Hopefully they were also fined for the dumbest combination of focus group approved words this side of crowdsourcing.

Big ups to the OP for standing up for himself and not letting roadblocks discourage him.

And the insurance companies wonder why we want to get out of their stranglehold.

Now that's some nut-crunching. Maybe the thieves that call themselves insurance companies will learn a stout lesson in cooperating with their clients.

Wow... you need boots to wade through bullsh_t that deep.

Glad the OP made good, dealing with insurance companies can go completely Twilight-Zone on you.

Being the douche I am though, I'd have a copy of their check being sent to him turned into one of those big Lotto type things and have a nice photo taken of it with people all standing around a banner that reads: "Screw you, Blue!"

You know, I have often suspected that companies hold on to overcharges and engage in fraud so frequently for the purpose of boosting their capital liquidity and reaping interest rewards. The best part of this story is that they had to pay back the interest. If that practice were more widely enforced across a greater number of industries, I bet we'd see overcharges and corporate fraud plummet.

There are times when I just love regulatory agencies. Frankly, MD has been tightening up their laws anyway. I'll bet that they took the excuse to slap a fine on CareFirst on top of requiring them to pay damages.

This only sometimes works. I was in an accident at the beginning of February where a new driver tried to drive across a main road and "thought he could make it." I had no yield signs or anything, he had a stop sign, and I was driving well UNDER the speed limit (funny thing, I always thought the speed limit there was 25...apparently it was 35). His insurance company (Austin Mutual) insists that I am 15% liable because I "should have been able to avoid the accident." My insurance company is still fighting it, even trying to get them to go to 90% so they can just settle. I have been in constant contact with my state insurance commissioner's office the entire time.

Despite all this, the company is still acting like this. In the end it is hit or miss whether or not they will actually do anything.

It's definitely useful to remember that insurance companies are state regulated. These guys can help with big things like this, but also little things like "That guy who rear ended me's insurance company keeps giving me the runaround."

You pay for them with your taxes, so don't forget that they are available to you when you need them!

Carefirst apparently didn't believe him, and kept billing his credit card for ten months.
Really? They billed him $1000 per month for 10 months, and it never occured to him that he could call his bank and get a new a credit card number issued, or barring that, just cancel the card?
I had the same problem with AOL, and that was only $25 a month. But I had the presence of mind to deny them access to a valid credit card.

Huzzah!
Hey, while I love the Worst Company in America competition how about a "Best Consumer Advocate" of the month/quarter/year for people like Tara Wilkerson (who helped the OP above)? (Though you'd need a different award for the advocates) :)

His card was charged over a 10 month period. Assuming the card did not have some teaser rate, the interest rate was certainly higher than 6%. He may still be in the hole.

@Quake 'n' Shake: How would that solve the original problem of them having STOLEN (they admitted) $5000 dollars?

So with your AOL problem, you let them keep the $X they took? This type of apathy is why they do it in the first place.

And just because you were willing to let AOL keep $X of your money, I truly somehow doubt you would have been willing to write off $5000.

*sigh*

@dfwguy: I'd rather be out $60 bucks, than $6K.

Sometimes you just have to realize when you've won and not push your luck.

@Quake 'n' Shake: with your method, somehow the bank will screw up and allow the charge to the old cc card be available and it'll complicate things further

that's why auto-billing is something that i don't want to do... it's best to keep track of everything by hand(if you can), and NEVER give access to a check/savings account...

@Quake 'n' Shake: Sometimes a bank will give you a new card and number, but transfer all recurring debit transactions to your new card, even without your permission. The only sure way of stopping the auto-debit is to cancel the card outright and get one with a different issuer.

@dfwguy: Not if he kept on paying it off every month, like a responsible guy.

@HungryMohican: I agree. We should have a couple of other competitions, in addition to the WCIA.

Like the LLBean Award for best customer service. Or the Tara Wilkerson Award for being the best consumer advocate.

Sorry Southwest, you lost out because today's story would have made the category look pretty fraking ironic.

@Carso: It happens because consumers aren't vigilant enough and give up too easily. I used to work at a company that autobills for service. In the event the customer didn't use the service and hadn't remembered to cancel or thought they had canceled, the management encouraged us never to give anything back unless asked and even then, we were to offer one month back, then two, etc. We were told to say that "x is as much as I'm able to refund" even if more was possible (and even warranted). The management said it was money out of our pockets if we gave it back, but when it came time to get raises, we were certain the management thought the same about us. This is corporate greed pure and simple. I recommend if this happens to you that you remain polite but firm. Ask for higher up managers, contact the applicable agency/department that regulates the company, watch your billing statements and bank accounts closely, and record names, dates, etc of phone calls to the companies (or maybe even record them). To them it's just business. You should make sure it's personal to you.

