USAA is like a unicorn in a pack of walruses: a financial services company that truly cares about its customers and really helps them out. Not as some kind of lucky exception, but as a matter of policy. Reader “Mary Marsala With Fries’” story, about how USAA opened up several cans of whoop-ass on an Enterprise facility that was trying to screw her over on charges, is yet further proof.
Recently, someone busted up my car, and I took USAA’s recommendation as to which repair shop and car-rental place to go to (mostly because they can electronically bill those places, so I never have to pay up front and be reimbursed later — but USAA also guarantees all the repairs if I go to the place they recommend, which is nice). Well, the repair shop (Metropolitan Lincoln Mercury dealer, funny place to send an old Saturn!) did a great job, no problems, and I got my rental car from Enterprise and returned it with no incident. (I had it about 4 days, and other than smelling like somebody smoked strawberries in a bong in the back seat, it was fine.) I got one call from Enterprise the following week, saying that they were having trouble billing USAA for the rental car. I let them know that this was probably because my name is on the insurance policy, but the policy is in my mom’s name. I’d had to correct the repair shop on that as well, but they got it right the second time, so I figured everything would be fine, and they didn’t contact me again.
Only USAA did, to let me know that the claim was still open two weeks later, due to Enterprise not billing them. I called Enterprise, they said they couldn’t get the bill to go through, so I called USAA again, and basically played middleman between the two for a week. Enterprise kept saying the claim was declined, and USAA kept telling me that it would certainly be approved if Enterprise could just enter it in the system correctly. USAA also gave me a number to have Enterprise call them directly to resolve the problem, which I passed along, but it didn’t seem to help. I began calling Enterprise daily in week three, and they kept saying they were “leaving messages” for USAA, with no results.
Finally, I got my credit card bill, and lo, Enterprise had billed me for the rental, without ever asking or informing me that they would. I called them back (I’d just spoken to them the day before) and got their manager. She told me that they’d spoken with USAA many times and been told that the bill was “denied”, so I was obligated to pay it. I told her that was hogwash, because USAA explicitly told me they’d cover it, and that I wanted the charge removed from my card immediately. Arguing ensues. Manager gets rude, and starts telling me that they called me numerous times to inform me of the charge and I never picked up, so I’d better just pay the bill and “get USAA to reimburse” me if I think they really will. She also says that because she “left a message” at USAA, she’s not going to call them again until they call her back. (Huh?) When I threaten a chargeback, she tells me that I can’t do that because it’s illegal. At this point, I got fed up, hung up and called USAA.
Here’s where it gets amazing: I got a rep at the claims office (in about t-minus 30 seconds) whom I’ve never spoken to before. I explained the situation, and that the manager was now being rude and possibly lying to me over this bill. She listened carefully, apologized immediately for my trouble (!), and asked if she could call me back. Then she did call me back, less than half an hour later. (I regret that I can’t remember her name, but then again, every USAA rep I’ve ever dealt with was this good.) She’d spoken to USAA’s internal Enterprise representative, who’d looked up my file and discovered that Enterprise never did call USAA even once to resolve the issue. She passed along their apologies, and said that two complaints to Enterprise corporate were being filed — one on behalf of USAA for failing to properly handle the billing, and one on behalf of myself for managment lying to me and being rude on the phone. She said that Enterprise had promised to look into that manager (of the Garden City, MI branch on Ford Rd., if you’d like to know) and see if she needed to be reprimanded or replaced. I asked if I had to do anything to file my complaint, and she said no, it was all handled. (If it wasn’t USAA, I might not have believed her, but their record is literally perfect with me, so I do.) Furthermore, reimbursement for the entire rental expense was being mailed to me immediately. (They even apologized because they wanted to issue the reimbursement electronically so I’d have it faster, and they couldn’t because the system would only do that for the policyholder, and my mom doesn’t have a bank account there. But heck, I’ll take the apology in exchange for having to wait a few days!)
In short, USAA: Got me straight to a human; listened to my complaint and acted on it immediately; called back when they said they would; apologized repeatedly even though they didn’t really have to; and took swift, appropriate action to resolve my issue. They also DIDN’T call me a liar, treat me like a criminal, or lie to me about my case or the law, which the Enterprise manager did. Also, the Enterprise rep at USAA appears to have handled this issue quickly and decisively, though whether Enterprise or USAA should get the credit for that, I don’t know.
