Imagine This..

The Roadside Assistance Nightmare: A Cautionary Tale

It’s a scorching 96°F outside, and you’re driving home on the highway, eager to escape the heat. Suddenly, your car starts wobbling. You pull over onto the shoulder and hop out to investigate, only to discover your tire has a hole. What now? you think. Fortunately, you have roadside assistance through your auto insurance provider—the same provider you’ve been loyal to for over 20 years. Despite minor grievances like a declined claim here or there, you’ve never switched.

You call roadside assistance, confident they’ll get you back on the road in no time. Within minutes, a tow truck arrives to replace your flat with a spare. The driver rolls his jack under your car and starts lifting it. As you wait, you notice your car swaying slightly in the breeze. That’s odd, but it should be fine, you reassure yourself. Moments later, the tire is replaced, and the driver lowers the jack.

But something doesn’t sit right. On the jack is a strange piece of hardware—clearly from your car.

“Why is this here?” you ask the driver, alarmed.

“I’m not sure,” he replies, unfazed, as he walks back to his truck.

You open your car door to take a closer look. That’s when you notice something even worse: the floorboard inside your car has been pushed up significantly. Panic sets in as you realize the tow truck driver jacked up your car under the frame instead of the designated metal plate.

“WHAT IN THE [BLEEP]!” you yell, pointing out the damage to the driver. He calls his boss and assures you they will take full responsibility. Reluctantly, you decide to trust the process and notify your insurance company—the same company that dispatched this tow service.

Your insurance outlines your options: you can either file a claim through the tow company or handle it directly with them. Since you have rental car coverage and have been with this insurer for decades, you opt to file through them. Deductibles are waived, and you’re hopeful the situation will be resolved quickly.

Then, the bad news drops: your car is declared a total loss.

From here, the nightmare spirals. Your insurance company, the one you’ve trusted for 20+ years, begins ignoring your calls and emails. They withhold key documents, proceed with a settlement offer you explicitly declined, and ultimately leave you stranded—both figuratively and literally. For the first time in 23 years, you are without a vehicle.

Frustrated, you cancel your policy. After all, why pay for insurance on a car you no longer have? You even turn in your tags to ensure everything is in order. Two months later, feeling the pressure of being carless, you purchase a used vehicle. It’s not long before you discover the dealership committed fraud, passing the car through inspection despite major issues like a bad catalytic converter and suspension problems.

Now you’re stuck with a car that needs thousands of dollars in repairs—and the financial hits don’t stop there. When you start shopping for insurance, you’re floored by the quotes. One company offers you a premium that’s 400% higher than what you were paying before. Even your old insurer—the one you had stuck with for decades—quotes you $400 more per month than your previous rate.

Confused and frustrated, you dig into the reasons for the massive rate hike. That’s when you learn your old insurance company reported your policy as “lapsed” because you canceled it. This, despite the fact that you turned in your tags the day before canceling. They claim the lapse and your now-shortened history with them are the main factors driving up your premium.

The irony is not lost on you: all of this started because you called roadside assistance for help. Now, you’re paying triple the insurance premium, stuck with a car that needs extensive repairs, and dealing with a high car payment on an unsafe vehicle.

And it’s the holidays—a time that should be joyous, but instead feels overwhelming.

The lesson here? Sometimes the help you think you’re paying for turns out to be anything but. Imagine going from loyal customer to financially burdened, all because of one call for roadside assistance.

It’s a nightmare you wouldn’t wish on anyone. Sadly, this is my reality.