one million dollar liability policy so my premiums are typically higher than most peoples).

Not only did I get cheaper insurance rates but he gave me a discount for having house and car together which knocked 300 a year off my homeowners I already had with them.

I called my agent back at AAA, asked him if he could better my rates at all, he worked on some stuff and two minutes later said he could knock the daily driver coverage down to 125 a month but that's all he could do. I informed him at that point that I had another quote for a much lower rate and that I would have to cancel my policy and change company's. He grumbled some cuss words and fucking hung up on me. I imediatly called back and he answered direct without having to go thru the desk lady, I said who I was and asked why he hung up and his reply was we must have gotten disconnected, he said "I'll get that canceled Mr. Mayfield" Intentionally calling me by a last name he new wasn't mine (Mayville is my last name, after 30 years a dealings he knew how to pronounce it) I hung up and immediately drove up there, showed proof of my new policy and made sure everything was canceled.

Never again even if State Farm's prices go up will I go back to AAA, and I hope every person he deals with cancels on his cock sucking ass.

 

[Quick86]

Yeah, I was with him since I was 16 as well. 11 years. My parents just left AAA as well. He gave me the same bullshit line of "Well, everyones rates are going up."

He then was baffled how Progressive was so cheap and said they are losing money and Progressive might not be selling insurance in Michigan because they cannot compete here. lol.

Went from $190/mo to $135/mo.