Oh, one more thing — someone banged into my car *again* (while it was parked) and knocked the rear-view mirror off last week. The person I was speaking to at USAA noticed that I had another open claim, and (rather than acting like I did something wrong or was a bothersome customer for having two claims in two months) offered me information on how to use a rental car service other than Enterprise, since she would “understand if [I] didn’t want to go back there after this”. No judgment, no fuss, just “here’s how to use any rental agency you like”.
Once again, USAA has some of the most impressive customer service I’ve ever seen. Whenever I see an ad for insurance advertising low rates, I think, “As strapped for cash as I am right now, I wouldn’t dream of using another company, even if their rates were half what I pay right now.” USAA’s investment in customer service has paid off by netting them at least one die-hard customer. (I say “at least”, because I also brag about them to everyone, so it’d be surprising if they didn’t get another customer from giving me good service, as well.)
Now, if we can just get that lesson put in some MBA textbooks, we’ll have it made!
Sincerely,
Mary Marsala w/ Fries
Transcendental Logic
More From Consumerist
-
FTC To POM Wonderful: But Seriously, Stop Claiming Your Products Make People Healthier
-
Kickstarter Puts The Kibosh On Crowdfunding Hardware That Doesn’t Exist Yet
-
Internet Privacy Advocates To FTC: Maybe Check Into This Whole Facebook & Datalogix Thing
-
Without An Address, FedEx Still Tracks Me Down In Tokyo
-
Gamer Backlash Against ‘The War Z’ Prompts Makers To Pull It From Steam Store
USAA customer since 93 and I will always be one. Back in ’04, I was in an accident that was, admittedly my fault. A claim was filed against my insurance and I just knew my rates would go up because of it.
They did. USAA, though, offset the increase with a “longevity discount” in the same amount!
As far as the comments about the V.A. being directed toward the current administration, the V.A. has been horrible for years (at least since 96 when I began my experience with the V.A.).
Sounds like par for the course at Enterprise. They’re horrible, and I frequently find them overpriced compared to their customers.
My lovely fiancee is a USAA member. I’m counting down the days to my wedding… aside from the bonus of getting married, the next day I’ll finally be able to live my dream of telling each and every one of the insurance companies and banks that I have business with exactly where to go and how to get there.
@cabalist: Yeah, the year-end refunds are always good for a little extra Christmas money!
We live in a Katrina-hit area. While we miraculously escaped damage, I just knew we wouldn’t get our dividend from USAA that year due to all the claims. Surprisingly, we did.
Does the postal office workers qualify? would my sister need to create an account first then I join because of her?
Fund transfer holds depend on who you are, I don’t have any fund transfer holds for under $5k, I guess some people have holds for /all/ transfers.
@speedwell: I am not 100% certain but believe you indeed still qualify. We have active USAA memberships through my spouse’s grandfather, who passed away a number of years ago.
Condolences on your father’s passing…
USAA is, bar none, the best company I have ever dealt with. If you have the opportunity, I suggest picking it up. It is so choice. I have just about everything with them – car insurance, renter’s insurance, mutual funds. Most people do need a military connection to get insurance (thanks, AF dad!), but the banking parts are available to anyone who lives in San Antonio (Bexar County, TX).
<3 USAA <3
I got USAA when we got married, and the first time I ever had to call was over a confusing issue car and driver in one state, insurer in another… I was dreading it.
No need.
They acted as though I wasn’t asking for anything special, did what Iwas required, and even sent an email file of the changes for my records.
They are simply amazing!
We haven’t used their financial services yet, but are aware of them. What are they like, service-wise & feature-wise?
I’m ecstatic that I’m still eligible on my own for USAA (I separated from the AF last year but my eligibility extends 1 year after that)and I went with them for my mortgage. They are awesome! I’m a first time home buyer, purchasing a FSBO with no agent, and they have answered ALL my questions, kept me informed on an almost daily basis for the past 1.5 months of status with my VA loan, and walked me through the entire process, to the point of filling out my paperwork with me over the phone.
I don’t have insurance with them (I have Progressive and they’re cheaper and a really great to me), but I’m looking at investing and opening a checking/savings with them to maintain my eligibility. They truly are a wonderful company.
@uncle_fluffy: Do you live with your fiance? If so, you qualify as a domestic partner and can get into USAA right now.
I’ve had USAA ever since I’ve been driving. I had some driving issues, but they’ve always been great to work with. Add me to the list of people saying USAA rocks.
Banking and CC services are pretty damn good too.
