State Farm CEO Ed Rust, Jr & Jairon L Wills of State Farm Headquarters Public Affairs in Bloomington, IL have been sending out an email to STRANGERS with my MINOR DAUGHTERS' FULL NAMES prominently featured on the first page.
I was sent a copy of the email by a supporter, and was HARRASSED by another NY man who had received the email. That particular nutcase has sent me foul, insulting messages, and stated: "I declare my war on you, Angela".
What kind of Company is State Farm???? The CEO & PR people are sending out kids' names with complete disregard to their safety & privacy!
This is the latest happening in our horrible experience with State Farm. What will they do next? Send out directions to where we live?????
Here is a History of my familt's experience with State Farm:
My home in Cahaba Heights (Birmingham, AL) was destroyed by Fire in 2005. I was away, caring for my Mom in FL, who was terminally ill, and my young girls. On Feb 24th, 2005 I got a phone call....There had been a fire, and my husband, the girls Dad, had died. We contacted State Farm, our Insurer, and notified them of the tragedy.
Instead of quickly adjusting the loss, by rebuilding our home, paying for another temporary home, and paying for our personal property, AS PROMISED IN OUR POLICY, State Farm weaseled out of rebuilding my home and took actions to make sure I was destroyed mentally, emotionally, psychologically, and financially.
State Farm employee, Fred Williams, started vicious rumors about me at my business, at my husbands business, and to friends and neighbors. The rumors he started with his insensitive implications resulted in threats on my life. I became afraid for my safety, and my daughters' safety.
I lived in fear that year, and the next, having nightmares caused by the horrible rumors that State Farm had propagated. I woke up many nights from nightmares that I had killed someone, or that I was being blamed for killing someone. I later learned that Fred Williams was an ex FBI agent. Maybe that explains why he treated me like a criminal, rather than a good customer who had just suffered a horrific tragedy.
Fred Williams asked me in April 2005, to come to Bimingham to make a "Sworn Statement Under Oath". I asked him, "When do you want me to be there?" & he said "Whenever. Just let me know whenever you will be in town. You don't have to come here just for this." He refused to give me a date or appointment at that time. He never told me that it would delay our claim. Later, State Farm claimed that *I* did not cooperate.
He was very cunning. He told me in April & August, 2005 (more than once) to NOT fill out a Proof of Loss about rebuilding the house. He said: "Just give us an estimate to rebuild it", which I did. Little did I know that later, State Farm would claim that I never asked them to rebuild the house.
At the time, I was naive and trusted State Farm, and did what Fred Williams told me to do. What a huge mistake. It's obvious in retrospect that he set it up that way from the start in order for State Farm to save money by NOT rebuilding my house.
Fred Williams yelled at me on the phone when I called and asked them to honor the policy they sold me. Not only was he not helpful, he was mean and abusive. I called State Farm and complained but was still forced to deal with him.
Fred Williams also refused to answer questions on how to make the claim and fill out State Farm's Inventory and Proof of Loss forms. (I had never made any kind of insurance claim before this)
Again and again, I have seen that Fred Williams intentionally misled me, or was unhelpful in order to be able to claim later that "I did not cooperate" with State Farm.
These are just a few examples of how the powerful and experienced State Farm effortlessly orchestrated the events. State Farm used deception and intimidation, invoking fear and despair, all in their efforts to deter me from making a claim. Their actions were carefully calculated so they would later be able to shift the blame on me.
It was a smooth, sophisticated performance by State Farm. After all, State Farm has years of experience manipulating the customer, then shifting the blame, all in order to avoid paying.
I had never made any kind of insurance claim before, not even a car accident, and have never since.
I was not able to be present in Birmingham to operate my business, and we suffered financially due to State Farm's failure to pay for another temporary home or "additional living expenses". I lost my business, and ONLY source of income to support myself and my children as a result of State Farm's actions, and failure to perform as promised.
State Farm never repaired my home. Eventually, the roof fell in due to the extensive fire damage. My young daughters and I had to live in a condemned house in 2006. There were holes in the walls and floors and animals came in at night. State Farm was aware of that fact, but did NOTHING for us.
(Please see the PHOTOS on my website "state Farm Sucks" of the condemned house where we lived in 2006, after State Farm failed to honor the policy they sold us.)
Later, in a phone call, Mr Williams' supervisor, Lloyd Renfrow, privately confessed to me the REAL reason they didn't pay. He whispered into the phone,"WHY hasn't your lawyer sent a final demand letter?" He said that my lawyer wasn't doing enough for me, and that they knew he had a conflict of interest all along. In other words, he was telling me that State Farm was taking advantage of us simply because they saw the opportunity to do so.
