Skip to main content

Untangling the Mess That is Roadside Service

We're heading out next week to a Physics conference, and, as we are traveling via car, my husband asked me to check out Roadside Assistance.

Specifically, did we still have it, or could we get it, on our cell phone plan?

The short answer is no. It was discontinued in 2012.

The long answer:

  • Sprint - they don't have it
  • AARP - I keep getting information about the WONDERFUL, heavily DISCOUNTED perks you can get for membership in AARP.
    • I never really did join, but they keep sending their magazine each month, along with a card that says I'm a member. Most places accept it for discounts without actually checking to see if I AM a member.
    • I checked their website. They do have a Roadside Assistance plan listed. I click on the link, which pops up a box warning me that YOU ARE LEAVING AARP FOR ANOTHER SITE! I click OK and end up on the site - Allstate. Yes, I think it is somehow affiliated with the insurance company.
    • I check out the rates. Not that cheap, unless you are a single person only desiring to be towed 5 miles or less. Since I travel in remote parts of the country, this won't do. I discover that the discount is only for the current year, which means that if I select it, I'll be charged automatically for renewal - at over $90/year. Fortunately, they don't like my AARP # (perhaps because I never paid for it?), and I'm bounced out.
    • I do some searching, and find some consumers of those plans complaining about the service - only 4 tows a year, or you are canceled (well, that does seem reasonable). However, the same person complains that he had no notice of the cancellation.
    • Another person complains that using the tow service jacks up your insurance rates, as the company is allied to the auto insurance giant.
    • I try enrolling directly - the rates are even cheaper! - so much for the AARP advantage. Before I click acceptance, my own insurance company calls me back, and I find out that I can have the same essential service for about $20/year for both of us. I agree to add it to the policy.
What is the moral of the story?

Don't blindly trust discounts - they can be higher than the non-discounted rate.

Check out options - prepare to spend a lot of time on the phone/Internet.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WEP, Explained (Sort of)

The idea behind WEP - the Windfall Elimination Provision - is that a FEW people were taking advantage of the ability to get a government pension, then take a non-government job, and get Social Security benefits, as well. According to Wikipedia: "The  Windfall Elimination Provision  (abbreviated WEP [1] ) is a statutory provision in  United States  law [2]  which affects benefits paid by the  Social Security Administration  under Title II of the  Social Security Act . It reduces the  Primary Insurance Amount  (PIA) of a person's  Retirement Insurance Benefits (RIB) or  Disability Insurance Benefits  (DIB) when that person is eligible or entitled to a pension based on a job which did not contribute to the  Social Security Trust Fund . While in effect, it also affects the benefits of others claiming on the same social security record." How it affects me: both my husband and myself worked primarily in teaching jobs ove...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stop! Just - STOP!

I do understand that furniture designers have to make a living, but - this is just wrong . I've tried "ergonomic" furniture. I've sat in those hard-seated chairs and couches. They are NOT comfortable. They are NOT conducive to working on for extended time periods. They are NOT what I want. Apple LOVES them - well, yeah, they would. 20-somethings can sit anywhere comfortably. What I want is furniture that fits a senior, with a bad back and aching knees, and a need to get to her feet INSTANTLY, when the call of nature sings out. I don't need a seat so hard that my butt goes numb. I've seen seats like the ones shown, and a LOG has more 'give' to it. I don't need a couch for "two" that can only fit MAYBE 1-1/2 - IF they are on the 1 meal a day, semi-starvation diet (SO healthy!). I don't need a fixed table that encroaches on my already-diminished seating space. That "table" won't allow more than a small laptop/ta...
1 comment
Read more

Changes to Medicare - How They Will Affect You

Obamacare has a wider impact than the people who are forced to comply with its many provisions. It will have an effect on Medicare, as well. Despite the constant political rhetoric that Medicare payment reductions affect only providers and not beneficiaries, funding cuts for Medicare services will directly affect those who depend on those services. If Obamacare’s major reductions are implemented by Congress over the coming decade, seniors’ ability to access Medicare services will surely diminish. Obamacare can be considered a success, judging from the OMB's reports. Unfortunately, those reports can only work from data/constraints they are given. Such limits mean that, depending on the questions/framework/data comprising their analysis, ACA looks like a raging success. Which, it isn't. In too many Americans' minds, debt of a government should just be paid by all those high-earners who greedily grab all the available money in an economy. Funnily enough, a substanti...
Post a Comment
Read more