2.09.2009

what's your integrity worth

I hate surprise mail from insurance companies. Lets make that brutally clear. Anytime you get an unexpected letter from an insurance company, you can smell trouble a mile away. My feelings about insurance companies can best be summarized in a conversation on the Simpsons, between Maude Flanders and Marge Simpson - after the Flander's home burned down.

Marge - Oh I'm sure you guys will be fine - won't the insurance company pay for this?
Maude - We don't have home insurance, Ned considers it a form of gambling.

So you can imagine my dismay when I get a letter in the mail from Discover Property & Casualty Insurance Company, c/o Rust Consulting Inc.

I don't know who Discover Property & Casualty are, nor do I have any recollection of ever coming across them nor retaining them for a professional relationship. Quickly my mind races to see if I have run over any one on my bike, flipped someone off and I'm being sued for emotional damages... or somehow maligned the Los Angeles populace at large.

So you can imagine my surprise when I learn that the aforementioned security company was writing to inform me of a bookkeeping error that resulted in a windfall of substantial means. I guess two years ago I had a storage space for about a month and they over-charged me.

What was my reward? A check for $1.00

For some reason they felt that their integrity was worth $1.00. I have no doubt that this was little more than a PR stunt to avoid an audit. If any IRS people are reading this... RED ALERT - these guys are up to something!

A check for $1.00. Hardly this amount justifies the hassle. What a waste of everyone's time. Perhaps it's a cheapskate test, and they are going to monitor all the people that deposit the checks and submit their information to some sort of clearinghouse where the nation at large can laugh at us.

Yes, I'm going to deposit the check.

Maybe this is the first of President Obama's stimulus package!

Just a thought.

9 comments:

Dawn D. Lion said...

Just make sure to buy yourself something special that you wouldn't have bought otherwise. You know the feeling, in the Target dollar section...

Liz said...

Good for you for cashing it, I think I would, too. I wonder if it is some sort of cheapskate test. I'm going to keep watching nightline and 60 minutes to see if you're on there. This is exciting.

And, please, don't mention the "stimulus" package. I might puke.

Anonymous said...

Did you cash it? I got one too for $3.39. I wondered if it was some sort of scam. But I did have a Public Storage space for a couple of months and I do recall being annoyed that they charged me for insurance when my personal property insurance covered it.

Anonymous said...

I received one, as well. It doesn't appear to be a scam. Or at least if it is, it's the best one out there. I got a check for $12.03. Had a storage space for a year in California. Where are you located?

Anonymous said...

I had a space in the LA area for maybe a year. My check was $17.39. I'm wondering how they got my new address!

Anonymous said...

I got one too... had a place years ago here in Cali... I'm also curious how they got my new address. I've moved 5 times (including out of state) since I had that unit. I think that's what caused the most alarm for me... but I will be cashing my little $11.13 check! Zippy!!

Anonymous said...

Obviously they are still finding these discrepancy. I got a check for $16 and my wife got a check for $56 although they have not been affiliated with our storage shed for several years. Sounds like they were caught at something.

Mayhem said...

I got one today for $7.32. I had my storage space with Public Storage back in 2007/2008

Anonymous said...

Does any one know HOW this comapany could have gotten my new address?... We are military and have moved several times since I used Public Storage in 2004, this is who my settlement check is from.
I'm one who always errors on the side of caution and after much searching on the internet this is the ONLY thing I can find?...
Maybe I will call my bank and see what they have to say about it...