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If you hate Allstate and interested in brining the company down within legal limit. please contact me.You may be familiar with the popular advertising campaigns that abound on television and other mass media. There’s a good reason for this plethora of commercials. The automobile insurance industry is a huge, highly profitable business. Nearly every automobile owner in the United States is required to own such insurance if he or she owns, leases, or rents a car. Therefore, competition for the consumer dollar is fierce. It would seem that on the surface at least, the major insurance providers would attempt to provide good customer service to maintain a positive reputation. My experience with Allstate Insurance Company, specifically its Allstate Motor Club, indicates otherwise. My dealings with them have been rife with deception, equivocation, incompetency, and a lack of ethics on their part. Let me elaborate.
In November of 2010, I received an unsolicited phone call from a customer service representative of the Allstate Motor Club. The caller, an employee of the Motor Club, recommended that I register and enroll in the Club’s Platinum Elite Membership. The saleswoman with whom I spoke described the membership’s purported benefits. Here is a summary of these benefits as she explained them.
The service representative stated that, “You do not have to surrender your driver’s license to a police officer if pulled over.” She further stated that a second benefit was that I would not receive any demerits on my driver’s license should I be stopped by a law enforcement officer that suspected I had been guilty of a moving violation. In such a case, she claimed, all I would need to do is pay the penalty, and I would not incur any points on my driving record. This latter benefit was one of the critical factors that persuaded me to purchase the membership.
However, since it’s common that a salesperson may make an error in describing a service or benefit, I asked the Allstate Motor Club representative to confirm the member benefits she had just described. I recommended that she speak with her supervisor concerning the matter, and she stated she would do so immediately. At that point, she placed me on hold for several minutes. When she resumed our conversation, she claimed that she had conferred with her supervisor not once, but twice, and that her supervisor assured her the information she provided me was accurate. Additionally, she explained there was a third benefit that I would enjoy if I were to become a member. As part of my membership, she claimed that Allstate would provide reimbursement for accrued legal fees of up to $1500 should I seek an attorney to dispute any moving violation. The benefits of joining the Motor Club seemed attractive, but to be sure the representative was being accurate, I provided her with two hypothetical examples:
1) “If I were to be pulled over for a suspected driving violation, would the benefit protect me from being required to surrender my driver’s license (and instead provide my Platinum membership card to a police officer)?”
Her response to this question was “yes.”
2) “Would the legal fee for a lawyer be reimbursed as long as the charge was under $1500?”
She answered in the affirmative to this question as well.
Based on these confirmations, I joined the Motor Club. But as it turned out, not only was the salesperson’s description inaccurate, but owing to this inaccuracy, I incurred a financial loss far beyond the price of the membership.
I discovered these facts to be true when I was stopped by a police officer for going through a red light. When I attempted to provide the officer with my membership card, he claimed that it was worthless, ordered me to surrender my license, and issued me a summons. To respond to this summons, I acquired the services of an attorney. Since the actual amount paid by the Club for an attorney’s consultation is $150 (not $1,500 as the customer representative stated), I had to pay additional charges myself.
In fact, it was my attorney that led me to suspect that I had been given erroneous information, informing me that he had never heard of such benefits offered by a motor club. After speaking with my attorney, I attempted to find out the name of the employee with whom I had made the membership transaction.
I called the customer service telephone number, and spoke to Victor (Senior Supervisor, employee ID 41728) at 11:15 A.M. During the 20 to 25 minutes I spoke with him, Victor told me that he had no doubt that the employee has made a mistake, and he then apologized to me. Victor said the company would investigate the matter and the appropriate department would send me a letter to help resolve the matter. I waited one week, but no letter arrived. I called Victor again. He apologized and said a letter concerning the matter would be forthcoming. To this day, I have not received any such letter.
I also spoke to a Mr. Kaushik (floor manager of the Motor Club, employee ID 41761) for about 35 minutes. Mr. Kaushik stated that the brochure was not a contract, and that the “verbal agreement was the contract.” However, he also explained that “the arrest bond only works when you get arrested.” This is not the information I originally received regarding the club benefits. The first salesperson told me the $1,500 coverage for legal fees would be paid by Allstate for any consultation with a lawyer regarding any matter concerning a traffic violation". She made no mention of the proviso that this amount was only applicable should the member be arrested/.
Owing to the saleswoman’s erroneous information (information she guaranteed was accurate), I am at a loss of $1,350 ($1500 - $150)?. I received the check for $150 from the Allstate Motor Club,. Although I was told that included with the check would be the Motor Club handbook, enumerating the benefits in writing, Allstate failed to send me one:.
After all of this, I found out that my auto insurance policy I had before the motor club membership was cancelled because the renewal letter was sent to the wrong address|.
The next time you see an advertisement celebrating the benefits of Allstate, think about my experience with them/. Don’t fall for the hype:.