My grandfather bombed the shit out of Korea so that I may have a low interest rate credit card.
My son is in the marines. Can I sign up with USAA?
Yes, I have both insurance products and all my banking services though USAA. I wouldn’t think of having anyone else. This article is just another example. USAA is probably one of the best benefits of military service today.
My wife and I have USAA. Not only are they great at customer service,
but I have never seen any company that can come close to touching their
low rates.
@speedwell: They should have records that he was a member, especially if you can find any statements from USAA for him since they would have his member number.
@AtomicPlayboy: I think that contest would end up being a major fight between USAA and Costco
I love USAA, I have great car insurance, plus I just got a new credit card from them with 0% for a year on balance transfers, and I will pay off that balance transfer in a year. The great part is the interest rate on the card, it’s the Prime Rate + 3.9%, but if I continue to have good credit with them, I can get it dropped to the Prime Rate like my dad has.
How is it everyone else who has USAA has great service. My Claim with USAA is 3 months old with nothing but money out of my Pocket. Even A Department of Transportation Investigation was only halfway completed.
yeah, im only 20 years old, and i will most definitely never, ever switch to a different insurance company or bank. USAA knows how to take care of it’s customer’s and is never anything but pleasant and helpful in the rare event I have a reason to call them.
I’ve been a USAA member since ’93 and have been very grateful for that: one of the few pieces of advice I accepted from my dad when I was younger was to switch my car insurance to them (he didn’t serve, but his father did, and he’d been a member forever).
I’ve had to file several claims on my car insurance over the years, some my fault, some not, and each time I’ve received excellent service from USAA, particularly in some cases where the other drivers seemed to have confused this world with the one where they weren’t at fault.
It’s also been nice to be able to cut short a salesperson’s call. At some point in the distant past, someone tried to sell me insurance (car or home, don’t remember which). I told them I had USAA, and I believe their response was “Oh. Okay. Well, have a good day.”
The banking has been very nice as well, especially in this area: many years ago, when Midwestern banking mergers were out of control, my account was sold twice in the span of eighteen months (I used “local” banks at the time). The last merger resulted in a split between two large banks, so that branches and ATMs suddenly became “mine” and “yours”. It was a relief to switch to USAA and not worry about finding a particular ATM, no matter where I am: add interest-bearing checking accounts and cash-back debit cards, and I wonder why I didn’t open an account with USAA sooner.
The credit cards have been particularly nice. USAA has provided me with reasonable interest rates and credit lines that match my needs. I’m not inundated with junk mail pressuring me to use it or blank checks for balance transfers that I have to shred, and I don’t have to sit through a five-minute sales pitch when I activate a new card.
I would definitely recommend USAA’s services to anyone who qualifies for them.
@jadenton: As with so many companies, YMMV based on the local franchise. My local Enterprise is quite good, but I know there are some bad ones. Just saying you shouldn’t write them all off based on a bad franchise.
> Whenever I see an ad for insurance advertising low rates, I think, “As strapped for cash as I am right now, I wouldn’t dream of using another company, even if their rates were half what I pay right now.”
Let me tell you that’s not the case. Whenever one of those other companies calls claiming they can ‘save me money’ I just tell them I’m with USAA and they instantly shut up and go away. They won’t save you any money over USAA rates.
Long list of positive comments, but I just have to add another POSITIVE!
Been with USAA for car and home insurance for close to 30 years! Every so often I am enticed to check out other companies (like when I had 3 teenage sons driving and rates are VERY high no matter who the company is!). As soon as the “new’ company asked what insurance I currently have I am told, “Sorry, we can’t match their rates!” Wow! Good rates, good service, and a way cool dividend check at the end of the year!
Have had a couple claims over the years, and yes the rates DO go up—but for only 3 years, if I’m not mistaken. And the increase is not majorly significant. You also get a good driver reward (credit), multiple car discount credit and several other credits.
All in all, when I had to call to report a stupid fender bender that was MY fault, and was not in the best shape emotionally, they were caring, compassionate and said they’d take care of everything—I never heard another word from anyone. Claim was paid, rates went up, but not a lot, and DONE!
Son was driving my car a few years ago and hit by another car (other driver ticketed), called USAA, told where to take the car (they gave me several options to find one close to my home—turned out to be 1/2 mile from me!) car was repaired and no issues at all.
I am in the process of transferring my checking/savings account to them, Hesitated because they are out of state, but after reading this thread I’m there!
