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Re: [RC] heads up:)/"we've got you covered" if it seems too goodto be true, it just might be - Laney HumphreyJohn Teeter wrote: just got a call from usRider.com -- we're going to hear a horror story I fear. Grains of Salt if you need em ...:) John, you couldn’t know it but you gave me the perfect heading for this little essay: “heads up.” As for it being a horror story, you won’t hear that from me; that’s for the reader to decide. However, I’m sure it was my recent difference of opinion with him that Mr. Cole, the Managing Member of USRider was referring to when he called you. I’m not trying to horrify anyone; all I want to do is give the endurance community a “heads up” about what their membership in USRider is buying and what it is not. Last Tuesday, March 25th, I was returning home from the Cuyama XP ride in Cuyama, CA. I was about 1/3 of the way home when my truck died and would not start again. So, full of confidence that my problems would be solved, after all USRider’s slogan is “we’ve got you covered,” I called and asked for help. The woman who answered the phone did a wonderful job in finding help. She asked very appropriate questions, making sure me and my horse were safe (we were) and then trying to figure out what kind of help I needed. From a previous incident I knew that she was located far away (in Oklahoma City as it turns out) and probably knew nothing about horses or hauling or trucks and trailers. But she was well trained in googling for help. She talked with several roadside assistance companies near me who all told her that my truck’s problem wasn’t fixable “roadside” and that I needed to be towed. That meant finding a tower capable of hauling both my truck and LQ trailer with horse aboard approximately 150 miles home. She found one amazingly close by. Johnboy’s Towing quoted her a price which she relayed to me. It was well above the USRider limit per vehicle so I had to agree to pay the rest, which I did. A couple of hours later Dino and I were on our way home pulled by a HUGE Peterbuilt that purred along the highway as though it had nothing strung out behind it. And that with 980,000 miles on the odometer (that right, folks, almost a million miles!). Dino walked out of the trailer at 9:30 that night, having been in there since noon. Fortunately, no harm done. OK, that’s the back story. However, the next morning, the truck still wouldn’t start. And this is where Mr. Cole and I have differences of opinion, so, endurance community: head’s up! When I called USRider after finding the truck was still needing a tow, my primary belief was that I still needed help and that’s what I thought I was buying with my membership fee. After all, “we’ve got you covered,” right? Well, the operator I spoke with told me that USRider would not pay to have the truck towed again since it was part of the original incident and they had already paid out their $400 per vehicle. I will shamefacedly admit that I expressed my frustration with the company in language that a senior citizen raised as a southern lady shouldn’t use. As I told Mr. Cole, who saw fit to come on the line, in my opinion, the company uses false advertising: “we’ve got you covered.” In my case, they chose to cover me only once and only for $400. Small sidetrack: I had also called State Farm where I have all my homeowners and vehicle insurance. The agent, without blinking at eye, said they would cover the balance of my towing charges. And, also without blinking an eye, she agreed to pay to get the truck towed to the repair facility. Now that’s coverage! And that’s why I’ve been a client for well over 20 years. Back to USRider. Being a curious person just trying to undersatand what I was getting for my money, I called the USRider administrative office and asked if USRider would have paid to have the truck towed for repairs if I had waited, say a week to request help. The answer I got was “yes.” Then I asked, “how about 3 days?” “Yes.” “Two days?” “Yes” but I got "no" to my next day request. When I spoke with Mr. Cole, I asked him the same questions and got the same answers. “We’ve got you covered”? Another small sidetrack: during Tevis, 2006, my truck developed mechanical problems when I was again far away from home. USRider helped me get the problem solved, although it took quite a bit of negotiating. As a result, after me and my truck & rig were all home safe and sound, I offered to Mr. Cole to go over the USRider Service Contract from the point of view of a member because I believed that there were numerous ambiguously worded statements. He not only agreed, but seemed pleased by my offer. I spent many hours doing that and emailed 7 pages of comments to Mr. Cole. He thanked me and assured me that USRider’s legal department was revising the service contract based on what I had written. I never heard anything more. Now I find myself once again with an interpretation of the extent of services and coverage offered by the Service Contract that differs from USRIder's. Under the heading “Emergency Road Services,” the towing section reads: “When your vehicle cannot be started or driven, the vehicle and/or your horse trailer will be towed up to 100 miles free ($400 maximum per vehicle, per incident) to the destination of your choice by one of our authorized tow trucks.” “one hundred miles free ($400 per vehicle…”) – when do the charges start, at the beginning of the tow or after the 100 free miles? According to the phone answerer I spoke with on Saturday, the wording should really be : “100 miles OR $400, whichever comes first.” So, the first 100 miles is only free if it costs less than $400 and the charges really do start with mile 0. “Per incident” is not defined in the above statement but, from my experiences, USRider does have a working definition: two calls within 2 days for the same vehicle, same issue equals “same incident.” Would USRider have covered any other kind of need on my truck except towing if I’d called the next day? Enough of picky details (although I’d be glad to email privately my 7 pages of comments to anyone who’s interested. Email me privately, please.) As those of you who’ve read my book, “Choosing a saddle for endurance and long distance riding,” know, my purpose in life is to spread good information around and to help people make well informed decisions. Hey, I am a retired librarian. So here, my purpose isn’t to horrify anyone. It is to give my friends in the endurance community a big HEADS UP about equestrian focused roadside assistance. Another part of the Service Contract we should all keep in mind is under “Definitions.” In plain language the Primary Member is the person “named on the application. An Associate Member can be a spouse or dependent child. So far, so good. In the paragraph starting “the benefits and services,” it states that “ the motorized vehicle, as defined, must be operated or occupied by a Member of the Plan at the time of disablement.” So, I urge USRider members to be aware that your vehicle is not covered if you are not in it Are you horrified? My guess is that you’re bored. In conclusion all I’ll say is that if you are already a member, familiarize yourself with the service contract and if you have questions, call USRider. And if you ever need assistance, make sure you understand the extent of assistance you’ll be getting. If you’re considering joining, ask to see a copy of the service contract before sending in your money. And, on a final note, Mark Cole, the Managing Member of the USRider LLC chose to kick me out, as his way of dealing with our disagreements over interpretations of the Service Contract and a friend has told me that Dave Rabe is having similar difficulties getting USRider to live up to their service contract. So, endurance community, HEADS UP! Laney =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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