ComplaintsforAccuQuote, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  01/16/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have been called by this company 23 times to do a "policy review" with AAA. They claim to be AAA representatives but the number traces to this company, Accuquote. I do not have any business with Accuquote. They shouldn't even have that name considering none of my information was accurate in their system and I do NOT want a quote. If you're a representative from Accuquote reading this DO NOT CONTACT ME FURTHER. I have been asked to do a policy review over and over again with no stop to the calls and harassment. They state that I am "burdening" my family by not taking out further coverage and leave threatening voicemails that sound like they will be cancelling my coverage. TOO LATE! Ive canceled all my policies with AAA solely due to this company's continue malice. I was just trying to have an accidental death policy to accommodate my current coverage with other companies, companies I trust much more than AAA at this point. I will inform my friends at the eagle Lodge about this and hope to stop their harassing calls as well. Something needs to be done about Accuquote and I hope the BBB can help

  

  Business response

  02/12/2024

  *************, we appreciate you voicing your concerns.  Unfortunately, we are unable to locate any communication attempts to you at the phone number, email address or name provided with this report.  To comply with your request,we did add the phone number you provided to our Do Not Call list.  If you have other contact information that we may be reaching you at, you can connect with us directly via email at *********************************** so we may look into this further and ensure your concerns are addressed. Best Regards, ************

• Initial Complaint

  07/05/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I applied to get life insurance with them in November of 2022 and it still is not completed. I was trying to change some insurance prior to the age of 60 and now since my birthday has come and past it will be more expensive to check with another company. I have to email, and or call them but continue to get the "run around" about them working with ********** to complete my policy. I have used Accuquote for over 10 years and I shouldn't be treated like this.

  

  Business response

  08/17/2023

  See Attachment

• Initial Complaint

  11/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Receive no less than eight calls per day from a Robo dialer. When the calls are answered an AI will use voice prompts. You are unable to stop these calls. There is no option. When you finally get someone and asked to be removed they are rude. *** tried to get this to stop, but the calls keep coming. My next step is to file a complaint with the attorney generals office, as well as in civil court for a remedy.

• Initial Complaint

  09/09/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I began receiving calls from a specific "spoofed" number that cannot be called back on 4/26 (8 total before the below calls). I would answer & sometimes no one would be on the line, other times I would be told that they were with "Senior ********** ************** or "American Benefits." Some calls would start with a silent pause & then a "boop" sound before someone came on the line, other times it would be a pre-recorded message from "***** with American Benefits." I answered one call on 6/24 where there was a silent pause, boop sound, & then the prerecorded "*****" message that asks you a few questions. I played along & the recording said that his records showed that I qualified for final expense insurance. I was put on hold for ~3 minutes & then sent to "****, a verification officer." **** asked some additional questions & then said that he would be transferring me to a licensed agent, but the line disconnected when he tried. I received a callback shortly after from a different number & was apologized to, told that they were having technical difficulties, & the line disconnected again. I received another call from this same new number shortly after from **** & apologized again. He again said he would transfer me but was unable to do so. I was told that he would need to call me back, so I asked what company it is he was trying to transfer me to. I was given an answer that went on for about a minute and made a few excuses for why he couldn't/wouldn't tell me. **** called me back from that same new number about 5 minutes later and was able to transfer me to ****** with the Final Expense Network (she also said she was with AccuQuote later in the call). The line ended up disconnecting again and I received a callback from an 800 number affiliated with AccuQuote. AccuQuote has said that they didn't make the ************ were not made on their behalf. I'm not sure how that can be true if the leads are being transferred to *********** are likely paying to get said leads.

  

  Business response

  09/12/2022

  Dear BBB:
  
  Thank you for the providing the opportunity to respond to ****************** misdirected complaint regarding unsolicited tele****eting calls to his cellphone number.  As we have previously informed ****************, AccuQuote is not the company who is calling him nor have we authorized any company or person to call him on our behalf.  Please note:  the number that he has provided the BBB as the telephone number for AccuQuote is not a telephone number that belongs to AccuQuote or has ever been used by AccuQuote.  We have no numbers or offices in the 317 area code.
  
  Attached and reproduced below (with ****************** telephone number and email address redacted) is ****************** initial email to AccuQuote and AccuQuotes response:
  ===========
  

  Dear ****************:
  
  I am AccuQuotes data privacy officer ***************************************** and General Counsel, so I received your emails below twice. In your emails, you list and describe 19 telephone calls about which you have stated your belief were made by AccuQuote, or on AccuQuotes behalf.
  
  Except for Call #5 in your list, none of the calls you listed were made by AccuQuote or on AccuQuotes behalf. AccuQuote is located in ********, ******** and our telephone numbers either have our 847 area code or use one of our toll-free 800 numbers as shown in #5 on your list [also listed on www.accuquote.com ]. The area codes listed in your email appear to be for the ******, ** or ***** areas and are not AccuQuote telephone numbers.
  
