Smart Step Insurance reviews and complaints

The Law Firm of Salehi & Associates, P.C., has been retained regarding filing a class action lawsuit against Bank of America and Intersections Inc., dba Smart-Step Protector Insurance. Our clients, upon opening Bank of America accounts, received letters from Smart-Step stating that they had enrolled in Smart-Step insurance policy. Accordingly, Salehi & Associates has been investigating and confirming the following allegations against Bank of America and Smart-Step:

1. Bank of America improperly divulged its customers’ personal information to third-parties (including Smart-Step and Intersections, Inc.); and/or
2. Smart-Step improperly obtained the confidential information in violation of California and Vermont state privacy laws; and/or
3. After Smart-Step obtained such confidential information, its agents directly or indirectly contacted Bank of America account holders via telemarketers and solicited them to purchase accidental death insurance; and/or
4. Bank of America and/or Smart-Step thereafter withdrew funds directly from Bank of America customer accounts, on a monthly basis, without the proper consent of these customers.

Salehi & Associates, in its continuing discovery of this case is greatly interested in any information or assistance that Bank of America account holders and/or Smart-Step insureds may have, specifically from residents of the State of Vermont or California where there are strict privacy laws. We may be reached at [protected], or for more information please visit our site at www.salehiclassaction.com. Thank you very much for your time and attention.

The law firm of Salehi & Associates was recently retained by a client who, upon opening a Bank of America account, received a letter from Smart-Step Protector Insurance claiming that he had enrolled in one of Smart-Step's insurance policies. Salehi & Associates is investigating allegations that Bank of America improperly divulged personal information to third parties and/or that Smart-Step improperly obtained said information. We are currently looking into this matter, and are interested in any information or assistance that other Bank of America account holders would be able to provide. Please visit our site at www.salehiclassaction.com for further details on how to contact us. Thank you very much for your time and attention.

We received a check for $15.00 in the mail from Intersections Insurance Services Inc. with no explanatory letter, nothing else. I did a quick google search because I don't trust money for nothing. Glad I did! We have not received any telemarketing calls that I or my husband recall. We are, however, BoA customers. We will be watching our account closely, but I suspect their "process" for enrolling people in this bogus insurance plan has evolved.

I suspect they sent us mail under separate cover offering some supplemental insurance plan. Somewhere in the fine print it probably said something to the effect ... "we'll even discount your first premium and pay it for you." Then they send the check later, and if you cash it... BINGO, they have your account info and you supposedly AGREED to this insurance by accepting the check.

DO NOT CASH ANY CHECK RECEIVED FROM INTERSECTIONS INSURANCE SERVICES unless you want to enroll in some semi-legitimate supplemental insurance and pay $20-$40 bucks a month directly withdrawn from your checking! I hate businesses like this that skirt the edges of the law to bilk people!

I've been billed for several months as well. Well today I called to cancel and demanded to see a copy of the policy and signature card. They are going to send this to me in the mail (which will ironically will take 5-10 business days). I need to see who's signature is on this policy before taking any legal action.

this company is really getting on my nerves, they send me letters with bank of americas name on it, they call me sometime twice a day, and wont take no for an answer. i told them no dont send me one thing i dont want this policy but they refuse to let it go. I ve been getting calls almost everyday and everytime i say no. what can I do to stop this solicitation?

I always check my bank statements to make sure that our charges match our purchases, like everyone should. One day I noticed a $40 charge from "Smart Step Insurance" taken from our Bank of America account under my husband's name (with whom I share the account) and the charge had been made using our checking account routing number, not a debit card. This caught my attention, because if it were a check written by one of us, it would show a copy of the deposited check. I called my husband and at first he didn't recognize the name of the vendor, so I called Bank of America to dispute the charge. They could not find a phone number with the vendor, so they googled it while they were on the phone with me...and pulled up [redacted]s! I put a dispute on the charge, got off the phone, and then googled it myself and this it what I found.

Smart Step Insurance is an accidental death insurance policy that is solicited by Intersections Insurance Services Inc., a company in Illinois (underneath Bank of America), so people with Bank of America accounts are the most common victims. They phone solicit and "get approval" for a 2 month free trial membership that you must cancel or they begin debiting your account automatically. The supposedly then mail you information that says all this, but I never received it. The charge per person is $20, but commonly if you are married, they will say they have "approved coverage for you and spouse", so you will see a $40 charge, like we did.