@ Carso:

"You know, I have often suspected that companies hold on to overcharges and engage in fraud so frequently for the purpose of boosting their capital liquidity and reaping interest rewards."

Agreed.

Hence the ridiculous, infuriating delays when a bank is "processing" payroll checks from other major banks, cash wire transfers and PayPal deposits into your account.

"What is this thing called 'withdrawal' of which you speak? We must pray to our all-knowing computer god and ask when your funds will be available."

All of that complicated "processing" just to get your money...when clearly, you can withdraw $40 at a gas station in Melbourne, Australia and get slapped with three separate fees and and a usurious exchange rate before you've even put your card away.

@eb0nyknight: You're reading things into my comment that aren't there.
I didn't say don't go after them for the money. He should have stopped the flow sooner, say just $2k or $3k as opposed to $10k.

@eb0nyknight: You obviously never had an AOL account. They were so terrible, I'd have paid money *not* to deal with them.

This story makes me feel a bit better about life today. Health insurance companies are SCUM - but I guess that is news to no one!

@kolacek: infuriating delays when a bank is "processing" payroll checks from other major banks

If your employer won't use ACH for payroll why don't you just open an account at your employers bank?

@MostlyHarmless: Not if he kept on paying it off every month, like a responsible guy.

But he didn't even look at his statement?!? I know some people who have serious money, some of them don't care about paying $1500/mo to a country club that they almost never use because they have to spend a certain amount in the bar/dining room or get hit with a flat fee. But - to let this go 10 months.... I don't think I know anyone who would let this happen. I'm glad he got his $ back but part of me wants to say that he deserves to get stung a little bit. Still - better to see the money go to a careless but honest person who earned it than to a crooked health insurance company!

OK BlueChoice, if you are reading this get back to work. Those claims for life saving surgery for those little old ladies and orphans are not going to deny themselves! I know you are mad but you need to focus - otherwise you may actually approve a claim by mistake! This changes nothing, keep telling your inept and poorly trained employees that somthing is so just because they say it is. One of the funniest moments of my life (it was not BlueChoice) but a friend called an insurance comapny to ask why they kept kicking back his wifes claims as pre-existing even though he had provided them with proof of prior coverage and under federal law they could not exclude her for pre-existing conditions. The young lady who he was speaking to sounded like she was about 20 years old - possibly graduated highschool - one of those people who honestly believes that she is smarter than everyone. She proceeded to give him a lecture on contract law. She was totally talking down to him and, of course, had no idea what she was talking about. My friend is in his mid 30's and pretty heavy so he looks young - he kindof pouted - looked like a little kid being repremanded who was amazed and guilty, looked over at the Univ of Chicago Law school diploma on his office wall, and said - "well I guess there is nothing I can do." He ended up calling back and getting someone else to reprocess the claims. This is not a guy that most people can win a verbal argument with - but even he couldn't compete with the type of person these insurance companies hire - the kind of person who knows almost nothing, thinks they know absolutely everything, and assumes instantly that everyone who calls is stupid and wrong.

Carefirst is a great plan compared to all the other ones I have to deal with in MD. Nice that they screw their members and not the providers, since it is usually the other way around.

Nice to see the MIA working. Years ago they stopped accepting provider complaints regarding fraudulent insurance practices b/c they were "too busy". Nice when there are lawas no one will enforce or accept the reporting oh either - geesh. I'm very please someone was successful - yeah!

As far the auto pay thing - I had trouble with a vendor, closed my CC ACCOUNT but the CC kept accepting the charge since at some point I had agreed to them. I was told it didnt matter if I clsoed teh card totally or not. Yeah me. (It was a gym membership I canceled in writing, in person and by fax over 20 times. They just would not "cancel" the monthly charging. I wont auto pay to this day even if it means I have to pay a monthly administrative fee as a result.

@pupu: Hi, this is Jason, the guy all this happened to. I did check my account every month, and call in every month and complain every month. I was assured every month it would be taken care of. But it wasn't! This was an every month nightmare for more than a year.

Also, I tried to work it out through the credit card company, but canceling the card wouldn't have stopped CF from charging - they would have just sent my account to collections once the card didn't go through anymore.

@Quake 'n' Shake: Cancel the card and let his credit take a hit? I think a letter canceling with delivery confirmation would have been helpful, but at least everything finally worked out....

@SarcasticDwarf: LAWYER!

YEAY Tara Wilkerson!!!! WHOO HOO!!! YOU ROCK!!! GOOD JOB!!!