It wasn't even my lawyer, it was my husband's Estate's lawyer. I was unrepresented, and told State Farm so, not realizing that it made my daughters and I unprotected lambs for the Predator State Farm to take advantage of. I had asked State Farm if making an insurance claim required a lawyer, and they said no.
I have my phone records. They show over 80 calls to State Farm, (that's OVER EIGHTY CALLS TO STATE FARM!!!!), not even including the calls to and from Fred William's cell phone. It should be apparent to anyone that I was frantically trying to get State Farm to DO THEIR JOB, as promised in my policy. Fred Williams actually claimed, later on, that I was "hard to get hold of".
Is calling State Farm 80 times being "hard to get hold of "? Do State Farm, Fred Williams, and Lloyd Renfrow *really* expect anyone to believe that I called "just to talk about the weather" over 80 times? What pathetic liars.
It's been over four years now, and State Farm is still lying, shifting blame, & trying to weasel out on technicalities that are unrelated to the validity of our claim.
(BTW, State Farm has conceded that it was a valid claim)
They now claim I caused delays that, in actuality, *they* intentionally caused. They told me I didn't need a lawyer. Now I know why. They were delighted that I had little to no guidance or advice.
State Farm intentionally gave the Probate Court false statements & misleading information, thus causing delays in Probate. It cost me over $8,000. to attempt to straighten out the mess created by State Farm's false statements. I eventually had to give up trying, as we were homeless by then, and were forced to live in a condemned house.
More recently, I have been forced to spend thousands of dollars I can't afford traveling to depositions given by State Farm, again and again, in which a huge table full of lawyers grilled me for 14 hours, day after day.
State Farm has dragged me over the coals to get rid of me. I'm not going away. I want everyone to know what an evil, opportunistic predator State Farm really is.
We lost our husband & father, our house, & everything in it at once. I lost my Mom, & then my business. I became sick & depressed, and unable to function. State Farm took advantage of us at our worst moment, and I resent them for it. After all, the reason we buy insurance in the first place is so that we won't completely fall on our face after a tragedy or loss.
My policy promised to perform within 60 days. State Farm FAILED US miserably.
I never would have believed this could happen had this not happened to us. I was naive and trusting, and foolishly believed State Farm's advertising.
State Farm takes in BILLIONS of dollars annually, from TRUSTING customers, but then CHEATS THEIR CUSTOMERS out of their homes and property.
All of the years of hard work was wasted. The house that was in Jeff's family for 40 years, gone. The girls and I have been forced to start over again with nothing.
Ironically, we (the consumers) buy Insurance to save us from being totally destroyed by a major loss like this.
It's outrageous that State Farm made the experience even WORSE instead of helping. I still have not recovered completely from their actions.
FULL STORY at "State Farm Sucks" or google "State Farm" & "Angela Russell" or @STATEFARM_SUCKS
txsjewels
sugar land,#2General Comment
Tue, August 28, 2012
Your story is missing some details, so please clarify: Was your husband's death caused by the fire in Feb. 2005 or had he already passed at the time of the fire? If he was deceased, was State Farm notified within a timely manner of his passing PRIOR to the fire ? and if so, did the homeowners policy reflect that the home was owned by the estate and when was the insurance company informed of his passing?
I ask this because you are quick to blame State Farm for not upholding their contract. however, according to THEIR CONTRACT, they're promise is with the named insured. It sounds from the long, rambling complaint above that not only were you not the named insured, you possibly were not even his legal wife, and thereby had no ownership in the house, and thereby no right to the coverge. state farm was obligated to the estate. and until the estate attorney informed State Farm of their intention to rebuild the home or take a settlement, you did not have authority to demand them to rebuild the home.
Had you secured competent legal help, and informed ALL PARTIES of what was going on, things may have turned out very differently. i'm very sad to read that you were unable to get intelligent, solid and practical advice on how to deal with the tragic situation of being left without a home for your children. i have been a state farm policyholder for almost 30 years and have seen the company go above and beyond many times, including watching my agent help neighbors nail on plastic sheeting to their roofs and coordinate ice delivery --not just to clients, but to anyone who needed it after a hurricane. i am sorry that you choose to be so vocal online, yet refuse to take responsibility to secure a safe home while your children grieved the loss of their father. there are certainly many holes in your story.
i never did understand your claim that an email was sent to the public with your children's names. emails are to specific people. how is that public?
stikybudz
United States of America#3General Comment
Fri, April 27, 2012
i too had a total loss from a house fire and thank god no one was in the house at the time, but let me tell you a little story about the insurance adjuster who handled our case. my house burnt to the ground and had a total loss of everything and when the insurance adjuster came out with the fire inspector to figure out how the fire started, the two were off in the corner whispering to each other and when i came up to them to ask if they have found anything the insurance adjuster told me to leave them alone and they were on my effing property, i thought this was out of the ordinary so i left and a few days later our neighbors found us at a gas station in town and told us the insurance adjuster was trying to bribe our neighbors and the fire inspector to tell the police that it was started intentionally, so we got a lawyer after we heard this. That week that we heard of this incident our adjuster was on a vacation and would not be available for a couple of weeks.
