5 ms·

And you did not follow-up why the accident report was not filed? I usually keep following up on such cases, until all issues are resolved. It is a net negative

And you did not follow-up why the accident report was not filed? I usually keep following up on such cases, until all issues are resolved. It is a net negative investment for me, since the time and effort I have to put in it, is not worth it, but I get 2 satisfactions out of it: 1) Hopefully whoever "played" will learn a lesson not to again. 2) Hopefully the overall problem (whether it is bad customer service, strong arm tactics, etc.) will slowly be fixed. I guess in your case, you already used up your quota of fighting-the-system when you had to argue with both the cop and the tow-man.

istjohn 6y ago
I considered filing a complaint with the police department, but I'm skeptical anything would have come of it. Ideally, I would have done it regardless. It's true that the root problem will not be addressed if people don't pursue things. I think on net I do more than my fair share of tilting at windmills though. Ask me about self-storage companies sometime.
- nicolas_t 6y ago
  Now I'm curious about self storage companies. So I'm asking you :)
  - istjohn 6y ago
    I'm so glad you asked! It seems that the US self-storage market can be roughly segmented into two groups: UHaul Self-Storage and everyone else. UHaul is up to double the cost of their budget competitors like Public Storage. I'm budget conscious, so I quickly ruled out UHaul. The other companies all follow the same template. I didn't find any locally-owned self-storage companies, only franchises. It's impossible to call the local franchise office directly, even after you've rented a unit. The phone numbers listed in ads and on websites have local area codes but they are forwarded to national call centers. My first attempt to rent a unit, I find the best rate online, drive to the facility, and ask to rent a unit at the advertised rate. The manager has me fill out the application. The lock I'll need is $10. Sure, that's reasonable, I guess. Then she explains that there is a $20 move-in fee. No problem! This fee was hidden in a footnote on the comparison shopping site, but I spotted it and was willing to pay the 50% markup on the first month's rent. It's still a third of the cost of UHaul. But the amount she wanted to charge my card still seemed high. "Well," she explained, "it includes a $15 monthly insurance premium." "I don't need insurance." "Everyone's required to have insurance." I was indignant and walked out on principle. It was false advertising, plain and simple, and I refuse to reward that behavior with my business. I now resolved to get an actual-for-real-no-takebacks final price over the phone before driving anywhere else. So I sat in my car and called a local Public Storage franchise. Or tried to. This is when I learned about the call centers. I was frustrated at having just driven 20 minutes for nothing, and getting a call center agent after dialing a local area code phone number did nothing to improve my mood. The agent asked for my first name. Then she asked for my email address. I balked. I explained to the agent that I just wanted to get an actual-for-real-no-takebacks quote to rent a storage unit at my local Public Storage franchise. She couldn't tell me. I'd have to ask the local manager, she explained. "OK, can you just give me the phone number?" I asked, exasperated. "Once I get done with you" she responded impatiently. I was incredulous. Some of the quotes in this story may not be word-for-word accurate. But that is a word-for-word quote: "Once I get done with you." In what is not my proudest moment, I informed her that I was quite certain we would be altogether done very soon, but first I would like to express what a dumpster fire I have found the self-storage industry to be. My prophecy came to pass as she soon hung up on me. At this point, I was becoming less price-sensitive. I didn't embark on this venture thinking quality customer service would be a high priority for me, but I didn't realize how low the baseline was in this industry. There was a reasonably priced place near my home, so I decided to drive there. I figured there couldn't be much more that could be unexpected at this point. I filled out the application and listened patiently as she explained the move-in fee and required insurance. I wasn't completely resigned, however, and I asked if I could forego the insurance, perhaps by signing a waiver. She told me the insurance was required by state law. I wasn't