Makes me glad to know that there are people like yourself who will at least listen. Good on you.Originally Posted by samsnap
Poodroo
Makes me glad to know that there are people like yourself who will at least listen. Good on you.
Poodroo
He who aims at nothing is sure to hit it.
No worries mate. As I said if I can make people aware of my misfortune and at least prevent one person from having the same thing happen then I have at least benefitted someone else which makes me feel a little better. Will take a bit for the bitterness to wear off but it will eventually. It could have been worse because I also had my Bluetooth hands free Supertooth gizmo clipped onto the sunvisor and the thief didn't see it. Would have been another $160 worth.
Phill I have done the same but this was one of those things where I thought I was only going to be in the shop for such a short time that I became complacent and lapse and common sense didn't prevail and I paid dearly for it. The whole thing stinks and I feel violated knowing someone did that and that I let it happen. The thing that hurts most is that was Trudy's Christmas Present to me and for us spending money like that on presents even for one another just doesn't happen very often. It was the best present ever and now it is gone.
Poodroo
Last edited by Poodroo; 15-02-2008 at 11:16 PM.
He who aims at nothing is sure to hit it.
That sucks mate
Had my TomTom stolen a couple months back. It was out of sight in my dashboard and the car was sitting in a supervised parking garage next to a hotel.
Just goes to show, best to keep it on your person.
And in the end the insurance companies are the biggest thieves, make you pay through the nose and will do absolutely anything to avoid paying. I've heard some pretty unbelievable stories from an attorney I used to work with who represented a ton of clients in suits against insurance companies..
Good business that.. insurance.
lots of good tips here. Poodroo, commiserations - hangin' ain't good enough.
Scalem, hope that you don't have what I call a 'Tom Tom Moment' where it takes you to places unknown and unintended, as has been my experience :-)
Re hiding a windscreen mounted nav unit, father in law recently made the good point that the circle on the inside of the w/screen is a dead giveaway that goodies are aboard. He keeps his sitting on his console on a face washer. Still looking for a similar spot in my GQ. The loss of the Nav is bad enough, but having to make good the damage is the pits.
Here is another insurance story for your records. When I first purchased my Pajero I was on my way to my first of many annual trips to Fraser Island when my brother's Pajero in front of me threw a rock and cracked my windscreen. When I returned from that trip I enquired through my insurer as to whether or not they had windscreen cover. The answer was no. End of discussion. I just thought to myself that when I had my first available financial moment that I would replace it myself "one day." That day actually never turned up for about a year and I kept looking through the illegal crack thinking "I must replace that windscreen one of these days.That sucks mate
Had my TomTom stolen a couple months back. It was out of sight in my dashboard and the car was sitting in a supervised parking garage next to a hotel.
Just goes to show, best to keep it on your person.
And in the end the insurance companies are the biggest thieves, make you pay through the nose and will do absolutely anything to avoid paying. I've heard some pretty unbelievable stories from an attorney I used to work with who represented a ton of clients in suits against insurance companies..
Good business that.. insurance.
Then one day at my work one of my collegues had O'Brien's glass turn up and was replacing her windscreen. Curious I asked her "How much is that setting you back?" Her reply was "Nothing, my insurance is paying for it!" Further curiosity made me ask "Who are you insured with?" and to my surprise she replies "Suncorp!" With a look of intrigue I say "Hey I'm with Suncorp!" When I got home that day after work I ring Suncorp up to discover that I could have had windscreen cover for something like $2.70 per month extra. I said to do it over the phone and waited a couple of weeks and then claimed it. Do you think I lost any sleep over it?Finally chalk one up for Poodroo I thought. Sadly however that windscreen lasted one week before a truck I was following hit some bumps and dislodged several stones from under his tipper and once again I was looking through a crack. Insurance covers only one windscreen per year I found out so I waited a year before I claimed it.
Because I am on the road a lot that replacement windscreen once again had fallen victim to another truck so I have gone through more windscreens than most people would in a lifetime but here is how insurance companies continue to rip us off.
Firstly I pay for the privilege of having windscreen cover.
Secondly I am restricted to just one replacement per annum.(This is what I am entitled to in accordance with their rules)
So I claim windscreens in accordance to their rules and I eventually get a letter in the mail from them stating that they had reviewed my account and over the years because I had made several windscreen claims that I was being put in the "High Risk" category and as a result they were adding an extra $150 to my excess which makes it $500 whenever I make a claim. I argued the point that it was not a fair system but to no avail. Like it or lump it was basically what I was told.
So in this scenario of my smash and grab that would have meant this.
1/For a $350 GPS if I added it to my policy yes it would have been covered.
2/They would only cover the contents of the vehicle for up to $150 per item stolen. (That's right, less than half of the value of the GPS)
3/ If I made a claim so that they paid less than half back for the GPS which I am told on the phone is better than nothing I would have had to pay the $500 excess fee which I am being penalised for because I am claiming windscreens which I pay for in my premiums and am entitled to do under their guidelines.
So doing the maths that would have meant that to replace my $350 GPS using my insurer it would have ended up costing me the same amount. Not worth it.
In summary insurance companies are in fact the real thieves however the only difference is they are LEGAL thieves. I am at a loss regardless.
The only fortunate thing that came out of this in the end is the broken window came under my glass cover in my policy so I didn't end up paying any excess fees to have it fixed.
Thanks for all your replies.
Regards,
Poodroo
Last edited by Poodroo; 16-02-2008 at 06:55 AM.
