I Need to Vent

Can't you ask them to put a stop payment on the check that they've mailed (you can even offer to pay for this as an incentive) and have them overnight a new check to you?

 

The check's in the mail...

Tom

 

Hey Shoe,
This is very typical big corporation behavior. It does not benefit them to get the money to you quickly. So yo u don't get the money quickly. It really is that simple. The larger the amount, the more they drag their feet.

Of course they know you are gonna stick with them, heck you just had a big wreck, it's unlikely you will go insurance shopping.

Sorry, I don't mean to sound so cynical, as each day passes I find yet another reason to despise large corporations, particularly ones that are public. They answer only to their stockholders.

Next will be "it got lost in the mail" we will have to reissue the check.

They want to keep the money as long as they can, be a pain in their backside, call them daily, be the squeaky wheel, let them know you have a computer and you know how to use it.

If that don't work, detail it out here and include the company name.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Prinux @ Sep 24 2007, 11:43 AM) [snapback]517008[/snapback]</div>

My experience with the insurance process after an accident is that it has its own pace, and almost nothing you can do will hurry things along. I know it's frustrating, and it probably shouldn't be that way, but that's the way it is. I've had altogether too much experience with this sort of thing to think your situation is a fluke. There was a period of 18 months a few years ago when I was hit 4 times (not in a prius, this was before they were invented).

The other industry with this "any time is OK" philosophy is the medical industry, especially hospitals. The added problem with hospitals is that no one gets out of one with his or her dignity intact.

Having said that, I hope it breaks loose for you soon. Hang in there!

 

Waiting for a big check to arrive can definitely be tense. I get a lot of checks from large corporations in my business, and I'll give you my two cents.

I've never (knock wood) literally had a check lost/stolen in the US mail, in 9 years of business. What I have had, a lot, is the mailrooms of large corporations take the own sweet time about actually getting the check in the mail.

In my experience, when somebody says the check has been sent, what that means is that, according to the accounts payable department, the check has been cut (ie, printed). And after its been printed, there's no tracking internally. They sent it off to be mailed, so they think it's been mailed, but ... that depends on what the mailroom actually did. I'll get checks dated one week, with a postmark the next week, the difference being the time it took to get through the corporate mailroom.

So I'd say it's too early to assume something has gone wrong. I'd give it a couple more days.

 

Try Erie Insurance. We had a car plow into our business a few years back and the check was in our mailbox before the construction crew completed the repairs.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Prinux @ Sep 24 2007, 02:43 PM) [snapback]517008[/snapback]</div>

If they put a 37 cent stamp on it - you do have a problem - postage has gone up to 39 cents.

When I was in an accident 14 yrs ago the agent hand carried the check to me! They wanted to settle ASAP because I had full tort coverage and they wanted to get it settled before I changed my mind and considered taking legal action. I waited a few weeks to be sure I didn't have anything more than a mild case of whiplash before I agreed to a settlement.

I also had a free and clear title - so the check came directly to me. Any time you have a third party involved it is bound to take longer.

I was a bit surprised when the first question out of the mouth of the other driver's insurance agent was "do you have full tort coverage?" However, that seems to have definately put me on the fast track to getting my check hand delivered to me in less than 48 hours after I agreed to the settlement.

Springtime

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Springtime @ Sep 24 2007, 05:09 PM) [snapback]517160[/snapback]</div>

It is up to 41 cents in this part of the world.

 

For all you differencephiles out there we call them cheques.

Why not send them an invoice for lost interest?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Prinux @ Sep 24 2007, 04:42 PM) [snapback]517052[/snapback]</div>

Hi fellow taxpayer! How No. of Boston are you? What company are you with?


And who's your dealer? I'm curious since you never know if one of us may be the next "victim"

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ricklin @ Sep 24 2007, 01:08 PM) [snapback]517027[/snapback]</div>

In accounting, this practice is called "Aging".

Invoices are typically delivered with payment terms attached - NET 30 means that a payment is due 30 days after being invoiced... NET 45, 60, 90, and 120 are also somewhat common too. The payment terms are also flexible... some vendors will say NET 30 when they actually won't start yelling about payments until 60 days after the invoice.

Businesses aren't stupid, and they know exactly how far they can stretch making people wait for money. They make more on interest if they can keep the money longer and avoid making a payment until the last possible moment. It might not seem like much, but if a company has a half million dollars in monthly liabilities, and rides those out for 30 days past due date, they essentially make the interest on that half a million for another month... this isn't chump change.

The insurance company is going to delay actually paying you for as long as possible. Your best bet? Annoy the hell out of them. Find out who their accounting person is, and call them daily until they get so sick of hearing from you that they send out a check just to shut you up. I'd probably call your insurance agent too, unless you already have a good relationship with them. If they get annoyed enough with your calls, they might push the company too.

Off of the insurance thing for a bit - I used to work for a company that had problems paying bills on time. They hired a new accountant at one point, and suddenly the bills being paid matched the money coming in, and the CEO was extremely happy. After about six months of this, the accountant quit. They went into his office, opened one of the drawers, and found that he'd been sticking invoices in the drawer and hiding them. He was then ignoring phone calls from angry vendors, and not letting on to his bosses that these invoices existed. It wound up causing a lot of trouble, because someone had to come up with the cash to pay all these back invoices at the same time. End result, there were cutbacks to make up for the losses... people lost jobs... it wasn't a good thing.

But, that is business.



<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Prinux @ Sep 27 2007, 07:32 AM) [snapback]518451[/snapback]</div>

Oops... should read before posting. Congrats on the new baby!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Prinux @ Sep 27 2007, 10:32 AM) [snapback]518451[/snapback]</div>

Glad to see you got the check!! B)
You would think the company would have let you pay for the FedEx to speed things up!!