disturbing Sprint policy facts, learned the hard way

"Bob Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
>

> Not true Tom ... and as for the deductible, many homeowner & renter
policies
> still have a $100 deductible.

What's not true? That they don't ding you for making a claim? They most
certainly do. Many companies will consider dropping you all together after
two claims in a particular timeframe. They have become very picky about
this now that big storms have ravaged their profits in some areas.

Yes they do [have $100 deductibles in some cases]. If the financials and
insurance risk associated with a $100 deductible for a claim against a $300
phone are not obvious, a little instrospective look at your finances might
be in order.

Tom Veldhouse

---

› See More: disturbing Sprint policy facts, learned the hard way

"Bob Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Richard Zellmer" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Yes but filing an insurance claim for a $300 phone is a stupid idea. It
> > puts a record in the C.L.U.E database which is like your credit report
but
> > for insurance. If you file a $300 phone claim it will cost you
thousands
> > later in higher fees.
> >
>
> Bull**** ... I'm an agent myself and if there's no high frequency of the
> number of claims on the policy, it won't have an effect on the rates.

No? Tell State Farm that. I had a single claim on my record (I have only
ever made one claim) and when I switched insurance for a new home purchase,
I was given a hard time about that and they were not even going to insure
me. I took quite a bit a little bit of "conversation" to get them to over
look it. And in that case, it turned out to be an $850 claim with a $500
deductible. As it turns out ... hardly worth it. I had to learn from
experience what should have been obvious in the first place. So, I am
flinging the bovine feces back to you.

Tom Veldhouse

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (SprintPCS Tech) wrote:

>
>
> [email protected] (R Woods) wrote in article
> <[email protected]>:
> >
> >> > Now, all the above was verified with a "supervisor". If anybody has
> >> > referenceable information
> > > that any of the above is NOT standard procedure, I'd sure like to hear
> > > details.
> >
> > My advise. someone is really BSing you, or just doesnt know what the
> > hell they are talking about.. I would suggest escalating higher to
> > MANAGEMENT, CALL CENTER DIRECTOR, OR Executive Services... Hell dude..
> > Being a former Sprint PCS employee myself, I may help you out.. We might
> > be able to set up a time for you to contact me, and 3way Customer
> > service, So I can blatantly tell them they are FOS! Hit me up on my
> > email, and I will try to get back to you asap..
> > >
> >
>
> What R Woods said pretty much sums it up, but a few additions I'd like
> to make:
>
> 1) Stores were open on Monday and the call centers were open , I even
> called a few while at work and got through.
>
> 2) If you are sure you had ERP added to your account, then it should
> have at least been noted. Plus, there would have been a $4 / month ERP
> charge on your bill.
>
> 3) Filing a claim though Lockline will NOT increase your rates, it is $4
> / month plus the $35 no matter what (until the rates go up, if they do).
> Auto insurance is completely different.

I believe they were discussing Homeowners Insurance, which could cover it
in some cases, but might generate a rate increase.

>
> 4) They should *not* charge you the $36 act fee esp if you're in the
> middle of a 1 year advantage agreement.

The current TOS says otherwise.

>
> 5) Lockline should be able to give you a fax# where you can fax the
> report to, then make your payment over the phone (credit card) and
> they'll mail out the replacement via UPS 2day.
>
> 6) Different model phone is no problem, as long as the phone has the
> accessories you need in stock, and you have your old ones, they should
> be able to swap them out for you.

I assume thats limited to accesories bought at the Sprint store, and if
you bought Samsonite accesories at Target you'd be SOL.

>
> 7) Adding ERP does NOT add on a 1 year advantage agreement. Whoever
> said that was BSing you.

"Scott" <[email protected]> wrote:
> I'll avoid the whole long story (i330 stolen, Sprint somehow "lost" my
request to add
> Lockline when I activated it, so now I'm totally out)... but in the
process of talking
> to Customer Service (when I could get through), I learned the following
rather surprising
> (to me) policies:
>

Seems like you should have noticed the lack of a $4 charge on your bill(s)
if they didn't put lockline in there for you.

> 1) *I'm* responsible for all usage of the stolen phone for the first two
days (Monday and
> Tuesday) because I 'failed" to notify Sprint before then. Well, given
that Customer
> Service was TOTALLY CLOSED on Monday (I tried every backdoor number
I've ever
> heard of, but the whole operation was shut down) and ALL Call Centers'
systems were
> down most of the day Tuesday, I'm still screwed for that usage despite
the fact that I
> called within 90 minutes of the theft.

