Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia
My insurance company wrote a new policy for my auto insurance at a lower rate, which will be automatically debited from my checking account monthly. My agent failed to cancel my previous policy and the total amount of the 6 months' premium ($889.00)) was debited from my account on Friday by mistake. I have been trying to get a refund since Friday and keep getting promises and excuses, but no refund. Should I take them to court, take them to small claims court, or keep waiting?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Since this is only Tuesday, you'd look rather foolish spending $255 in court and service fees to file a case that won't be heard for months, when you may see your refund in a few days with a few phone calls. Make sure you talk to the insurer AND the agent.
Of course you should not file a lawsuit 2 business days after your request.
Is it not premature to be talking of a lawsuit? The insurance company is just not going to cut you a check on your say so. They are going to investigate and whatever no name customer no service rep. that you have been talking to is not going to help you.
What you need to do is write a letter to the corporate office. All the companies have websites - look up the one for this company. Get the address and root around and look for the name of key executives. Find one who is in charge of operations or customer service. If you are stuck, go to the BBB and get the name of a contact person and the company address.
Next write a letter to the insurer and explain what happened. Get a statement from the agent that they forgot to cancel you. If you can't get a statement, do you have a copy proving that you intended to cancel the policy? Include the written notice of cancellation. Provide details - name of agent, date of cancellation. Conclude the letter with a statement of what you want - a refund in the sum of x dollars. And ask them to respond to you within 30 days. Big companies need this much time.
And why in heaven's name are you allowing any company to draft from your bank account? That is stupid. Its one thing to use a bill payer service where you direct who gets paid, when and how much. Nothing good ever comes from allowing auto-debits and you should not do this. Had you followed this advice, the insurer never would have been drafting your account.