AARP Services

I have been with AARP now for 3 years now and wanted to let AARP and its consumers know that AARP is Lobbying in Washington DC to let the Politicians know that they "UNDERSTOOD" about changes having to be made to Medicare & Social Security. Well let me and my husband tell you now AARP! We are both on medicare and my husband is disabled and having to depend on his SSDI and Medicare as well and the problem is NOT SOCIAL SECURITY or MEDICARE and V.A COMP as well for that matter. The problem is in the Government dipping into Social Security and its programs and anything having to do with senior citizens drawing hard earned retirement or disabilities to pay for the Governments over spending and unnecessary expenditures in over seas operations and high paying income jobs for our representatives in the Government. The U.S can spend big money on helping other countries for their problems but always end up cutting into our retirement that actually supports Folks like you at AARP! Now, because of this with AARP supporting its cause in Washington, See if you will be able to get any more monies out of me and my husband from whence the money came from out of our disability and medicare retirements ie; SSDI and SS. See if AARP can survive on nothing since they want us to live on nothing. You can support the politicians in Washington but rest assured AARP, your company will not get anymore money or support from either me or my husband since you believe in cutting into medicare and Social Security. ...GOOD LUCK AARP. We sure do hope that the rest of the retirement community and seniors can take this letter of support and Stop Supporting AARP!

I'm 50 years and I have diabetes, I have had diabetes, I have had diabetes since I was 16 years old and I have ever had any issues with getting my meds till now. I join aarp to get life insurance but I was reject so I join the health insurance big mistakes! Since big with these rip offs, I can't get my meds. I'm getting sicker ever day. I try calling aarp to cancel and they give me the run around. Aarp is a bunch off rip offs and scam artists! I will never make that mistake again.

April 20, 2011

Maximus federal services
Managed care & pace reconsideration project
50 square drive, suite 210
Victor, ny 14564

Re: gloria e. Thompson vs. Secure horizons
Appeal number: 1-[protected]

Gentlemen
This is a follow up to the letter you sent to me dated april 4, 2010 (Copy attached). Please advise the status of your efforts.
My appeal is based upon the claim by my wife’s medical provider that they have sent in multiple copies of three claims with only one having been paid. The insurer claims that the second two were duplicates, were sent to the wrong address, etc. The latter cannot be true as they received and paid the first claim which was sent to the same address. I have sent in the claim to be sure it was sent to the right address. The insurer never acknowledged receiving the claim from me and commented that they do not accept claims from policy holders! I will never understand the rationale behind this reasoning.
The provider has referred their debt to a collection agency. The collection agency has reported my wife to three credit bureaus. The collection agency now threatens to sue us for the amount due. All this has been revealed to secure horizons and the do not care.
What worth is an insurance policy that does not pay valid claims? In total frustration I have offered to pay the amount due with the belief that I will not be reimbursed as the insurer has already stated that they do not accept claims from policy holders. If I pay the claim, it appears that I will bear the cost in spite of having insurance that is supposed to respond.
Out of total frustration I have sought help from the texas dept. Of insurance which has responded that they have no jurisdiction. Where can I go for help?
My wife and I are retired and living on a fixed income. Paying this claim out of our pocket would present a financial hardship. We are also concerned that secure horizons will not pay future claims. If something serious happens to my wife or i, it appears unlikely that our insurer will respond based upon their actions on this claim. We are very worried. The next open enrollment period for medicare is oct., 2011. We are counting the days. Any insurer would be better than secure horizons.
I will be happy to send you copies of the multitude of documents I have sent to secure horizons (Note: many of which have been ignored), the providers collection agency and to the provider.
Secure horizons is incompetent and arrogant. I can’t fight them any longer. Please help!

