So......I'm in need of a little venting.
Since being a personal trainer and fitness instructor doesn't have the perks of having insurance benefits covered, I have to purchase an individual plan for medical and dental. I'm not going to complain about the premeium I pay, because I am actually getting an AWESOME deal, but I will complain about the customer service.
In July I purchased an idividual medical plan with a great deductible and premium that I can afford at this time when all the bills are piling up. I haven't been to the dentist in over a year and I wanted to add so I could get bi-annual cleanings and check-ups because apparently bad teeth run in the family (right Kyle). So in Septemember I called and wanted to get dental added to my plan for about $30 more a month, no big deal but here is where stuff got confusing. The lady taking my application told me that I wouldn't start paying my dental premium on top of the medical monthly premium until my anniversary date??? WHAT? WHY? She didn't have a logical explanation for that so I just assumed that I wouldn't become affective until July 2010 and I wouldn't be able to use my dental insurance until then either. That just sounds dumb right? Then in October they sent me my dental card with my policy number, etc on it. Okay, so can I go to the dentist and use this? I hadn't seen any money withdrawn from my account, YET..........
I am set up on automatic bill pay and they withdraw on the same date every month, only this month I see that the payment is over $150 more than the previous months I have been paying for medical insurance! Again, WHAT?!!? So I called in to complain and get things figured out and this time 'Crystal' informed me that my dental premiums have started kicking in this month and I have been back-billed for the last four months!! Living paycheck to paycheck is hard enough without this unexpected withdraw from my account........
Is this my own fault or was I truly misinformed? Please tell me I'm not that stupid......... Even when she told me that it wouldn't be affective until July 2010, I was confused and asked questions of WHY is that? I said, THIS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE, and she still didn't give me a logical explanation at the time. I get that they have to back-bill me for the months to add dental after the fact that it happened, but why couldn't the rep tell me that in the first place?! GRRRR..........
When Kyle and I were first married I was still on my parent's insurance through Cobra. Somehow the billing got messed up and didn't get sent out and it was $300/mo. To make a long story short, I was behind three months and owed over $1000. Because I never used the insurance during that period, I was able to write cancel on the invoice and never be charged. I wonder since you have never been to the dentist if you can cancel your coverage and be reimbursed for that time. It might be different since it is directly withdrawn from your paycheck.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I have a solution....elope this weekend and go on Ryan's insurance, hehe!
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