He who aims at nothing is sure to hit it.
Andrew,
I have to question, how many mirrors have you smashed, and how many ladders have you walked under?
Bit of luck, those good luck gods start looking after you real soon.
Take care and try and stay positive.
Graham.
Re GPS theft in carpark'
Be on the lookout for young blokes in carparks with skateboards under there arm. Cool tool for breaking windows. Usually creates less suspicion than walking around with a hammer and usefull for a quick get away. Point your mobile phone at them like you are taking there picture and act like you are talking into the phone. They think you are talking to the cops Usually clears the carpark if they are up to no good.
Regards
Bush Budah
An overview of the whole Insurance debate is fueled by greed and dishonesty from both sides of the fence. Who would argue that the Insurance giants of our society continue to increase premiums while you need to read fineprint in their policies carefully, or you might find yourself needing to claim where there is no cover because of your circumstance. I can think of two examples that happened to me.
1. My wife's car and my car were insured with the same insurer. Working around the house, I had reversed the box trailer up the driveway to spread some topsoil around, but left part of the car exposed in the direct path of my wife's car. She decided she needed to go out quite urgently, and reversed into my car. BAM! Honest mistake!! The insurance company wanted two excesses, each costing more than the extent of the damage. If we were insured separately, I could have sent a letter of demand to my wifes insurer and not paid anything for the repair!!
2. Every year I teach teenagers to water ski at the anual "fun and adventure" holiday camp, usually held at Moogoorah dam, if there's water in it, otherwise Maroon Dam. The Insurance on the boat has always had a water skiing additional content covering me for up to 2 Mill liability. We have always paid it. The Insurer changed their policy and aparently sent me a brochure in the mail which highlighted the changes - I never saw it, probably tossed out amoungst the junk mail. Little did I know that we had been paying standard insurance since the change for a few years, without the liability content of the policy covering water skiing. All I can say is I am fortunate I didn't need to make a claim for injuries sustained while skiing behind my boat.
But Poodroo, you are not being targeted by hungry Insurance companies, you are simply falling victim to them trying to stop others roughting the System. That is the part I hate the most. We make legitimate claims, but they make it harder because there are those members of the public that try to milk the Insurance game for every cent they can get.
Scalem
Yes I have realized this from a very early stage. I guess one consolation that makes me feel a little bit better within myself is the fact that when they reviewed my account history and put me in the "High Risk" category because of all the windscreen claims resulting in the rise in my excess, just before that was to take affect is when I had my very first car accident which was not my fault but deemed my fault and therefore my insurance paid. At least I did a good job of it because I wrote the other car off plus damaged my car. Was the best $350 (excess fee) I have ever spent.
Yeah one would have to wonder about it Graham. I am not normally a very supersticious sort of a person but I might start looking under my car just to make sure there are no Chinamen still hung up under there.Andrew,
I have to question, how many mirrors have you smashed, and how many ladders have you walked under?
Bit of luck, those good luck gods start looking after you real soon.
Take care and try and stay positive.
Graham.
Poodroo
Last edited by Poodroo; 16-02-2008 at 08:59 AM.
He who aims at nothing is sure to hit it.
Scalem I agree,but my point was that it appears these days that if you have anything of value on show then there will always be some disrespectful scumbag willing to flog it.No offense directed at you either disorderly, but trying to find where you going with only a street directory is from the stoneages.GPS has its place.
Scalem
It's just getting worse as even in the unlikely event that the culprits are caught the punishment is minimal and hardly a deterrent at all.
The street directory reference was just my cynical view that the less material items one owns, the less one has for thieves to steal.
Sorry to hear this story,poodroo.It really sux,mate.
I posted a thread recently on leaving cash lying around my open windowed car for 15 hours at the ramp and having nothing touched.The reason for that thread was that I was very surprised that nothing was taken.
Scott
Last edited by disorderly; 16-02-2008 at 09:51 AM.
Another helpful hint i was given by someone at work...
When you're entering your HOME address, set it as the nearest main road. You'll always know how to get from there to your home, and you'll never have your actual address in there for them to come and have a look at what other goodies they can pinch.
Sorry to hear Andrew.
StandScalem I agree,but my point was that it appears these days that if you have anything of value on show then there will always be some disrespectful scumbag willing to flog it.
It's just getting worse as even in the unlikely event that the culprits are caught the punishment is minimal and hardly a deterrent at all.
The street directory reference was just my cynical view that the less material items one owns, the less one has for thieves to steal.
Scott
i
Last edited by Scalem; 16-02-2008 at 10:20 AM.
Hi people I'm very very new to this forum but do read with interest the posts and learning lots about stuff including the insurance scams and we are in the middle now of changing our home address in the car mounted G P S thanks for the teaching it's good to learn things
Huh.......?Stand
i
Poodroo and others. I was talking to a friend of mine who works in insurance and he was telling me that even if you remove the unit from view and leave the suction cap on the windscreen and the car is broken into and the GPS stolen, the insurer can at their discretion not pay because you left evidence of the GPS unit visible.
If you do remove it and it leaves a mark on the windscreen you are still at fault if the thing is flogged.
It makes you wonder, we earn the money to buy the toys and have to take immeasurable steps to ensure we keep them in our possession because some little low-lifes think they deserve our toys more
His strong suggestion....take it out of the car everytime you leave the car, even as Poodroo points out if it's for 5 minutes.
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