Sincerely,

John w. Thompson
(Authorized representative for gloria e. Thompson)

Cc: rhonda and/or chris mundus
Office of dr. Kuhn
4461 coit rd., ste. 309
Frisco, tx 75035

United healthcare-customer service
P. O. Box 29675
Hot springs, ar [protected]

I. C. Systems, inc.
Attn: ms. Brown and/or mr. Becker
444 highway 96 east
P. O. Box 64437
St. Paul, mn [protected]

They really treat their customers very bad. I had enrolled in the AARP Part D Plan in the enrollment period December 2005, Humana was alot cheaper at that time, so in the same month I enrolled in Humana. Now it is 2011, AARP Pard D was cheaper so I enrolled with them. They are now charging me for that enrollement in 2005 when I was with Humana and paid them. Since I have to be enrolled in a part D program, they are trying to make me pay for that. I called them and spoke to Kayle, she spoke down to me and treated me very bad and did not even care about the explanation or that I had proff of being with Humana and paid them for my Part D. Stay away from AARP, they don't care about you! It is all about getting your money. And since you are made to be in a Part D program, they do not care about your problems. Pay extra and go somewhere else.

My complaint is that I have only joined your medical insurance and I am getting phone calles that want my info over the phone about my numbers and I gave her my address that is all. She was foreign so her voice was hard to understand. If I have to deal with the India voice that I can't understand what am I suppose to do.? I didn't get this from my other insurance. i didn't get it from the man that came to my house to sell me the idea of changing to you. I want no more phone callsfrom foreign speaking people.

With a growing number of baby boomers aging into retirement and looking to make investments, a new wave of financial scams has plagued the nation's elderly.

An investigation conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, state regulators and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority found seniors falling prey to a myriad of tactics. One common tactic is the offer of a free lunch at seminars aimed at selling products; people are often told, however, that nothing will be sold. An investigation into these meetings prompted the Securities and Exchange Commission to hold a "senior summit" with the AARP to discuss investment fraud and abusive sales practices.
Still, four out of five investors age 60 and above got at least one invitation to a free investment seminar in the past three years, according to a recent survey by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation. The Canadian Association of Retired Persons found in 2005 that seniors lost about $2.5 billion annually to fraud and scams.

I received a mailing from AARP encouraging me to renew my membership and receive a FREE Travel Bag. I called AARP to find out when my membership expired, and was told in two years. I asked them why I had received this misleading mailing, leading me to believe it was time to renew my membership, and was told they want all of their subscribers to have the opportunity to get the FREE Travel Bag. I stated that this mailing was bordering on fraudulent, since most people will not call to check and see when their membership expires, and will believe that it is time to renew, thereby generating lots and lots of subscription money paid to AARP that didn't have to be paid. They noted the complaint and said they would take me off the list to be notified for membership renewal. I said they are supposed to be the watchdog for the senior citizens, and shouldn't be tricking the elderly into sending in money that isn't due. Didn't get anywhere with them but will not renew my subscription in two years when it is up.

There is an ad on the t.v . for a free cell phone, consumer pays only 10.00 a month if an AARP member.
I called. There is also a account bill as they say they have o check your credit, ask allot of questions, ...also asked for the last four numbers of my social security then all of my social security number.
i would give the whole number so the man said that since i have no credit (as I told him I only pay by cash or check as I am 76 years old and live on retired social security, he said they couldn't give me the phone or service.
something fishy there and i would suggest you people check this company your.
They could ruin your reputation etc.

Thank you.

Gail Grunert re: [protected]@sbcglobal.net

My Grandmother is a member of your service. Last night, while visiting she had told me about a bill that she has been getting for $192.00 repeatedly. She has had problems in the past with getting bills for reasons unknown to her, one of them was for $37.00 for dental coverage that she did not have. My grandmother is 94 years old, but she is still very much “with it” and pays her bills on time each month. I called customer service with her last night and no one can give me any reason as to why she owes this money?! The customer service rep (Amber) went back to 2009 when she thinks there were a few missed payments. Amber said that she would have the billing department send out a statement for 2009 and 2010 to show where the missed payments were. Now I get to go to my grandma’s bank to get her statements from 2 years ago and compare this for her since your company doesn’t have its ### together enough! Excuse my language, but I am getting to the point where I think your company is trying to rip of my 92 year old grandma. A: If you are going to bill ANYONE you better make damn sure you state exactly what it’s for. B: You should make damn sure your customer service reps know what it’s for. C: Don’t bill for issues that were 2 years ago! What kind of company takes 2 years to notice billing issue? What kind of company sends a bill, doesn’t explain why, and expects people to “just pay it”? How many old people are you taking advantage of?
Also my grandmother said that when she was having a billing issue in the past with the dental coverage, she said that each time someone was supposed to send a letter or a statement….that never happened. One of your reps told her to just pay it so it goes away. If I had known about this she would have never paid it! I want to let you know that my grandmother will not be paying that $192.00 until you explain and SHOW me proof as to why she owes that money. I have instructed her to pay nothing but her monthly premium of $54.00. I expect that I will receive those statements in 2 weeks or some sort of response. If not, than I will assume that you are in fact trying to rip off my grandma and I will find a lawyer.