Well when the 90 days went passed for the check to be in our hand our insurance adjuster was no where to be found so we made a police report and a few days later we had the FBI at our door taking over the case and about a week and a half after the FBI got involved they caught the guy with our insurance checks in Spokane Washington on his way to British Columbia to move out of the country, and needless to say we went to court we won our insurance settlement and some but because of agreements with the case I can not say who the insurance company was but I can say they were based out of Michigan.
So to rebuttle this comment about the person not believing the woman's story just think about it for a minute people are always looking for free money and ways to get out of paying. I think all insurance companies are scam artists so for now on we go on to rip off report to see if there are any reports on the companies that we will be dealing with.
Momof3
Atlanta,#4Consumer Comment
Wed, December 28, 2011
I am soooo sorry to hear about all the crises you and your children have been through recently. My heart goes out to you. Losing your home personal property and business because of a unpaid insurance claim is a unnecessary double whammy during the already stressful time of losing a family member. Sounds like they really stuck it to you. i really hope your family is well on it's way to recovering emotionaly and financialy.
I have had trouble getting an insurance company (its not State Farm) to pay on a significant claim that has put me and my three young girls in financial straits. We lost our home in Hurricane Katrina, have no family to help and are still staying with some very generous and loving folks from our new church community. We just can't seem to get aheda and years later we still live out of suitcases and boxes. In the grand scheme of things its not such a huge amount of money to a big insurance company but it is to us and would make a huge difference. I haven't had the nerve to make a report here about what happened to us yet.
I was wondering what the status is with your claim on this loss and if there is any chance you might still be reimbursed by the insurance company? Have you been able to get some semblence of your life back?
I guess I'm looking for some hope that it is possible to win in this situation and stop struggling.I sure hope so. I feel like I keep fighting for what is mine but am denied at every turn. Big busineses always seem to win over us "lil people".
Hugs to you and I'll be keeping your family in my prayers
Karl
Highlands Ranch,#5Consumer Comment
Tue, November 02, 2010
where it appears at 'Consumer Comment #26'.
Adult and child victims of the predator state farm
Hernando Beach,#6Author of original report
Tue, September 14, 2010
EastwoodWest
glendale,#7General Comment
Sun, September 05, 2010
I have read your numerous reports filed on this site. The problem I have is that they all contain the same information. You have stated that the information is public record, but I cannot find anything additional. I have found the newspaper article from the fire, but nothing else. I tried to look up the court records, but had no luck. To be honest it's shooting in the dark since I do not know what the venue is.
I have visited you website, but to be honest it's very amatuerish. I'm not trying to be insulting. I'm intrigued by your story, and I'd like to know all the facts before I make any judgement about who I believe. If you've truly been wronged, you'd have no problem with sharing the venue or index number from the suit.
Thank you for you're time.
Adult and child victims of the predator state farm
Hernando Beach,#8Author of original report
Sat, August 21, 2010
I have to agree with the above comment; I don't believe your story. If your husband passed away, I am sorry, but I cannot believe what you wrote. How an ex-FBI agent/Insurance Salesman somehow spreads rumors to your neighbors? And, making you feel like you killed someone?
Every sentence I wrote was carefully written, and has been tweaked & carefully edited over time for accuracy. The facts are in the public record.
If you will Google "State Farm Sucks", and look on my Website, you will find that I have just begun adding excerpts from the State Farm Depositions. I would post the WHOLE THING, but it would be a complete RAPE of my daughters' & my privacy.
If you read my story a bit more carefully, you will see that I never stated that the AGENT was EX-FBI. I said Fred Williams was EX-FBI, and that fact was taken straight from his own Deposition. His line of questioning to family, neighbors, friends, & my employees left them with the idea that he was investigating ME. I won't go into details here, because this may go to trial soon, but those Witnesses can repeat in the Trial what he said & asked, & can share the impressions that were left on them.
