So today I get an email from Florida with a scan of a payslip from the company who laid me off in mid February.

It seems that because I was paying COBRA (a way to continue your health insurance cover after you lose your job in the USA, but at an extortionate rate), I am due a refund.

Well, the money was sent direct to one of the two bank accounts that I had registered with the company I worked for, however it went to an account that I closed in June.   I managed to contact someone at HR by email to update my home address, since I am now in the UK, and also to try and get the money sent to the correct bank account, but it’s not quite that simple as usual.

They sent me a form to fill in and send back, where I can either indicate that I no longer wish to receive money by direct deposit, or I can indicate an account that I want to remove from the list of accounts that they have for me.

Well this would be great, except having closed the account they sent the money to, I don’t have any details with me, all the paperwork is being sent by ship to the UK along with my other effects.   I do have everything I need for the account that is still open, but the form doesn’t allow me to specify this one, only the one that I closed.   Grrrrhhhh!!!

So I emailed HR back, but of course no response in the last 4 hours….

So frustrating and so complicated.   Why is it that you always need information that you don’t have easily available?

A similar thing happened to me last week with my car insurance as well.

In the UK with car insurance you acquire a No Claims Bonus discount on your policy based on the number of years without having made a claim.   It’s similar in the USA, however in the UK one insurance company can talk to another and obtain proof of your No Claims Bonus, or you can get a document direct from your own insurance company.

Well trying to get something as simple as this from my previous insurance company in the USA turned out to be less than easy as is typical.

It seems that because of the Non Disclosure laws in the USA, the insurance company cannot provide this information to anyone, including the policy holder themselves.   So, I had to spend more hours on the phone trying to talk to an agency that handles the disclosures, but they couldn’t find any information on me.  Then I had to call the insurance company back again.   Finally, I went to the web site for the agency, and was lucky to find a way to get a report.   I wasn’t sure if the report would be adequate, but found out last night that the car insurance company in the UK did actually accept the report that I sent them.   If not, it would have meant me starting out with a zero percent discount, and paying twice as much as I needed to for my insurance.

I just wonder why life has to be so difficult….

I am sure I am not alone though.  Do you have a story to tell of how life has been less than simple for you?  Feel free to leave a comment and let me know.