I should've known it'd be a lousy day from the moment the cat woke the household up by stepping on the TV remote and jacking the sound to 11 and scaring us out of our wits.
We've been having some pretty nasty financial woes of late, but things were starting to look up--there's some light on the job horizon for both of us, we sold off some stuff we didn't need, that kind of thing--and my husband and I agreed this morning that we felt optimistic.
Never, ever announce to the universe that you're feeling optimistic.
My husband drives over to the park for his morning jog while I stay home to man the phones in case one of us gets called back about a job. When the phone rings, it's not a job offer. It's my husband saying, "I'm fine, but I've been in an accident." The important thing is that HE is okay, obviously, but once he's squared away, it's time to look at insurance and get that straightened out. Thank goodness we had it, right?
Wrong.
At some point in time--we don't even know when, exactly--collision insurance disappeared. Oh, we have comprehensive insurance and liability insurance on the car, but not collision insurance. I lose eighty IQ points when I hear the word "insurance," so I don't know a blessed thing about it, but I THINK that means we're screwed when it comes to having the car fixed. (No one was at fault, by the way--it was a wet street and both cars slid into one another, no tickets issued, no one hurt.)
Then we find that tow truck companies are not kind folks who clear the roads and take care of your sick car until it goes in for surgery. Nooooo! They are rapacious mongrels who'd feast on their own mother's entrails! They towed it to their lot ($215), held it for two hours ($75), wanted to charge us 18 bucks a day for "storage fees" if we'd left the car there, charged us a "gate fee" for releasing it ($70), and that left us with another 75 bucks that we paid to the OTHER towing company because we sure as **** didn't want to put any more money in the pockets of the feeding piranhas that had already consumed so much of our flesh.
I know it could've been so much worse, and I know people endure far more hardship than our current financial woes, but...man, today has been rough. (One bright spot: it hasn't chased me off my plan.)
"Tow truck company employee" has now sunk below "snake oil peddler," "repo chick," and "pet psychic" on my list of jobs I am too softheartedto do. What shakedown artists! If anyone has insurance advice, tales of commiseration, or just a pat on the shoulder, I'd really welcome any of the above.
You "may" not be totally in the dumps! If your husband was hit from behind, it's automatically "no fault" of his own, consequently you can pursue an insurance claim through the other parties insurance. Even if he wasn't hit from behind...you should still file a claim directly with the other party's insurance company (I'm hoping and assuming your husband got his insurance info).
The insurance company will access % of fault to each party (unless, of course, he was hit from behind, then it's automatic 100% fault to party that hit you). Based upon the fault % assessment, that will determine the amount the insurance company will pay. For example...there is $3,000 worth of damage and the insurance company finds your husband 50% at fault and their client 50%. They would cut you a check for $1,500.
Sorry for your lousy day...and hope this helps. BTW, I didn't just pull this info out my wooo-haaa...I worked in this industry for years.
Last edited by joyfulloser; 03-05-2011 at 09:36 PM.
Thanks, ladies. [edited to add: and gentleman--EZ, you posted as I was posting but I didn't want to leave you out!]
Joyful, thanks for the more in-depth information especially. The accident happened because both were turning into the same lane at the same time, one from the north and one from the south--there were no tickets issued and no clear fault. It was a miserably rainy day and had it not been, either or both of the cars would've stopped in time. Stupid rain!
What scares us so much is that we thought "comprehensive" insurance was...well, comprehensive. We thought collision insurance was included in that, but apparently "comprehensive" means "you're insured for weird things like dead geese plummeting through your windshield or a tree limb falling on your car, but not if you get into an accident or anything that's actually likely to happen."
They shouldn't call it COMPREHENSIVE insurance, then--they should call it "Weird crap that won't happen to your car in a million years" insurance! ARGH! GRR!
We'll find out more on Monday when the insurance guy/gal actually assesses the damage. I'm still steamed about the tow truck thing, though. Oy vey, this is a rough patch we're going through and I worry about what will happen next.
I really appreciate the helpful advice and the hugs. I don't usually take my "woe is me!" posts to the boards here, but I just plain don't have anyone else to turn to at the moment and sometimes it helps just to talk.
Last edited by Nola Celeste; 03-06-2011 at 09:13 AM.
Reason: Don't want to forget EZ. :)
I'm really sorry about your awful day. I know how that goes to just have the hits keep coming.
I hope you can get everything straightened out, but in the meantime, your writing had me LOL a few times. I am now going to go hunt for that "plummeting goose" cause!
The worst news a motorist can get is that his or her vehicle has been towed to a storage lot that is closed on weekends and the per day storage fee is running at a rate of $30 to $50 a day. Then, when you demand to get your car that day, the storage facility charges you an extra $50 so-called "gate fee." The "gate fee" is to have the person who stays in a trailer on the lot walk to the gate and open it for you. Some times they call it a labor fee and then they tack on a release fee. These tactics and extra charges are illegal under most state laws.
My husband will be calling his brother, the lawyer, just as soon as he gets back from his jog.
It doesn't surprise me that the practice is illegal in most states; it's outrageous that it's acceptable anywhere. Name me another job in which people make money for walking a few feet, then turning around and walking right back! (Okay, supermodels do that, but this ol' fart of a plumber's-butted tow truck driver was no Heidi Klum.)
We got AMAZING news from the insurance company earlier. Turns out we DID have collision insurance--a clerical error accidentally dropped it, so the insurance company is back-dating our coverage and will pay on the accident as the lapse was their fault. I truly didn't expect that kind of understanding from an insurance company. Today is a lot brighter now because of that little bit of consideration, and the agent who's now in charge of our insurance is permanently on our Christmas card list.
Ack! I was gone for a couple of days, or would've responded sooner!
Horrible to have it happen, but glad that (above and beyond all else) your husband walked away from it and that your insurance pulled through!
We're as insured as can be, and yet I'm terrified that when/if we get into an accident, something will magically not go through and it will become and even bigger nightmare.
Definitely incentive to hang onto your insurance rep!
Venting about a rotten day
. Hope tomorrow is a better Day. 
Nola on staying on your plan today.
If your husband was hit from behind, it's automatically "no fault" of his own, consequently you can pursue an insurance claim through the other parties insurance. Even if he wasn't hit from behind...you should still file a claim directly with the other party's insurance company (I'm hoping and assuming your husband got his insurance info). 
