Not too long ago, things were going great for Donna Rehfield. She got a brand-new job and bought two computers and a big screen TV from Dell. Then things went south.
I went to to my new job and I was only there for 60 days and things downhill really fast and they had to let me go, she said.
The Everett resident wasn't worried about making payments on her account because she purchased Dell's credit protection plan, which promised to make her payments while jobless for up to a year.
But when Donna filed her claim, it was quickly denied.
I've paid on this so-called policy for a little over a year and when I really need it, they find reasons not to give it to me, she said.
Dell said that Donna hadn't been employed for 90 days before making a claim with the program, but she had. Donna had worked one job for almost five years and left it on a Friday. Her new job started the following Monday. In Dell's world, Donna was unemployed for two days.
She called the company and was told that was that.
The people I seem to talk to just kind of give me the runaround. she said.
So I took a look at the fine print and there's nothing in the contract that mentions consecutive employment. Hmmmm! Time to make my case to the people who underwrite the insurance.
Within a few days, they got back to me. So I went to tell Donna about their e-mail.
They wrote: While it appears the initial decision to deny benefits was technically correct, we've determined that there is sufficient grounds to override the decision.
Donna was excited.
Thank you. I can't believe it, after all the trouble I went through, she said.
Donna was paying $0.89 per $100 for the credit protection. That means on a $3,000 balance, Donna pays around $300 a year for the service.
So you may want to think twice before signing up for something that could put you further in debt.