1286e50
 Comments (16) |
| 1. Written by Happy on November 20, 2011 from minneapolis, minnesota, US AllState has cheapest Home Insurance Policy compared to AmFam, any Mutual, The *** Aussy Lizard Company, StateFarm, etc. 800 bucks at AllState, 1500 at others. Same coverages and deduct. Read the paperwork to understand it and then call to make corrections. Our world is already overridden with enough careless chemtrail supporting noobies. |
| 2. Written by Michael on November 10, 2011 from warner robins, georgia, US I think any A-Hole that runs lights should be jailed, not issued a summons. It's crappy drivers like yourself that make insurance expensive in the first place. Secondly, this hardly has anything to do with your actual car insurance policy. You fell for it like the *** you showed you are in running a red light. Shame on you and I hope you pay the maximum price for the ticket AND your insurance rate goes up. ***! |
| 3. Written by ed on November 1, 2011 from conifer, colorado, US whatever!!!da!!! I've had allstate ins. for 20+ years ----and owe bye the way they will probabaly take you for all they can--da they are an ins. company! anyway I've had a few claims totaled cars/house damage/law suits/property damage/ and I was always treated just like the contract reads!!-With no headachs from Allstate!Very pleased with my agent! I'm sure my agent makes all the differance! No rippoff Ins. Co. even comes close in price --due to time I've had I'm sure- seems to me allstate is a respectable co. but don't fool yourself they want to make money! Read the contract The one on paper & GET OVER IT! |
| 4. Written by Anonymous on October 4, 2011 from corpus christi, texas, US I have had Allstate for many years -- 2 different states. I left them once to get something cheaper but had nothing but headaches. The other company couldn't even get my information correct. If I would have needed the insurance during that time, they could have denied me due to incorrect information. After checking with our state "watch dog" for insurance companies, I found that Allstate had an excellent rating so I went back to them. Since that time, I have had to file accident claims 4 times -- 3 due to son driving (inexperience for situation &/or weather conditions) and 1 due to another person hitting our parked vehicle and knocking it into a house (they took care of it and then went after the other insurance company so that I never had to deal with any of it). They handled all of the claims rapidly and our rates barely went up (under $20 for 6 months). I even tried their Club and after reading the information that was sent to me, I realized it was not for our family. I had no problems with cancelling it and getting my money back. Any time I have any questions, I can either call our local agent or call Allstate themselves, which I have done both, and I don't think I will change again unless they start having a problem with their rating with our state. By the way, you should check to see what your state allows and doesn't allow with ins. co. because each state can determine that within themselves. The ads you see are for the nation not the individual states. Lack of knowledge does not release a person from the law. It is our responsibility to learn, thus being informed and a wiser person who can then recognize sales pitches and scams. Not every person is honest and we need to protect ourselves with knowledge.  |
| 5. Written by Bulldetector on September 15, 2011 from marietta, georgia, US Ok...I understand that Allstate has its issues. But really? Why would you believe that a "motor club membership" would get you out of a ticket? Never heard of LOL! Secondly, regardless of you moving its your responsibility to inform your obligations of your new address. At the same time you know you have a payment due every month at the same time, 6 months or every other month on a Auto policy. The company did what they were suppose to do by mailing you your renewal information. I bet your agent didn't have your new phone number either. If you wanna blame someone for ripping you off ..BLAME YOURSELF for being so darn irresponsible by not reading what you purchased. Your situation does not reflect they quality of service Allstate provides. Oh yeah...why would you obtain an attorney for running a red light. And why would you not check back with the Motorclub to be sure that your fees would be covered? Next time you decide to bad mouth a company you should take a step back and look at what you could have done differently. |
| 6. Written by Joanne Hartford on September 6, 2011 from portland, maine, US I have been trying to replace my crashed car for A YEAR, I have been stranded ,they (Allstate) have ruined a whole summer of business for me, because I am an Artist, they divided the claim money ,sent me on wild goose chases to BMV, Oh man am I furious,in Maine,now. |
| 7. Written by southernbelle on July 29, 2011 from walhalla, south carolina, US First off if you just read the back of your motor club card you would see the 1500 is for when you're arrested. And hello whatever happened to reading the paperwork that comes with a membership. You shouldn't have even run a red light in the first place. Allstate is a great company a lot better than most others. As a consumer its your job to educate yourself and to be responsible, if you move update your address you're an adult you should know when your policy renews just call your agent if you're not sure. I'm sorry but it frustrates me when people complain for something that is their fault. |
| 8. Written by Would Never call Allstate on July 16, 2011 from syracuse, new york, US Years ago a vehicle (drunk)hit another vehicle and then came on our property and hit our vehicle. Allstate never paid for the damage to our vehicle. I think they got all they deserved for the last 50 years I went elseware for my Ins. and badmouthed them to every one I ever met. Thats how you get revenge. |
| 9. Written by wildhorse on June 13, 2011 from crossville, tennessee, US your first mistake was not hanging up when you hear the words ALLSTATE. when something sounds to good to be true is usually is. we have allstate in florida for a few years and thank God we don't any more. you better watch whoever you went with they might be as bad. FYI, allstate's new ad says them bundle things now so you bill will be lower. well guess what, most companies have done that for years its nothing new. remember the big storm in 1995 in New Orleans that flooded so many cars? well allstate was the major insurance coverer and they paid all these people for thier cars and then trucked them all over to Kenner to an old horse track and auctioned them off to car dealers all over the states. but if you ask them about that they just look at you like WHAT! |
| 10. Written by ToppCatt on June 10, 2011 from walden, new york, US I can't you have survived long enough to have a driver's license and can afford a car. You believed "the verbal aggreement was the contract." Any nitwit should know a verbal agreement is only worth the paper it is written on. |
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