I called my husband, explained what I had discovered, and he said he did remember them calling about two months earlier and he had agreed to read some information on their offer if they would mail him some. He NEVER agreed for the free trial or coverage, and never gave them any of our billing information. THEY GOT THAT ON THEIR OWN (probably through Bank of America) and began billing us without authorization! After finally tracking down a number for them, I called and demanded a refund and cancelation. They told me that they must speak to my husband, since they originally talked to him. He called and finally got a promise of a refund and cancelation, after being solicited for about 10 minutes to keep the policy that he never signed up for in the first place! This all happened yesterday, so we will see if it happens in a timely manner.

Stick to your guns and fight for your refund. They probably did call you and speak to someone or they wouldn't be charging your account, so make them mail you a copy of their recorded conversation or show you proof!

My bank of america checking account has been charged 16 times.Since from 6 months i am complaining to bank of america they told me at the begginning they are nice people they credit your account three months later i checked my account and i has charged again then i called them they said we will credit your account and i called to bank of america to stop them.five days later they charged my account again i called to bank of america they said we can dispute this charge but we are not responsible for other charges then i called to smart step and they told me you are not in our record we can do anything. I am going to see a lowyer this week i will spent times more what they charged me but i will get my money back.They should rob the banks but stop harassing us. they understand if they rob banks they can not make that much money to charge millions peoples accounts. sayed

We are having the same problem with this company. My husband asked our local Bank of America, they told him they couldn't do anything about it, but gave us a phone number. I called and reported we don't remember accepting to buy this insurance and never received a policy for this insurance. The second payment was taken out of our checking account today. Will making a stop payment be enougth or do we need to change our checking account?

Diane Mackler

Hi Marjorie, you can call them, I'm not sure how responsive they will be since all I've seen is negative reviews and complaints. I think it is a horrible company and not very nice people, but I hope you will be able to get through to them.
Their number is [protected]. I just called them but they were not very helpful and I had to call BOA to do a stop payment. Good luck to you.

Leonor

I need to know how to take care of this problem myself as this same company, if it it indeed a company, has taken for several months money from my Bank Of America account. I have dealt with the bank now how do I deal with them. Any help on where to turn will be appreciated.
Marjorie Brennan

I agree with the fact that this bank and their affiliates ARE attempting to conduct insurance business in a way that is unscrupulous. I tried to get our money returned and was told by several reps that they were either sending us paperwork in the mail or a tape in the mail - to no avail. (3different times) They are getting rich taking money from people - one person at a time but with an organized plan. Why does a bank stoop to such tatics to do business? If they had upstanding business practices and were going to sell insurance over the phone, they should at least require a signature to validate. They could be speaking to anyone on that phone.

I am not disputing that the insurance is ligitimate; that, I don't know because right now we STILL do not have any paperwork as the the validity content of the insurance plan; not one piece of paper. We only have charges to our account. Supposedly, (they say) my husband agreed to it but I told them my husband was under heavy medication at the time they mentioned including several months prior. They said they spoke to him on the phone but he had no real knowledge or recollection of telling them he wanted the insurance. I told them I wanted our money back because of his condition and besides that...we don't even need this insurance adn don't want it. From that point I just got their seemingly orchestrated responses. I just ended up closing my account. The only difference between Bank of America and the crooks running the streets is, Bank of America has a license and a STEALING PLAN that you can't fight. I could go on and on but what's the use - they will run this scam until they run out and they will start another. Why would I select to do business with Bank of America? I won't!

The person with comments about being stupid appears to have a problem. I hope you didn't really need to use it because that means YOUR STUPID ATTITUDE along with you are DEAD or some missing body part. The person that commented about people being ###ed must work for them.

your all stupid i swear boa should tell there ###ed costumers that they will i repet will be called by telemarketers u bank with any big bank you will duh stupids and just to let you no smart step not a scam i happen to like it and its beneficial to me thats what i pay for number 1 you have to say yes to the people calling you its recorded dumb ### and guess what its recorded because of people like you who are dumb and try filling fraud charges. guess what so when you call boa and tell them this line of bull ### you say scam they lissen to that tape and thats why you dont get your money back.. hahahaha stupidity is the key term for you people.

I have had to deal with the same mess! But I did tell them I would try it for 90 days for free! After I got the information in the mail, I did not like what it was offering and sent in the cancel form. One month later, $40.00
was taken out of my account! This over drew my account. I called and was told I would have to wait tell it was paid until I could file a dispute! The payment had posted, but had not been paid yet. Bank of America would not stop the payment! So now that it has been paid, I can fight to get it back! Bank of America said it could not stop the payment even though it had not been paid yet. So I guess what they are saying is they can't stop there own computer from making payments! Thats scary! I will come back and give an update when I have more info.