going to argue with her--I really just needed to rent a unit already--but that seemed highly unlikely. I rented the unit. But when I got home, I did some research, and it turns out, she wasn't as far off as you might think. Ohio does have a state law devoted to self-storage unit insurance[1], believe it or not. But rather than mandating insurance, the law sets out a number of regulations that self-storage providers must follow in order to sell insurance to their customers. Normally, an agent must pass a test to be certified to sell insurance, but this law, which was passed at the behest of the self-storage lobby, makes a special cut-out so that minimally trained self-storage company staff can sell company-mandated insurance to their customers as a hidden monthly fee they can tack on to advertised prices without getting in trouble for false advertising. And hey, what do you know? The business did not comply with several points in the regulations. For example, the literature describing the insurance did not include various mandated disclosures. So I went ahead and wrote a complaint to the Ohio Department of Insurance outlining the violations. 1. http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/3905.063 http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/3905.063
    - refurb 6y ago
      Your story got my upvote. I felt my blood pressure rising just reading that. But I do have to applaud your complaint to the Ohio Department of Insurance. What I've noticed is that companies like these tend not to be up on 100% of regulations. If you're willing to spend an hour or two doing some research, you're likely to find some obscure violation that your local gov't is more than happy to use to make an example out of them.
    - justinclift 6y ago
      > So I went ahead and wrote a complaint to the Ohio Department of Insurance outlining the violations. What happened after that? :)
      - istjohn 6y ago
        Ask me in a few months.
    - kenned3 6y ago
      " UHaul is up to double the cost of their budget competitors like Public Storage." This is a HUGE red flag, and you probably would be better off with uhaul. The "budget" guys will probably cost more once the hidden fees are paid.
      - op00to 6y ago
        UHaul is just more expensive for everything. They are not easier. They have plenty of hidden fees.
    - nobrains 6y ago
      This is getting better. We will wait for your story about the part about the outcome of the complaint.
    - dnautics 6y ago
      Wow. I feel like I dodged a bullet. I found a storage unit company 5 blocks from my place. It's the cheapest in the bay area. Run by some very nice folks. No shady anything, so far as I can tell.
- tombrossman 6y ago
  > I considered filing a complaint with the police department, but I'm skeptical anything would have come of it. Your instincts are correct, it is a waste of time. If the matter is serious enough, hire a lawyer and get a judgement against the officer or department. For everything else, let it go. I had my car stolen a while ago. The police found it abandoned midweek, and had it towed to an impound lot. Then they waited until 4:45pm on Friday to tell me. The impound lot was an hour away, so I had to wait until Monday to get my car back. I also had to pay the tow lot for towing and storage of my stolen car for all the extra days.
  - mring33621 6y ago
    Welcome to Chicago!
    - shigawire 6y ago
      Then you have to venture to the mythical underworld of Lower Lower Wacker to get it back.
- greendestiny_re 6y ago
  I always file complaints against police officers; they hinder their promotion options and in aggregate may help other citizens dispute their reports and accusations.
  - smegger001 6y ago
    unfortunately do to police unions most complaints are dropped from an officers file after 6 months in many locals.
vkou 6y ago
> 1) Hopefully whoever "played" will learn a lesson not to again. In the case of police misconduct, the only person learning a lesson is typically the person filing the complaint. People only tend to act so brazenly when they know that there will be no consequences, and their department will have their back. At best, your complaints will be ignored, at worst, you may face further retaliation.
underdeserver 6y ago
I applaud you, but you're swatting flies. Even if that one officer won't do it again for a year or two, the rest of them will.
- wolco2 6y ago
  A year of people not getting shafted is an amazing achievement. Multiple by 100 you have a cultural shift.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

