Question Authority

Sort of. Recently our car was rear-ended at a red light, causing "minor" damage that is going to cost over $1500 to repair. I was told by the repair shop that I would have a $250 insurance deductible to pay, decreased from the regular $500 collision deductible of my policy because I wasn't at fault for the damage. That didn't seem right to me: why should I have to pay anything? Shouldn't the other driver's insurance pay the whole cost? So I contacted my insurance company, and the agent handling the claim told me he would waive the deductible "this time only."

Also recently, I returned a book to our local library but was subsequently told that the book was shown as lost, and I was charged a $25 replacement fee - for a paperback novel. I had kept a receipt showing how many items I returned on the date in question, and although it did not give the individual book titles, it suggested that I had indeed returned the book. When I made it clear that I was never going to pay the unjust charge, a librarian at the downtown library headquarters admitted that they might have misplace the book themselves, cancelled the fine, and wiped my record clean.

So the moral is: always ask. Don't just accept stated conditions. Insurance companies and libraries, like virtually all businesses, have the latitude to grant exceptions to rules and conditions.

Very true. I've been questioning authority since I was about 14 years old.

Great points. I'm in the process of doing something along these lines myself.

So, since I saved $250, I guess I need to buy more shaving gear...

Here Here for free thinkers.  Watch out for this guy though:

I tell my wife this all the time. It’s a variation of “don’t ask, don’t get.” Sometimes she listens . . .