We booked our 'discount' week at a hotel through AARP-Expedia online. After spending one night, the very nice desk clerk asked us if we had made the arrangements through Expedia/a travel agent or with a group for a specific reason? When we told her no, she informed us we were paying almost $200 more than their weekly rate for our 7 night stay that we booked online. So much for a discount! I will not use again.
PS- watch your car rentals as well. Same trip: when we picked up the car, they were going to charge us $300 for a car I got online for $190. We didn't figure it all out until we got in car and compared iPad online confirmation to receipt. Went back inside and heard, "this never happens". Needless to say, we waited until we got the same car for the cheaper price. But how many people do not pay attention? RIP OFF!

This happened to me today in south bend ind (Aspen dental) (One of many dentists aarp supposedly works with) as I was getting my teeth looked at.
The dentist office could not find who or where the claim was suppose to go after finding out the services are sub contracted out to other providers byaarp. Therefore I was refused serviced that the deluxe rider was suppose to cover.

I have had United Health Medicare Complete for many years .. when United Health kept aquiring smaller companies my plans were continually being switched on me without my knowedge or consent ..

The last switch is now with AARP Medicare Complete from Secure Horizons by United Health ... I have always had a PPO so I could use it on my travels, as I sometimes must travel out of state ..

First they messed up my plan by having me at a California address, which I never lived at .. then they messed me up by not getting me the card I needed, information I needed and so I had a few emergency services due to my condition of Multiple SClerosis ..

Now I fear they are messing up again .. I needed MRI's done as I had a relapse .. no problem .. but I now also need to start medication for the MS and my formulary has it as a listed item BUT the doctors need to fill out forms ? WHy, United Health, Secure Horizons, Pacific Care and AARP are all one company ..

There is no one "Brain" that connects my information .. I should not have to need approval for a medically necessary drug and am sick and tired of the screw ups .. when I call with my card, the Customer Service claims my Member ID does not exist .. Oh my God .. this is the same crap they pulled the last few years ..

Why doesn't someone investigate ? Or are you all filling your pockets from the money I pay for all my working life so I can get crappy service ?

AARP fraud, cheating seniors 8/3/2010

I booked four hotel rooms (Motel 6, in Lodi, California) on July 21, 2010 through the AARP Travel Center. It charged my credit card total $295. (Each room: $68 + tax $5.75=73.75 per night)

Strange enough, the AARP never sent to me via email a booking conformation, nor any sale slip or receipt. I downloaded from the web site a “cost summary”.

When our 8 travelers arrived at Motel 6 in Lodi, we found that the regular rate for rooms we booked is $49.05 ($45+tax 4.05). The manager of the motel said he doesn’t know why the AARP charged us $73.75. The Motel 6 has no business relations with the AARP, he added.

I called the AARP. It admitted that it has no relationship with Motel 6, but it booked through Expedia.com. Then I called Expedia.com. It said there is no any record or information about this transaction.

Our 8 travelers (all seniors over 70s) feel that the AARP has cheated us. Deeply disappointed and angry, we called the AARP many times asking it to refund us the difference of $196.20 ($49.05x4) it overcharged. But the AARP personnel, with bad attitude, refused to refund us. We strongly demand the AARP give us refund and apologize. We also advise all prospective travelers not to use AARP Travel Center’s service.

(In writing this complaint, we have all supporting documents).

