Monday, March 31, 2014

Royally Ticked Off and....

trying to get over it.

Last week, I received a letter from a collections agency, saying we owed $171 on a "past-due" insurance account. I was 99% certain that wasn't true, but had to check it out. I emailed my insurance agent, who happens to be my son, and asked him to look into it for me. 

I just received an email from the insurance broker, saying that it was sent in error and apologizing. Our last payment to the company with which they had placed the fire policy on our old home (the one we sold last October) had been received, but not recorded. 

An email asking them to be sure that this non-debt gets wiped from our credit reports has been sent, but to be sure, I will have to get our credit reports in about 4-5 months, to see if it has been done. 

WHY don't people who work in offices check and double-check their work??? I hope this serves as a lesson for others:  for those who oversee data entry in offices - do your jobs well, and for consumers - make sure you check and double-check invoices. Don't just pay something without knowing for certain you owe it. (I know, it sounds nuts, but I have known people who would do that.)  $170 isn't much, but it's a lot if you don't really owe it!!

11 comments:

Celia said...

Good for you. I'd be tempted to send the offending insurance company a bill for your services. And if they don't pay it, send it to a collection agency ;-)

Nancy said...


Judy,

A lot of mistakes are made with our billing,etc. because young people THINK they can Multi-task, but the fact is, they can't.

Something has to give and it is usually that a mistake is made on our bill or an order is placed incorrectly because they cannot capably do two things at once.

We have a commercial on our radio here about how wonderful a certain station is and how all the office people listen to it all day at work. I believe it, because so often I have to call and have something corrected.

If only they could be content to do one thing at a time, we would all be better off.

LL Cool Joe said...

Well done for spotting it! Now you can treat yourself to something nice. :D

carmilevy said...

Having worked in financial services in a previous life - I managed helpdesks for insurance companies - I realized early on just how out of the loop humans can be. These companies are now so highly automated that chances are the letter was generated and mailed with zero human intervention. They're too expensive, after all .

Glad you raised the flag, Judy. Sadly, so many people either can't or won't self-advocate, and they end up being stuck. That just burns me.

Anonymous said...

It's one thing to be make an error, but quite another to turn an account over to collection. That's utter incompetence. Before an account is sent to collection, there should be due diligence in determining the accuracy of the debt.

Shiny Rod said...

I question every bill even if I know I owe it. What gets on my credit report is very important to me.

Carolyn said...

Glad "you" figured it out, but it's a shame you had to be the one. It seems we have to work every detail start to finish sometimes ourselves. And that's a real shame when others are getting the pay.

poopie said...

i hear this all the time about healthcare providers.

Star said...

You have to be constantly vigilant. I often "joke " that I should be on the insurance company's payroll.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Good for you, Judy, that you called them on it and now---as you said----you'll have to make sure it doesn't screw up your credit....People are so distracted these days by their cell phones and other things and the bigger the company, the worse it is.....Incompetence seems RAMPANT!!1

Granny Annie said...

An apology and a correction is not enough. Until these errors are punished by a fine of some sort, they will never stop. A company who makes a billing error should have to pay a fine to their regulatory authority. Once they are hit in the pocket book, they will become more diligent. I also believe that a banking customer should be fined if they fail to reconcile their bank statement monthly. They do sign a contract with the bank that they will do that and notify the bank in a timely manner of any discrepancies.