Agreed. You should be credited the time used for at least Monday.

> 2) Even had the insurance coverage been properly reflected on my account,
it could take
> a MONTH from the day I submit to them a police report (!) for them to
replace my phone, and
> it wouldn't necessarily even BE another i330 (rendering all my
accessories useless). I
> could hardly afford to be without a phone that long, and I suspect few
could.

Worse case scenario..usually a couple days.

> 3) my fallback for the moment is to use ny old Neopoint in the meantime.
Despite having tried
> to activate on the web site first, I'm getting charged a $36
activation fee BOTH when I
> activate the Neopoint to use while waiting for a replacement AND AGAIN
when I activate
> the replacement. These fees would also apply even if I'd HAD the
insurance coverage
> reflected properly on the account.

Ehh, you didn't try hard enough. They would have waived it if you pressed
hard enough. Did you tell them it was stolen? I'm sure SOME rep would have
taken pity on you and waived it.

"Thomas T. Veldhouse" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> No? Tell State Farm that. I had a single claim on my record (I
> have only ever made one claim) and when I switched insurance for a
> new home purchase, I was given a hard time about that and they were
> not even going to insure me.

That's strange...I've had State Farm for many years. I had a DWI once,
rates never went up. I totaled a car once, rates never went up. I had a
fender bender in a parking lot once (my fault), rates never went up. If
they went up at all, it was such a small amount that it wasn't
noticeable. When I had the DWI, I was ready to get slammed on insurance
but they apparently never found out about it.

On Fri, 05 Sep 2003 14:05:58 +0000, Bob Smith wrote:

>> While it may be covered, the deductible on even the best policies nearly
>> wipes out the claim. Further, making a claim on your home these days
>> puts
> a
>> BIG mark on your insurance record that they don't forgive until you have
>> sold them your soul and then some. So .... I wouldn't try that.
>>
>> Tom Veldhouse
>
> Not true Tom ... and as for the deductible, many homeowner & renter
> policies still have a $100 deductible.

I can only speak for Florida.

Here in Florida, the lowest deductible you're likely to run across is $
500. Furthermore, any insurance agent would probably advise you against
a small claim such as that because some companies do cancel for claim
experience and other companies may decline you depending on your claim
history.

It's getting tough down here.

On Fri, 05 Sep 2003 14:49:33 +0000, Bob Smith wrote:

> Bull**** ... I'm an agent myself and if there's no high frequency of the
> number of claims on the policy, it won't have an effect on the rates.

I'm an agent as well.

Again, I can only speak for Florida.

While the frequency of claims on a homeowners policy will not directly
effect the rate with a given company, it may effect what companies you can
place a risk with. So, in the end if you have a claims history you may
very well find yourself paying higher premiums because you're stuck with a
company that charges more.

"Agent Blue" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Thomas T. Veldhouse" <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
> > No? Tell State Farm that. I had a single claim on my record (I
> > have only ever made one claim) and when I switched insurance for a
> > new home purchase, I was given a hard time about that and they were
> > not even going to insure me.
>
> That's strange...I've had State Farm for many years. I had a DWI once,
> rates never went up. I totaled a car once, rates never went up. I had a
> fender bender in a parking lot once (my fault), rates never went up. If
> they went up at all, it was such a small amount that it wasn't
> noticeable. When I had the DWI, I was ready to get slammed on insurance
> but they apparently never found out about it.

I've had one no fault accident and my premiums have doubled.

In article <[email protected]>,
Agent Blue <[email protected]> wrote:

> "Thomas T. Veldhouse" <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
> > No? Tell State Farm that. I had a single claim on my record (I
> > have only ever made one claim) and when I switched insurance for a
> > new home purchase, I was given a hard time about that and they were
> > not even going to insure me.
>
> That's strange...I've had State Farm for many years. I had a DWI once,
> rates never went up. I totaled a car once, rates never went up. I had a
> fender bender in a parking lot once (my fault), rates never went up. If
> they went up at all, it was such a small amount that it wasn't
> noticeable. When I had the DWI, I was ready to get slammed on insurance
> but they apparently never found out about it.

Thats what defensive driving courses are for; to keep things from going
on your record.