He & State Farm's Lawyers also made me relive all the details of the morning/day that my husband died (unnecessarily) several times, & forced me to submit my phone record details of all calls. It has been very painful reliving that day again & again, at their boardroom tables, in front of an audience.
He did all of this & more, knowing the cause of death, & that the Police & Coroner, & Fire Department NEVER thought for even one moment that I did anything wrong. Though I was 400 miles away, at the time of the fire (around 5am), & was notified of the fire & his death by the Coroner & a friend, he took it upon himself to cause me severe distress for months- so severe that I won't even attempt to describe here.
I won't even bother to go into material losses.
The Insurance Commissioner in your state in the BEST and sometimes ONLY way to fight against unfair insurance practices. Their ONLY job is to work for you, and try to beat the insurance companies any way they can.
Are you kidding? They were no help, & it was too late when State Farm's agenda came to light. The roof had fallen in. By then, we were living in a condemned house in FL, since State Farm dropped the ball.
Your story just has too much holes, and way too many unbelievable aspects. Honestly, this sounds like someone trying to get other people to complain (like the; I hate to say STUPID) commenter above. Some people will buy your story, and that's what it is, a story, but most of us will catch on to the smell of bull.
Yes, my story has "holes". It encompasses over 5 years now, & still, the story is very long for a web story. Even at the peak of readership, thus far, at over 1,000 readers a day (last year), the average time spent on that page was a little over 3 minutes. That's enough- more than I ever expected. I can't expect more.
I have been forced by State Farm to put myself out on this very public limb, but have not gone into greater detail on the website, in the name of "what privacy we have left" for myself & for my minor daughters.
I didn't create the "unbelievable aspects". Sometimes, life is just that way. Enough said there... like I said before, everything is in the public record, & MUCH MORE will be very soon.
If you take the time to Google "State Farm Sucks", you will see the beginning of my work publicizing our story. Even an idiot could see that too much work has been put into the "State Farm Sucks" Campaign to be simply a case of "someone trying to get other people to compain".
Don't bother to reply- I have already wasted too much time on you. I'm sure you always have "all the answers". ? Angela
Divo366
Kennesaw,#9Consumer Comment
Thu, July 22, 2010
I have to agree with the above comment; I don't believe your story. If your husband passed away, I am sorry, but I cannot believe what you wrote. How an ex-FBI agent/Insurance Salesman somehow spreads rumors to your neighbors? And, making you feel like you killed someone?
The Insurance Commissioner in your state in the BEST and sometimes ONLY way to fight against unfair insurance practices. Their ONLY job is to work for you, and try to beat the insurance companies any way they can.
Your story just has too much holes, and way too many unbelievable aspects. Honestly, this sounds like someone trying to get other people to complain (like the; I hate to say STUPID) commenter above. Some people will buy your story, and that's what it is, a story, but most of us will catch on to the smell of bull.
cant believe this is the WHOLE stor
Hanahan,#10Consumer Suggestion
Sat, July 03, 2010
First let me say that I am sorry for the loss of your husband. Am not clear from your report whether that was due to the fire or not.
Second let me say that your account of the handling of your claim sounds SO Unbelievable that I do not believe it. It seems to me that there is way more to this story than what has been told.
Third, and most importantly, I would have to wonder, Why in ALL of this, you simply did not pick up the telephone and call your States Insurance Commissioners Office. I mean, didn't at SOME point through ALL of this "common sense" EVER prevail? Where were ANY of your "friends" that NO ONE suggested this option to you? I can certainly understand that you were going through an extremely emotional and traumatic time and that early on it didn't occur to you to contact your Insurance Commissioner but certainly a friend would have thought to suggest it.
You managed to set up web sites and set up an account to post this complaint on this website but NEVER contacted the ONE Entity that could ACTUALLY HELP you!! Why is that? Sorry, I am just not buying your story, but, as I said, I am sorry for your loss.
Best of luck to you and your children.
Susan
Anchorage,#11General Comment
Mon, March 29, 2010
I sincerely hope you and your daughters are doing well now, having hired a competent, caring attorney that effectively used the law to force Snake Farm to pay you for your material losses. Most of all, I grieve with you for the loss of your husband. I can't imagine raising my two daughters without mine. We've been insured by Snake Farm for over 20 years, but after reading your story to my husband, he's promised to choose one of the companies, who's quotes I've given him the over the past month, within the next 7 days and transfer all our insurance policies away from the company known to be the 4th WORST INSURANCE COMPANY in the U.S. Snake Farm routinely rakes in over $60 BILLION in revenue each and every year, yet the way they treated their insureds in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was beyond despicable. It sounds as if it was all routine to them.