Crooked
by Catherine Ferguson on Nov 19, 2020
1 out of 5 stars
Long story short, they told body shop to start the work and then halfway through, they denied the claim. Now I'm stuck with a 20K bill which I can't afford. I have no choice but to have my car taken away by the sheriff and lose it. Now my credit with BMW is destroyed and my credit score will be tanking. I never missed a payment, any claims, an excellent driver. When I told friends about my experience, they also mentioned that they've been played around by Economical as well for 100% at fault no accident. This insurance company is a huge crook. I had another friend who told me she was under investigation. They came to her house for her to prove she lived there. Inspected her belongings and clothing etc. This company literally has to sniff through your underwear to insure you are not committing any insurance fraud and you are living where you say you are. I thought this was a joke but a disgusting and true story. Insurance companies need to be investigated!
I was a customer with Economical for 4 years. Never made a claim, only had minor infractions, and never paid less than $200/month for bare-bones liability only. It's worth noting I never missed or was late on payment either. At the time of renewal, I cancelled my policy for a better rate elsewhere. Cancellation in itself was a mess as Economical was difficult about releasing my information to my new provider. Also, if you've ever been on hold with Economical, you know it's a long, physically painful process. The waiting music (that you'll listen to for an average of 30 minutes per call) sounds like someone recorded elevator music over a car radio. I wasn't notified of any outstanding balance on my account when I cancelled the policy but was sent a letter with the remaining amount on my premium. No big deal, Economical has been taking money automatically from my bank account every month for 4 years now. Surely they'd do the same this time around? Except no -- I was expected to manually pay, which would have been great information to provide when I called to cancel my policy. I paid it online once Economical jumped the gun and threatened me with debt collectors less than a month after my policy expired. Confusingly, Economical promptly returned this final payment to me. According to their letter, I actually didn't owe any money. This was annoying since I was threatened with debt collection just the week before, but I got my money back so no harm is done. Just kidding. Economical forwarded my information to debt collectors for failing to pay my bill. The debt collectors were just as confused as me when I explained that I did pay my bill and the money was returned. I had to forward the debt collectors 7 different documents to prove that I did not, in fact, owe any money. Also, while I don't know this for sure, I think those debt collectors sold my phone number to telemarketers because I've been getting phone calls from mysterious numbers non-stop since this all started. Really great, Economical, I appreciate that. Essentially what happened is that Economical's automated system didn't detect I was making a payment on my 2018-2019 premium and instead attributed it to the 2019-2020 renewal that I cancelled. Let's be clear here: Economical doesn't have a real, living human review your account before sending your information to debt collectors. Even a cursory glance at my account history could have prevented this issue. By this point, I've been dealing with the ramifications of cancelling my policy for three months. Three months. All I wanted was assurance that changes would be made to their system to prevent this from happening to others. That's all I wanted and I would have been satisfied. However, Economical couldn't even lie to me about promising that. At the end of my experience, I spoke with three different Economical representatives about getting this resolved so it wouldn't happen again. Instead, all three representatives echoed the same sentiment: "We're sorry! Have you considered speaking to our billing department to pay the balance (again)?" There was no assurance anything would change to prevent others from having debt collectors called on them for system errors. The apologies did not seem genuine and all Economical was concerned with was getting their money - again. In fact, to re-make this payment I had to call and make the payment manually because even Economical couldn't trust their online system to not mess up again. If you have the option, do not associate with Economical. They don't care about their customers, they only care about their customers' money. They're the embodiment of opportunistic bottom-feeders. If their system messes up, you'll spend three months navigating yourself through a resolution to the problem or face the call of debt collectors - probably both.