istjohn 6y ago

I considered filing a complaint with the police department, but I'm skeptical anything would have come of it. Ideally, I would have done it regardless. It's true that the root problem will not be addressed if people don't pursue things. I think on net I do more than my fair share of tilting at windmills though. Ask me about self-storage companies sometime.

nicolas_t 6y ago
Now I'm curious about self storage companies. So I'm asking you :)
- istjohn 6y ago
  I'm so glad you asked! It seems that the US self-storage market can be roughly segmented into two groups: UHaul Self-Storage and everyone else. UHaul is up to double the cost of their budget competitors like Public Storage. I'm budget conscious, so I quickly ruled out UHaul. The other companies all follow the same template. I didn't find any locally-owned self-storage companies, only franchises. It's impossible to call the local franchise office directly, even after you've rented a unit. The phone numbers listed in ads and on websites have local area codes but they are forwarded to national call centers. My first attempt to rent a unit, I find the best rate online, drive to the facility, and ask to rent a unit at the advertised rate. The manager has me fill out the application. The lock I'll need is $10. Sure, that's reasonable, I guess. Then she explains that there is a $20 move-in fee. No problem! This fee was hidden in a footnote on the comparison shopping site, but I spotted it and was willing to pay the 50% markup on the first month's rent. It's still a third of the cost of UHaul. But the amount she wanted to charge my card still seemed high. "Well," she explained, "it includes a $15 monthly insurance premium." "I don't need insurance." "Everyone's required to have insurance." I was indignant and walked out on principle. It was false advertising, plain and simple, and I refuse to reward that behavior with my business. I now resolved to get an actual-for-real-no-takebacks final price over the phone before driving anywhere else. So I sat in my car and called a local Public Storage franchise. Or tried to. This is when I learned about the call centers. I was frustrated at having just driven 20 minutes for nothing, and getting a call center agent after dialing a local area code phone number did nothing to improve my mood. The agent asked for my first name. Then she asked for my email address. I balked. I explained to the agent that I just wanted to get an actual-for-real-no-takebacks quote to rent a storage unit at my local Public Storage franchise. She couldn't tell me. I'd have to ask the local manager, she explained. "OK, can you just give me the phone number?" I asked, exasperated. "Once I get done with you" she responded impatiently. I was incredulous. Some of the quotes in this story may not be word-for-word accurate. But that is a word-for-word quote: "Once I get done with you." In what is not my proudest moment, I informed her that I was quite certain we would be altogether done very soon, but first I would like to express what a dumpster fire I have found the self-storage industry to be. My prophecy came to pass as she soon hung up on me. At this point, I was becoming less price-sensitive. I didn't embark on this venture thinking quality customer service would be a high priority for me, but I didn't realize how low the baseline was in this industry. There was a reasonably priced place near my home, so I decided to drive there. I figured there couldn't be much more that could be unexpected at this point. I filled out the application and listened patiently as she explained the move-in fee and required insurance. I wasn't completely resigned, however, and I asked if I could forego the insurance, perhaps by signing a waiver. She told me the insurance was required by state law. I wasn't going to argue with her--I really just needed to rent a unit already--but that seemed highly unlikely. I rented the unit. But when I got home, I did some research, and it turns out, she wasn't as far off as you might think. Ohio does have a state law devoted to self-storage unit insurance[1], believe it or not. But rather than mandating insurance, the law sets out a number of regulations that self-storage providers must follow in order to sell insurance to their customers. Normally, an agent must pass a test to be certified to sell insurance, but this law, which was passed at the behest of the self-storage lobby, makes a special cut-out so that minimally trained self-storage company staff can sell company-mandated insurance to their customers as a hidden monthly fee they can tack on to advertised prices without getting in trouble for false advertising. And hey, what do you know? The business did not comply with several points in the regulations. For example, the literature describing the insurance did not include various mandated disclosures. So I went ahead and wrote a complaint to the Ohio Department of Insurance outlining the violations. 1. http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/3905.063 http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/3905.063
  - refurb 6y ago
    Your story got my upvote. I felt my blood pressure rising just reading that. But I do have to applaud your complaint to the Ohio Department of Insurance. What I've noticed is that companies like these tend not to be up on 100% of regulations. If you're willing to spend an hour or two doing some research, you're likely to find some obscure violation that your local gov't is more than happy to use to make an example out of them.
  - justinclift 6y ago
    > So I went ahead and wrote a complaint to the Ohio Department of Insurance outlining the violations. What happened after that? :)
    - istjohn 6y ago
      Ask me in a few months.
  - kenned3 6y ago
    " UHaul is up to double the cost of their budget competitors like Public Storage." This is a HUGE red flag, and you probably would be better off with uhaul. The "budget" guys will probably cost more once the hidden fees are paid.
    - op00to 6y ago
      UHaul is just more expensive for everything. They are not easier. They have plenty of hidden fees.
  - nobrains 6y ago
    This is getting better. We will wait for your story about the part about the outcome of the complaint.
  - dnautics 6y ago
    Wow. I feel like I dodged a bullet. I found a storage unit company 5 blocks from my place. It's the cheapest in the bay area. Run by some very nice folks. No shady anything, so far as I can tell.
tombrossman 6y ago
> I considered filing a complaint with the police department, but I'm skeptical anything would have come of it. Your instincts are correct, it is a waste of time. If the matter is serious enough, hire a lawyer and get a judgement against the officer or department. For everything else, let it go. I had my car stolen a while ago. The police found it abandoned midweek, and had it towed to an impound lot. Then they waited until 4:45pm on Friday to tell me. The impound lot was an hour away, so I had to wait until Monday to get my car back. I also had to pay the tow lot for towing and storage of my stolen car for all the extra days.
- mring33621 6y ago
  Welcome to Chicago!
  - shigawire 6y ago
    Then you have to venture to the mythical underworld of Lower Lower Wacker to get it back.
greendestiny_re 6y ago
I always file complaints against police officers; they hinder their promotion options and in aggregate may help other citizens dispute their reports and accusations.
- smegger001 6y ago
  unfortunately do to police unions most complaints are dropped from an officers file after 6 months in many locals.

vkou 6y ago

> 1) Hopefully whoever "played" will learn a lesson not to again. In the case of police misconduct, the only person learning a lesson is typically the person filing the complaint. People only tend to act so brazenly when they know that there will be no consequences, and their department will have their back. At best, your complaints will be ignored, at worst, you may face further retaliation.

underdeserver 6y ago

I applaud you, but you're swatting flies. Even if that one officer won't do it again for a year or two, the rest of them will.

wolco2 6y ago
A year of people not getting shafted is an amazing achievement. Multiple by 100 you have a cultural shift.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]