A LESSON LEARNED THE HARD WAY

This is the most difficult blog entry to write because quite frankly, it is without question, the very hardest thing to bear! . My Ford Focus ZX3# was involved in a traffic accident on Halloween night, on my 7th anniversary of being with my John. The foolish woman was on her cell phone and made an illegal left hand turn in front of me turning on to a busy street which had no signal. The street was filled with kids who were going trick or treat. She was rushing to pick up her two year old child from a private home caregiver. As it turns out, she lied to the policeman who was on the scene maintaining that she was currently insured (and he believed her-- even with an expired certificate of insurance.) False to both! On top of that the agent who sold me my policy went out of business taking my renewal check (which had an order for all the upgrades I had ordered), cashing it and not turning it into the insurance company--all he managed to turn in was basic liability (and pocketing the difference) so as to not alert the DMV or Ford Motor Company who is doing the financing. He did this to thirty-seven other victims because he was bailing in his failed insurance business. There is now a warrant out for his arrest! So now, I face $5,000 to repair the car like new with a six months parts and labor warranty. The only good thing is that the loss will give me back a 100% refund on my taxes. The lesson? NEVER trust an independent insurance agent again. If that agent insists on one making the check to the agency itself-- RUN!-- get the hell out of there. Because the man sold all kind of insurance under the business name of SOHO CAPITAL -- not just policies for Auto, the Auto Insurance company claims it could have been for any kind of OTHER insurance. Of course, I will go to Small Claims Court and I have filed a DMV report-- but even if I get a judgement against her, if she pays everything by cash without a checking account, I may be out of luck! This person needs only to move away to escape a judgement. If she's only living with the father of the baby and not working or working "under the table" there is absolutely nothing to attach. We will pursue to the fullest part of the law-- so say a prayer. The auto body shop is working on financing with me. I even went to the state insurance commissioner and he says the same-- I could have bought anything from this man-- including office equipment he was selling. He moved out of the building twenty-two days after "renewing" my policy. Another lesson-- if it even LOOKS like a business is in trouble (not open regular hours etc) RUN AWAY! since I paid two months ahead, the first deduction from my checking account was not scheduled to happen until November 6th-- the accident happened on Halloween night! TRUST but VERIFY everything is the big bitter lesson I have learned here. I even went to a lawyer and he wanted $3700 up front. The chances of making all of my money back with that liability added is pretty damn bleak! Especially if she's uninsured and unemployed! But I am going to to even report this to child endangerment services-- driving a baby around in an unprotected car is a big jeopardy to a child's life! Make certain also that all levels of insurance are enough to protect you. The last time I was ever in an accident that was my fault was in 1972 when I was eighteen years old! I'm fifty-nine now. The only ticket I have ever gotten was back in December of 1979! That's twenty-five years ago! So live and learn and trust only AFTER you have verified whom you're dealing with. God certainly protected my life that night. There should not have been any way that I walked away from that accident! I was looking over the car today and noticed that the air bags had failed to inflate-- which is what I remembered at the accident scene. I need every body's prayers that I make it through this challenge!