James zhang on behalf of 8 seniors living in california.

The atmosphere at the Visalia, CA AARP Senior Employment Services was like that of a singles bar. Workers talking loudly to each other, or going out to smoke and gossip with the door open and smoke blowing right in the office waiting area!

They gave my mother a job one day and took it away from her the next. After having her jump throgh hoops for a week, they had her come in for an interview. "Just a formality, " they said. After "interviewing" her for almost an hour, they told her she didn't qualify for thier program even though they had been given all of her information a week in advance! How disappointing.

I was called by an AARP health care representative last year (or perhaps longer than that) and encouraged to join the AARP Rx plan ‘at no cost.’ I argued that I didn’t need another health plan; I was fully covered. ‘But this is FREE, ’ he said, ‘you won’t have to pay for a thing. It’s just added insurance for you.’ Aware that often, those things first advertised as ‘free’ eventually become not-so-free, I still maintained my content with what I had. He persisted. ‘Won’t have to pay for a thing, ’ he said. Clearly, he was on a quota. Eventually, I acquiesced.

Fast forward several months: I started getting monthly bills. I called. ‘I called. I don’t want this.’ I was told that I needed to pay one month’s premium. I said, I don’t think so; I never wanted this. More bills. I called. ‘I don’t want this; didn’t want it in the first place, never needed it, never used it. Etc.’ More bills. I mailed a letter off with the last one explaining my situation.

Today, I received a collection letter in the mail. My ‘outstanding’ bill was referred to a collection agency for non-payment. Ahh, NOW I see. The AARP isn’t that organization I was wont to think it was. It’s another money-making, bait-and-switch organization. What a disappointment.

Last August I signed up with the AARP Home and Auto Insurance Program and was very pleased with the coverage and premium that was being offered. I just recieved a bill for our new premium for our home owners insurance and it was increased by 23% for no apparant reason. No claims were filled. Never late on a payment. Execllent credit rating. I qualified for all of the available dicounts. Yet my insurnace was increased by 23%? I appears to me that AARP Home and Auto Insurance Program offers a "teaser" rate going in the first year and then hammers the consumer.

I contacted their customer service department and questioned this ridiculous increase. I was told that it was an "Industry standard" increase for my area. On further research I found that the average increase for my area was about 2.7%, a far cry from the 23%. I do believe that this is a dishonest business practice and that AARP need to start taking better care of their members by not promoting insurance companies that are obviously ripping people off.

After AARP's support of the Obama Care Health Plan I contacted AARP in writing and via telephone to cancel my membership since they obviously do not represent my best interests since anyone can clearly see that ObamaCare is not best for me or the country. Their support of this made their stance on the issue perfectly clear.

AARP never aske me or any other dues paying member what our position was on this issue. They took it upon themselves to decide for the memebership how we should think on this issue.

AARP did NOT cancel my membership and continues to send me Membership Renewal Information. This was my first year of membership and I will never renew. Since joining AARP I have gotten a barrage of mail selling every type of insurance you could possibly imagine. They send these marketing materials regularly under the guise of AARP. I have come to believe that AARP is nothing more than a mechanism to gather contact information to sell insurance. I do NOT want their insurance And, I do not want to be associated with the AARP organization or their political views.

The deluxe rider is a $40 a month optional vision / hearing and dental rider. The medical card I received has the Deluxe Rider added on to the end of the plan name. The printed information states nothing about this plan being administered by any other insurance company. The only number on the card is the one for Secure Horizons. AFTER checking with my vision providor, and being told they accept Secure Horizons, the calim was turned in and refused by Secure Horizons, because it must go to another insurance company (the one who administers the vision plan). Only it is a company not named in any literature, and one the doctor's office never heard of and does not belong to. Now the $400 bill I have has been refused, because according to Secure Horizons "they" don't cover vision and the providor must file the claim with another insurance company - under a Secure Horizons Member Number. BE WARNED - THE DELUXE RIDER IS A SCAM SOLD UNDER MISLEADING AND FALSE REPRESENTATION BY SECURE HORIZONS! Don't get taken by this company - find some other medicare advantage plan!