I noticed an unauthorized charge from them earlier this year. Called BofA and they said they could do nothing. They gave me an 800 number to call. A young girl at Smart Step said she will investigate and contact me within a week. Never heard from her again. Went into a BofA branch. They wouldn't help. I cancelled all my accounts right then. Filed a claim with Better Business Bureau. Got a reply within 2 weeks and a refund check within a month. Such a hassle! I hate Bank of America and will never bank with them again.

Smart Stem and SCAM OF AMERICA. They did the same thing to us! The bank has been trained to say they can only go back 60 days. How can a bank give anyone access to your account unless you give the number to the scammer yourself. Must be one of the reason bank of America is doing better than most because they have Smart Step scamming and I am sure the bank gets a % of the scam. I am going to post this on every news station that there is, they took over 400.00 from me. This is really wrong!

The Law Firm of Salehi & Associates, P.C., has been retained regarding filing a class action lawsuit against Bank of America and Intersections Inc., dba Smart-Step Protector Insurance. Our clients, upon opening Bank of America accounts, received letters from Smart-Step stating that they had enrolled in Smart-Step insurance policy. Accordingly, Salehi & Associates has been investigating and confirming the following allegations against Bank of America and Smart-Step:

1. Bank of America improperly divulged its customers’ personal information to third-parties (including Smart-Step and Intersections, Inc.); and/or
2. Smart-Step improperly obtained the confidential information in violation of California and Vermont state privacy laws; and/or
3. After Smart-Step obtained such confidential information, its agents directly or indirectly contacted Bank of America account holders via telemarketers and solicited them to purchase accidental death insurance; and/or
4. Bank of America and/or Smart-Step thereafter withdrew funds directly from Bank of America customer accounts, on a monthly basis, without the proper consent of these customers.

Salehi & Associates, in its continuing discovery of this case is greatly interested in any information or assistance that Bank of America account holders and/or Smart-Step insureds may have, specifically from residents of the State of Vermont or California where there are strict privacy laws. We may be reached at [protected], or for more information please visit our site at www.salehiclassaction.com. Thank you very much for your time and attention.

The law firm of Salehi & Associates was recently retained by a client who, upon opening a Bank of America account, received a letter from Smart-Step Protector Insurance claiming that he had enrolled in one of Smart-Step's insurance policies. Salehi & Associates is investigating allegations that Bank of America improperly divulged personal information to third parties and/or that Smart-Step improperly obtained said information. We are currently looking into this matter, and are interested in any information or assistance that other Bank of America account holders would be able to provide. You may contact us at [protected] or visit our site at www.salehiclassaction.com. Thank you very much for your time and attention.

I really don't like to complain but in this case I feel like I have too because is in regards to my parents account and trust towards each other that is at stake.

I really am upset. It just so happens that my father was reviewing his bank statement and noticed that my mother's card number had $40.00 charged to it and we started looking for receipts that had that amount and sent to that payee and found nothing. I decided to go on line and investigate this so called insurance company and we were shocked to see how many complaints were sent for this same company. But most of all because it involved Bank of America and my parents had been with this bank for over 30 years.

I also got into this mess with Smart Step. Bank of America had a bad habit of farming out my phone number to some telemarketing company that apparently had ties with the bank. I was really getting tired of getting about 10 calls a week for different offers.

The day I was called for the Smart Step insurance in Jan of 2008, I was really sick with the flu and not thinking straight. They said I had 60 days to review the information they would send me and no charges would apply. I consented. I didn't even have to give them my bank account number, they already knew it (which goes to show how much hand in hand they were with BOA).

I never got that package of insurance information. I thought perhaps they just ruled me out and decided not to enroll me. However, I did not notice their first charge until April 2008. I noticed Smart Step was listed as taking a check out and then remembered it was all part of that insurance thing in which I never got any paperwork. I looked back over my bank records and they did the same thing in March.

I contacted the Bank and they said they didn't know anything about Smart Step and couldn't help me. That was when I tried looking everywhere for a number to contact them without luck. This started a cycle of me complaining to the bank each month that they are not authorized to charge. I had to go directly into the bank, speak with a bank manager and explain the situation to get them to stop it.

As far as those BOA telemarketers, I gave them the boot a long time ago by telling them to remove me from their list and after 4 days I didn't hear from them again.