  Our company does not call any consumer unless they have first contacted us to request an insurance quote and provided their express permission for us to call. AccuQuote also does not contract with or authorize any third party to conduct tele****eting campaigns on our behalf, nor do we ever make any calls using an automated pre-recorded message. Our agents time is valuable and we would not waste their valuable time by pestering consumers who are not actively looking to buy insurance they simply would not be interested. As required by law, we record all calls [including calls where the customer has called us or is transferred to us] and maintain records of each customers consent to be called where and when applicable, including online visual records of the customers submission of an online request for a quote [using the industry leading Jornayas LeadiD solution (see https://***************/the-data/leadid/ )].
  
  According to our records, you were transferred to our companys Final Expense Network telephone number [see also https://www.finalexpensenetwork.com ] where you were connected with one of our licensed agents. I have listened to the recording of that call. You were polite and made no indication to agent ****** that you were doing anything other than calling to inquire about final expense life insurance. At about the three minute **** in the call, it appears the call was cut off [with a bloop noise] and ****** dialed your number back to see if you wished to continue your inquiry. Since you did not answer ******* return call, we ****ed your contact entry as no longer interested. After receiving your emails, we have also added your name and telephone number to our internal Do-Not-Call list.
  
  We have also reached out to the company [ https://brokercalls.com/ ] that transferred you to us and requested that they also update their records to add you to their own internal do-not-call list.
  
  Unfortunately, Brokercalls and the companies that called you are not owned or controlled by AccuQuote, so we do not have the power to stop them from calling you. If you were to reach out to Brokercalls directly, they may be able to assist you in getting the callers in your list to stop calling you.
  
  Regards,
  
  *************************** General Counsel AccuQuote, Inc.
  AccuQuote
  Saving You Money for ********************* tips and advice: visit our blog, follow us
  on Twitter or visit us on Facebook

  Customer response

  09/14/2022

   
  Complaint: 18003459
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  
  

  It sounds like part of the issue here is our difference in the definition of on behalf of, probably because it strongly implies responsibility for the calls that I believe have violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The call center owner has stated that he was hired and has been paid to make the calls and transfer them to AccuQuote upon the qualification of the lead. That seems to me to be the definition of on behalf of. The fact is that I received several calls, I was able to be transferred to an AccuQuote agent, then an 800 number that AccuQuote seems to own and admit to owning called me back after the call was disconnected.Somehow AccuQuote is not the company who is calling him, and yet they also tell me in the email they provided that According to our records, you were transferred to our companys Final Expense Network telephone number () where you were connected with one of our licensed agents. An implicit agency relationship was established when AccuQuote accepted the benefits of the illegal callsa legal concept called ratification. They cannot absolve themselves of liability for illegal communications on the grounds that you just receive referrals/inbound phone calls, buy leads from a third-party marketing firm,and/or didnt call me directly (though AccuQuote did call me directly from their 800 number). The *** adamantly disagrees with the notion that simply hiring someone else to break the law for you absolves you of responsibility, even if you allege that you were unaware that they were engaging in illegal marketing efforts.You are ultimately responsible for the actions of the telemarketers with whom you contract, and multiple courts have held to this effect.

  
  

  AccuQuote is not the company who is calling him nor have we authorized any company or person to call him on our behalf.This seems to imply that the call center made these calls for free, or they are claiming that they didnt specifically authorize the calls placed to me. If the call center is calling for free, that seems like a terrible business model and one that has been rejected by the call centers owner himself. In fact, the middleman in this (BrokerCalls) has said in writing that they paid the call center to make the calls for AccuQuote while also denying the blame. If they didnt authorize the calls, I do wonder which calls made by this call center were authorizedby AccuQuote. The calls to me went on for months, so it seems reasonable to think that there were plenty of leads transferred to AccuQuote. How long did they benefit from the use of a pre-recorded message being used by a company not using its real name? Why werent they monitoring the calls being made by this call center, as they have every right to do? If they were monitoring them, was this not caught and stopped because they did not monitor well enough, or because they support the actions?

  
  

  the number that he has provided the BBB as the telephone number for AccuQuote is not a telephone number that belongs to AccuQuote or has ever been used by AccuQuote. The number does not belong to AccuQuote, I never said that it did, and that is a problem as I believe the number is required under the **** to show who it is associated with on a caller ID. The number is spoofed, likely illegally so, and thus does not appear with any information on a caller ID and it cannot be called back. The area codes on the set of calls that brought me to an AccuQuote agent were 940 and 857. There has been no dispute that I received said calls and was eventually transferred to an AccuQuote agent. This means that it is ultimately AccuQuote that would benefit from the calls and they are therefore responsible for said calls.

  
  

  I understand why AccuQuote wouldnt *want* to take responsibility for the calls that they hired someone to make for them. I have received a total of 58 calls from the 940 number that initiated the call transfer, the 857 number that transferred me, and a few other numbers that played the exact same recorded message that played on the call that initiated the call transfer. If I received that many calls, how many others have also been inundated with them and may not realize who is paying for the calls?  A ****** search shows that plenty of other people have reported the same recording that played before I was ultimately transferred to AccuQuote. AccuQuote seems to want me to deal with the vendor they hired rather than doing that themselves. My issue is directly with AccuQuote.It sounds like AccuQuote may have an issue with their vendor(s) and they should be the ones reaching out to said vendor(s), not me.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