I wonder if corporate/government entities hassle senior citizens because they think they can.
My great-aunt has noticed that when I accompany her to her doctor’s appointments--at a county hospital--that information is far more forthcoming than it was when she routinely went alone.
This stems from an incident that occurred when I first started going with her earlier this year. She had been very ill and the office professionals--a doctor and a PA--had given her conflicting diagnoses. So during my third acompanying visit, she and I were sitting in the examination room waiting for one of the professionals. The door was open and her chart was there on the door. Since I had already signed paperwork stipulating that I was allowed to see her medical records and since I have a bit of medical knowledge, I asked my aunt if could look at her record. She consented, so I took her chart off the door. Bad move. The nurse/medical assistant charged in and literally snatched the record from my hand.
Nurse: You’re not allowed to see these.
Me: The paperwork in the front says that I can.
Nurse: You can’t see them without one of us in the room.
Me: Well then you tell your bosses to get the diagnosis straight and I won’t feel the need to have to figure it out for myself.
Needless to say, I am not well-liked in that office. The looks I’ve received on subsequent visits say it all: “Here comes that bald-headed b*tch again.” Heh. That’s exactly the way I want it. Now they know that they can’t jerk my auntie around and the info is flowing like the Mississippi.
This time it’s her insurance company. Having provided my aunt with fire insurance for many years, it sent her a notice that it was going out of business and switched her policy over to another company.
Not long afterward, the new company sends a letter informing her that they were canceling her policy due to part of the roof being flat and due to the security bars having no release latches. Hmm, I’m wondering how they could know that the bars had no release latches, since they never came to inspect the inside of the house. (One day, upon arriving home, my aunt found a business card from some sort of inspector stuck in the front security gate. She had wondered what it was for, since she hadn’t asked for an inspection and no company had called her to inform her that an inspector would come by. Now we know what that was about.)
What I’m also wondering is this: why would an inspector look for the security releases for the bars on the outside of the house?
Additionally, are flat-roof houses no longer to be insured in California?
Anyway, my aunt and I both had our dander up. I took photos of the release latches on the various windows, got them developed, scanned them, faxed them and mailed them along with a superficially polite letter in my aunt’s name. I managed to get in a little scathing commentary without being outright rude. I can do that. :-)
My aunt’s has lived in her house for nearly my entire lifetime--since 1962--and has never missed an insurance payment nor has she filed a claim. (Knowing her, she’s never missed any other kind of payment either.) From the number of years that she’s owned the house, it's obvious that she’s a senior. Do these companies make certain calculations in making their decisions to cancel policies, such as how likely it is that the policy holder will resist being cancelled or how like it is that they will take their grievance up the chain?
As many may have surmised, I like a good fight, especially with those more powerful than myself.
From me they will get the fax, the letter and a phone call on Monday morning (my aunt hates these voicemail trees). Resistance ain’t futile.