In article <[email protected]>,
"Justin Green" <[email protected]> wrote:

>
> "Agent Blue" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > "Thomas T. Veldhouse" <[email protected]> wrote in
> > news:[email protected]:
> >
> > > No? Tell State Farm that. I had a single claim on my record (I
> > > have only ever made one claim) and when I switched insurance for a
> > > new home purchase, I was given a hard time about that and they were
> > > not even going to insure me.
> >
> > That's strange...I've had State Farm for many years. I had a DWI once,
> > rates never went up. I totaled a car once, rates never went up. I had a
> > fender bender in a parking lot once (my fault), rates never went up. If
> > they went up at all, it was such a small amount that it wasn't
> > noticeable. When I had the DWI, I was ready to get slammed on insurance
> > but they apparently never found out about it.
>
> I've had one no fault accident and my premiums have doubled.

Its also a function of what car you drive. A Buick LeSabre gets better
rates than a Pontiac Trans/Am.

In article <[email protected]>,
C Roth <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Fri, 05 Sep 2003 14:49:33 +0000, Bob Smith wrote:
>
> > Bull**** ... I'm an agent myself and if there's no high frequency of the
> > number of claims on the policy, it won't have an effect on the rates.
>
> I'm an agent as well.
>
> Again, I can only speak for Florida.


Every state is different.

In article <[email protected]>,
C Roth <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Fri, 05 Sep 2003 14:05:58 +0000, Bob Smith wrote:
>
> >> While it may be covered, the deductible on even the best policies nearly
> >> wipes out the claim. Further, making a claim on your home these days
> >> puts
> > a
> >> BIG mark on your insurance record that they don't forgive until you have
> >> sold them your soul and then some. So .... I wouldn't try that.
> >>
> >> Tom Veldhouse
> >
> > Not true Tom ... and as for the deductible, many homeowner & renter
> > policies still have a $100 deductible.
>
> I can only speak for Florida.
>
> Here in Florida, the lowest deductible you're likely to run across is $
> 500. Furthermore, any insurance agent would probably advise you against
> a small claim such as that because some companies do cancel for claim
> experience and other companies may decline you depending on your claim
> history.
>
> It's getting tough down here.


Most places Insurance companies are rasing the minimum deductible, but
will let you keep a Lower Figure (Grandfathering) if you're renewing an
existing policy.

"Phillipe" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>,
> "Justin Green" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >
> > "Agent Blue" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
> > > "Thomas T. Veldhouse" <[email protected]> wrote in
> > > news:[email protected]:
> > >
> > > > No? Tell State Farm that. I had a single claim on my record (I
> > > > have only ever made one claim) and when I switched insurance for a
> > > > new home purchase, I was given a hard time about that and they were
> > > > not even going to insure me.
> > >
> > > That's strange...I've had State Farm for many years. I had a DWI once,
> > > rates never went up. I totaled a car once, rates never went up. I had
a
> > > fender bender in a parking lot once (my fault), rates never went up.
If
> > > they went up at all, it was such a small amount that it wasn't
> > > noticeable. When I had the DWI, I was ready to get slammed on
insurance
> > > but they apparently never found out about it.
> >
> > I've had one no fault accident and my premiums have doubled.
>
> Its also a function of what car you drive. A Buick LeSabre gets better
> rates than a Pontiac Trans/Am.

Well, I drive a Tahoe and I've had it for the past four years. $150/month
for insurance just on the Tahoe here in Texas. Ridiculous.

In article <[email protected]>,
"Justin Green" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Well, I drive a Tahoe and I've had it for the past four years. $150/month
> for insurance just on the Tahoe here in Texas. Ridiculous.

In Texas, its rated by the County you live in, also. Move further out in
the country your rates will go down, even if have a much longer commute.

Another trick - Remove the "M" medical coverage on your car insurance,
if you have Health Insurance where you work. Its redundant and unneeded.
Agents always say "But it pays regardles of what other insurance you
have". Maybe, but if you break a leg and you car insurance pays you for
setting it, your Health Insurance won't.

"Phillipe" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>,
> "Justin Green" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > Well, I drive a Tahoe and I've had it for the past four years.
$150/month
> > for insurance just on the Tahoe here in Texas. Ridiculous.
>
> In Texas, its rated by the County you live in, also. Move further out in
> the country your rates will go down, even if have a much longer commute.
>
> Another trick - Remove the "M" medical coverage on your car insurance,
> if you have Health Insurance where you work. Its redundant and unneeded.
> Agents always say "But it pays regardles of what other insurance you
> have". Maybe, but if you break a leg and you car insurance pays you for
> setting it, your Health Insurance won't.

I'll try that. I think they're charging me more as well because I went to
semi-annual paments instead of a yearly payment.