On 8 Jan 2004 13:03:20 -0800, karethian@msn.com (michael pattinson) wrote in <22c1ffd4.0401081303.6fb23536@posting.google.com>:

>On TV here in L.A. we occasionally get to see a truly pathetic ad by a
>clam company.
>The ad shows a guy stranded in the desert by the side of the road. A
>woman driver pulls over to offer him a ride.
>Instead of accepting help the guy asks in an antagonistic way if the
>driver is insured with "Survival Insurance"? She says no, and he
>replies; "Lady I can't take that ride" and he refuses the help. The
>guy stays stranded. What a complete idiot!

I remember this ad, I saw it in 1998.

>The implication is that no other company than Survival Insurance has
>any valid insurance coverage.
>This is below even wog moronic levels.
>
>I bought insurance from Survival back in 97-98 for a short while. Got
>their quote, paid the money, then a week later I got a letter from the
>insurance company Survival referred telling me I owed $63 more as
>Survival had misquoted their rates. I cancelled, of course.

On July 17, 1999, the California Department of Insurance sought to revoke their license. The alleged modus operandi:

First, unsuspecting consumers are falsely promised the lowest rates guaranteed. Then, they are gouged with excessive fees. And, finally, they are subjected to threats, harassment, and a tarnished credit report for simply shopping around and finding a better deal."

When the press release vanished from the website of the California Department of Insurance, I e-mailed them to ask whether they had been a settlement. I received this:

1. One year license suspension stayed, unconditionally, and respondents placed on a 2 year probation.

2. Respondents shall obey all laws of the State of California and the USA and all regulations promulgated thereunder.

3. Shall not sell any towing policy unless disclosed in writing to the may have. applicant that said policy is not required in order to purchase other coverage from Respondents and that towing policy may be duplicative of other coverage applicant.

4. Shall provide a "Schedule of Fees" at the time of sale to every customer.

5. Shall establish and maintain toll-free telephone number solely to handle complaints or any requests for assistance from customers. Will respond to any customer complaints either orally or in writing, within 72 hours.

6. Within 10 days from the end of each 6 month interval during the period of probation, file a report with DOI setting forth number of complaints received from customers; how long it took to respond to each complaint; how long it took to resolve each complaint; if resolved, what the resolution was for each complaint.

-- Tilman Hausherr [KoX, SP5.55] Entheta * Enturbulation * Entertainment tilman@berlin.snafu.de http://www.xenu.de

Resistance is futile. You will be enturbulated. Xenu always prevails.

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