I agree—HOW ABOUT THE BEST COMPANIES IN AMERICA??? Guess there are still a few out there!!!
@ColoradoShark:
Oh, They have them all over the ROTC building at my college. I tell my friends about how awesome USAA is all the time, and I make sure my Army buddies are working with them. They get excited when I tell them the benefits I have
@heavylee-again:
Here is their list for eligibility
[www.usaa.com]
@SaveMeJeebus: NON PROFIT BANK — WHAT?
stories like this remind me why I will be a USAA member for life (courtesy of dad’s military service). a lot of little things add up e.g. they totally took care of getting me new plates and all the insurance bullshit when I moved to MA, they quickly refunded fraudulent debit card charges from the Hannaford security breach a few months back, and so on. However I did move my two IRA accounts from them to Vanguard because the USAA mutual funds are kinda weak and so is their brokerage platform. You can buy any Vanguard fund for free if your account is with them but if I wanted Vanguard funds in my USAA IRA the commissions were really high.
nobody is cheaper in MA which is such an effed-up state for car insurance that the big boys like Geico and Progressive don’t even bother.
@DeepFriar:
Once a member, always a member. You never have membership expire. She could have gotten a savings account if she was paranoid. Even divorced spouses get to keep membership after the divorce.
@tastybytes: That happened to my group. Just not in existence any longer. Davis axed the whole group. Learning and Performance Technology.
@Paul D: Absolutely untrue. It’s only open to State Department and Fed law enforcement. The security clearances mitigate any risk on USAA’a part. I was a Fed for 8 years, and I don’t want to be in the same risk pool as your average GS 1-15 employee. Hell, even some SES employees frightened me.
No, your sister the postal employee can’t get you membership. Sibling relationships don’t count.
I adore USAA… they have nursed me through a car accident, a stolen car and an out-of-state move. Basically, once anything bad happens, they take it out of your hands and you don’t have to worry about it anymore (poof! gone!) after talking to their super-friendly staff. I have a credit card through them as well and they actually give you rewards instead of scamming you eight different ways in small print to make sure you get nothing. I love USAA like I love Fresca.
@SaveMeJeebus: They are most certainly NOT non-profit. They’re just a full-service bank that acts like a CU. They don’t screw you on fees, and most of their members carry large enough balances and use other products that they don’t have to make all of their profit on banking.
Most members use 2+ services, and they spread profit across all lines of business. Really, they offer banking as a convenience for everything else.
My fiancee is looking forward to getting married because she hears me speak highly of USAA all the time.
@cronomorph: Your fiancee doesn’t have to wait until you two are married to get on with USAA. I have my fiancee on my auto insurance and she has her own bank account. Until we are married, she isn’t allowed to go in and make any changesd though. I even have her engagment ring insured through them. In fact, I even have a postive story that involves USAA and my fiancee.
She got rear ended last month. She had a lot of trouble working with the guys insurance company. She called USAA to talk to them and they told her that they would handle the claim if she wanted and make all reimburstments she needed without it going against our insurance. They were incredibly helpful and at no time was I required to get on the phone and do any talking. THey understood who she is to me and gave her all the info she needed without a problem. I’ve been with them since ’96. Had my car loan, auto insurance, and renters insurance with them and wouldn’t think about changing. I shopped around and no one offers less on car insurance with the amenities they off for less.
I had similar screwiness with Enterprise. Had my car at the dealership for repairs. The dealership was supposed to provide a loaner car but had run out, so they made arrangements for Enterprise to provide a car. Enterprise requested a credit card that they assured me they wouldn’t bill.
So, 1 month later, I notice an Enterprise charge on my credit card. Call up the dealer and they say they paid Enterprise in full and there shouldn’t be any issues. I call up Enterprise and they say they’ve not been paid. Call back the dealer and inform them of this and they say they’ll take care of it.
Repeat this cycle several times. Finally, I warn Enterprise that I will file a chargeback if this isn’t remedied in xx days. The dealership still claimed that they had paid in full. Ended up calling Wachovia and contesting the charge. Got a call the next day from Wachovia stating Enterprise had decided to undo the charges and would write it off. +1 Wachovia, -10 Enterprise. I travel quite a bit and rent many cars. Safe to say I’ll never use Enterprise from this point forward.
tey truelly care about us that is y they offer 1.26% APR on your savings account.
What is this yearly dividend you all speak of? I’m just 25 and this is my first year using USAA (thanks Dad).
