Apparently Facebook’s new search feature will allow people to search for certain key words from a number of sources. Hopefully it will search WordPress blogs as well. This post is about my disaster of an experience with BelairDirect, my insurance company. They only underwrite insurance in Ontario, so this won’t be of any interest if you are in BC, where ICBC handles all the insurance. I didn’t know how good I had it while I lived in BC.

It all started when punks broke into my car in our building’s parking lot, punching out my door locks and destroying my steering wheel, I guess in an attempt to thwart my security system that disables the ignition without the key. In the process they pretty well destroyed my steering column. The total damage estimate, $1,676 was more than my car was worth. So started the agonizing process with the insurance company.

My dealer friend just happened to have the same vehicle, a 1999 Sunfire, sitting in his field, that he used for parts. He agreed not to charge me for the parts and figured he could get me back on the road for four or five hundred dollars. The insurance would only do the repair less my ONE THOUSAND DOLLAR deduction! I asked if they would issue a cheque for $676 to my dealer and let me have the car. Nope! They would only do a total loss or stick with the deduction. My insurance did cover a rental car, thankfully. So started the haggling. Over the next few weeks, while they were paying for both storage of my car and my rental car, they finally agreed to pay me out for the car – something they could have done the first day.

That was two weeks ago. My dealer had an old van he was willing to let me have for the insurance settlement, which was much less than he was asking. He went ahead and had the safety and emissions test done, out of his own pocket and we waited for the cheque. I asked the insurance company if they could courier the cheque because I had returned the rental car, which they demanded now that it was “settled”. It was to go out of Toronto over two weeks ago. Then I discovered that no cheque has even been issued because I didn’t date the release form.  Didn’t matter that the release form has nowhere to date your signature. I was just supposed to know that, I guess. It didn’t matter that I had signed the ownership off either.

After signing, scanning and emailing the dated form, the cheque was to go out last Friday. They ignored my request to have it sent courier, which would have meant I got it the next day, Monday. Every day I checked the mail, but nothing. I called Canada Post and they said it could take four days from Toronto, which is ridiculous at best. Last night, EIGHT DAYS from last Friday, it still wasn’t here. My dealer is also going away until next Tuesday so I have no vehicle ’til then, and wouldn’t anyway without the cheque. I’m praying it will be here Monday now, but I also learned that Canada Post has changed our mail delivery from 11:00 in the morning to after 5:00, so if it’s not here Monday I’ll lose another two days!

This is customer service?