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I was a customer with Economical for 4 years. Never made a claim, only had minor infractions, and never paid less than $200/month for bare-bones liability only. It's worth noting I never missed or was late on payment either. At the time of renewal, I cancelled my policy for a better rate elsewhere. Cancellation in itself was a mess as Economical was difficult about releasing my information to my new provider. Also, if you've ever been on hold with Economical, you know it's a long, physically painful process. The waiting music (that you'll listen to for an average of 30 minutes per call) sounds like someone recorded elevator music over a car radio. I wasn't notified of any outstanding balance on my account when I cancelled the policy but was sent a letter with the remaining amount on my premium. No big deal, Economical has been taking money automatically from my bank account every month for 4 years now. Surely they'd do the same this time around? Except no -- I was expected to manually pay, which would have been great information to provide when I called to cancel my policy. I paid it online once Economical jumped the gun and threatened me with debt collectors less than a month after my policy expired. Confusingly, Economical promptly returned this final payment to me. According to their letter, I actually didn't owe any money. This was annoying since I was threatened with debt collection just the week before, but I got my money back so no harm is done. Just kidding. Economical forwarded my information to debt collectors for failing to pay my bill. The debt collectors were just as confused as me when I explained that I did pay my bill and the money was returned. I had to forward the debt collectors 7 different documents to prove that I did not, in fact, owe any money. Also, while I don't know this for sure, I think those debt collectors sold my phone number to telemarketers because I've been getting phone calls from mysterious numbers non-stop since this all started. Really great, Economical, I appreciate that. Essentially what happened is that Economical's automated system didn't detect I was making a payment on my 2018-2019 premium and instead attributed it to the 2019-2020 renewal that I cancelled. Let's be clear here: Economical doesn't have a real, living human review your account before sending your information to debt collectors. Even a cursory glance at my account history could have prevented this issue. By this point, I've been dealing with the ramifications of cancelling my policy for three months. Three months. All I wanted was assurance that changes would be made to their system to prevent this from happening to others. That's all I wanted and I would have been satisfied. However, Economical couldn't even lie to me about promising that. At the end of my experience, I spoke with three different Economical representatives about getting this resolved so it wouldn't happen again. Instead, all three representatives echoed the same sentiment: "We're sorry! Have you considered speaking to our billing department to pay the balance (again)?" There was no assurance anything would change to prevent others from having debt collectors called on them for system errors. The apologies did not seem genuine and all Economical was concerned with was getting their money - again. In fact, to re-make this payment I had to call and make the payment manually because even Economical couldn't trust their online system to not mess up again. If you have the option, do not associate with Economical. They don't care about their customers, they only care about their customers' money. They're the embodiment of opportunistic bottom-feeders. If their system messes up, you'll spend three months navigating yourself through a resolution to the problem or face the call of debt collectors - probably both.
DO NOT TRUST THESE THIEVES! I am a 60 years old male that has one accident non-fault in 1978, perfect driving record. Was with the same broker for 23yrs+. Home, Buss. three vehicles full coverage. Claim free. Four years ago was switched Economical Insurance without my consent. Though a lower rate was offered, I had reservations. Since then the rate has doubled! March returned home discovered large dent on drivers door 2 years old truck . Upset, but not surprised in too days society. Contacted broker. Not to worry full coverage we will take care of it. Contacted 4 days later by Kelly. Was basically interrogated rude condescending attitude for 45min. Insinuated that it was I that had slid sideways into another vehicle and failed to contact police file report informed Kelly that it would be up to the adjuster to determine. Contacted broker informed agent of conversation, was told that we have no control who the adjuster will be. Emailed photos of the damage, statement. Waited for response & waited & waited. Contacted broker 2nd week May. No problem we will take care of it. Call not returned. Contacted Kelly 5 times by email no less than 10 phone messages & to other Economical representatives that just blew me off, between June & Aug. 30. Numerous attempts to resolve this matter was ignored by my trusted family broker, one excuse after another over a three month period! During this time I got a price from two body shops $3300& $3600. What kind of Corporation would offer forgivable first claim? Insult the client to the point of legal action. Not even inspect, asses the damage. Would it not be a good buss. payout a minor claim of $3600 ($500 deduct) and keep the premiums flowing in. Guess not at Economical Insurance. Received renewal on Sept 2 and to insult me more Economical attempted to raise my premium by all most 30 %. I had already contacted another Insurance provider in July and received a substantial $ 1000+ lower rate. I have had the repair done at my own expense. Cancelled home buss. vehicle coverage by Broker, Economical in a total of $4400 annually. Just before deciding to warn others, and my 5-star negative experience with unethical business practices of Economical Insurance. My broker that I considered family friends, contacted me wanting to know if the service I received prompted me to seek other Insurance providers. YES!
I have been claims free for 15 years, they still wanted to terminate my home policy for high costs. Charged me cancellation fee for removing auto as part of a bundle. Wonder how bad it would have been if I had a real claim
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Would not recommend this insurance co. to anybody. They like to have your money but when it comes to claiming something from them, it's the same old story: you got to fight to get what is rightfully yours. Why bother with insurance!!! I had one accident in 47 years. Imagine all the money they got from me. I'm done with this. No insurance for me anymore.
I had an accident where the other driver was 100% at fault. I was hit from behind and rear-ended. The claim process was a nightmare. The insurance company took forever to agree for repairs and throughout the entire process, I just felt terrible. Then at the end of the insurance, they decide to drop me! I had no additional claims, no tickets, just one accident that I WASN'T at fault for (the other driver was assigned 100 percent responsibility). This by far is the worst company ever, they are not there when you need them and will drop customers from policies whenever they feel like it even when accidents are not your fault. These guys give you a good rate, but why have insurance if when you need them, they aren't there for you and drop you after many years of being a loyal customer. Look elsewhere
This company is awful. Instead of trying to keep me they decided to increase my monthly rate. No claims with them ever and that's how they say thank you. Now I am trying to cancel the policy.
Go somewhere else!
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Like to lie to seniors about quotes. Someone who has been driving for 55 years no accidents no claims and charging ridiculous prices for 20 year old vehicles. Economical you should be ashamed of yourselves😒