Choosing just the right auto insurance company isn't always easy. A woman new to the city thought she picked right. It turned out wrong for her and for the insurance company.
Fabiola Davenport shopped around before choosing A-MAX Auto Insurance. She liked that it marketed to Hispanics. The agents speak Spanish, her native language.
"We went and opened the policy and everything. We opened my policy December 13 and they treated me very well the two women that attended to me," Davenport said.
Davenport was instructed to make her next payment in January and she did. She got in return what she thought was a receipt.
"A week later I got a call that my insurance was going to be cancelled and I asked why," Davenport said. "I went straight to the insurance and the lady told me it's not true and everything was fine."
Nonetheless her policy was cancelled for non-payment in January.
According to an A-MAX insurance executive two employees were allegedly stealing money from the company including Davenport's payments.
"Basically was the way it was alerted to us is that A-MAX approached us and told us that two employees were stealing from them," Lieutenant Ray Mendoza with Lubbock Police Department explained. "The method was they would take a customers payment and they would never credit them and they would take the money themselves."
"Conversion that's where the employee retains customer premiums and they issue them fraudulent documents be it the insurance coverage documents or some form of proof of insurance not real documents that fools the person thinking they have insurance coverage when they don't have coverage," Greg Linder president and CEO of Better Business Bureau of the South Plains said.
Nash Hariyani, the marketing and communications manager, for A-MAX said the company has taken action and audited potential victims of the embezzlement.
Davenport said she was never informed and was told to pay up or she would be cancelled.
"He said no well it's going to be cancelled, fill out this paper. So we filled out the paper and he tells me he'll call the corporation. He said he would see if we qualify to reopen our policy but we're going to have to pay. That the only thing he could do is get and put a discount so I could open up my account again," Davenport described.
Davenport says she wasn't offered any refund for her lost funds. Hariyani assured he would look into her situation.
If you are an A-MAX client and believe you too have been victimized file a report with company and LPD.
"If they believe they've been a victim of a crime then they need to notify us and we'll take over. We also recommend they alert A-MAX to maybe start the process of getting credited," Mendoza said.
To avoid this risk if you're in the market for auto insurance Linder has these recommendations.
"As soon as they type your information in, determine whether or not they're going to insure you. If they're you hand them the money and they hand you back an ID card that will have the policy number and what not on it. You should have a copy of your policy given to you," Linder said. "A lot of companies now a days have online access. Set up online access. If nothing else as a way to double check that your payments are being applied like you think they are and that your policy is still enforced."
No arrests have been made yet in the case.