Haven’t bothered to read the other comments, just wanted to throw in a kudo for USAA. I’ve been with them since I was a teenager–let’s just round that to 20 years–and I’ve never had a real complaint.
@normandy7: Based on how well the company does annually, they may refund a portion of your premiums. USAA sets growth targets every year. When they exceed target, they refund premiums back to members. The late 90s – early 00s saw refunds of around 25%, if I recall. So, you still pay up front, but if they manage assets and business well, you can see a refund. Back in the day, they used to print “Letter from the Chairman” on the outside of the envelopes with the checks. You ALWAYS opened them. Now, it’s ETF.
@Elvisisdead: You’re right, though I still got a letter from the chairman in December letting me know of the upcoming EFT ($45 for me in 2007) to my USAA account.
They applied it to my insurance account (that was the only service I had at the time) which was cool with me, though I had just paid the full premium, so I had a credit for about 3 months before they decided to send me a check for the credit and bring my account to 0. According to my dad, they don’t like to carry credits on people’s for very long, so they will send a check.
@heavylee-again: I submitted them with no proof, they have my name in the system because my parents are both members and I am a now former dependent of a member. In fact, they send me pamphlets to sell me car insurance, if I had a car, I would get insurance through them.
Just another fine example of how awesome USAA is.
In case this hasn’t been mentioned already, almost all USAA services are now
open to the public, EXCEPT their insurance, which is still limited to the
military and immediate family members.
So if you are looking for a bank, check them out. They are probably the
only organization/business that I actually trust and that means a lot in my
book.
Same boat! Everytime I call them with a question or a problem they know what they are talking about. How awesome is that?
@swissdietcoke: Yeah Just like him USAA is the Tits! I wish we could nominate USAA for Customer Service of the year, you talk to people, and they are always happy to go above and beyond.
Ah USAA. My hometown is home to this place. It is HUGE. A real compound.
I am eligible for USAA through my father’s years of military service and have been a customer for about 15 years now. I have had bank accounts, homeowners/renters and car insurance with them. I have always been absolutely thrilled with their customer service. They may not have the best rates available, but knowing how I’ve been treated by them in the past and that I can expect great service in the future more than makes up for the price difference. They are simply the best business of any sort I’ve ever had to deal with.
Enterprise has a corporate culture of ripping people off. I know this because I used to be in the industry. It’s in their training. They are basically brainwashed into this whole Enterprise culture of how to milk the most off the customer. Every time I use them for a replacement rental, they try and tack on extra charges
It is impossible to put into words how much ass USAA kicks. I am so lucky to have married into the “family”.
We have just about every account and policy USAA offers. For complicated reasons, however, our homeowners’ policy was with State Farm since we became homeowners 12 years ago. In the 7 years we’ve lived in our current home, our policy went up $500 with no explanation (no claims EVER).
We switched our policy to USAA a few months ago and pay $300 less/year. When I called SF to drop them, they never asked why or even tried to get us to stay.
If you are eligible to get USAA and don’t, you’re just plain stupid.
been a USAA customer since i was 16 (dad is now retired fed. law enf.). started with auto insurance and eventually picked up a credit card. now out of undergrad, renting, and in school again, i’ve picked up renter’s insurance and banking. truthfully, there are cheaper rates out there for renter’s. however, the discounts USAA gives you for letting them do everything for you more than compensate; it would cost me more money in the long run to switch my renter’s policy by far. their customer service has been outstanding. if every company out there was a third as good at taking care of their customers as USAA, there would be expontentially fewer customer service horror stories; everyone has that time they called the cable company or the airline and had some issue that was mysteriously unfixable for weeks (or even months) at a time to the tune of many hundreds of dollars. this is a company that refuses to let its customers get screwed, and which will bend over backwards to make sure that, if something bad happens, they pat you on the head and remind you that worrying is not something you need to do when you pay them to handle it all for you. nothing but excellent things to say about these guys.
I have been a USAA member for almost years now. When I changed over from Geico (uugh) they did all of the work for me and had policy ready and waiting in 15 minutes! Now I do everything through them. Like the above post, I usually end up talking to them longer than I need to because I feel like I’ve known them for decades. One feature many people don’t know about, if you are looking for a house, they will send you an agent AND give you a portion of their commission at absolutely NO COST TO YOU! USAA is AWESOME!
I’m surprised Enterprise is still in business. They are easily the absolute worst rental car company on the planet.