Tim Jameson Agency

I purchased motorcycle insurance through "Tim Jameson Agy Inc," located at 69 Main St in Topsham, ME 04086. I paid ahead for the summer and early fall months because I knew I'd want to shop around for better insurance rates after I put my motorcycle in storage for the winter.
After receiving written consent from my motorcycle finance company to change insurance providers and lower my coverage to comprehensive only during the months in storage, I called the local Allstate office (at ) specifically to find out if there were any cancellation fees. I wanted to be informed with regard to any cancellation fees before I made any decisions whether to cancel my insurance policy, and to determine what the savings would be by switching to an alternative. When I called I spoke to a woman, but I neglected to ask for her name. She at first seemed hesitant to tell me whether there were any fees, instead saying I'd be responsible for any remaining premiums due at the time of cancellation. I asked her if she could confirm if I was paid up until October 26th and she confirmed. When I asked again for a yes or no answer on whether there were any sort of cancellation fees for early policy cancellation, she explicitly said there were none. I had paid in full until the due date for my next bill, which was October 26th, so I logically concluded that I had until October 26th to purchase new insurance if I wanted to cancel my policy with Allstate to avoid any lapse in coverage and to avoid any fees.
I subsequently purchase insurance from another motorcycle insurance provider which offers comprehensive only coverage during winter storage months (Allstate refused to offer this option). I called before my insurance coverage expired with them on October 26th to formally request cancellation of my insurance policy. I provided proof of coverage with another insurance provider and further offered to provide written consent from by finance company to switch to a comprehensive only policy. I have saved emails as evidence of these communications.
Fast forward roughly a month later, and I received an unexpected bill for $49.15 from Allstate. I procrastinated responding to it at first because it seemed obvious that it was some sort of mistake, or perhaps a fraudulent charge--in either case not deserving of my time. Then they sent a bill threatening to send the debt to collections, so I called Allstate to find out what it was about and to hopefully clear it up. The man I spoke to specifically told me on the phone that it was a cancellation fee, which was in clear contrast to what one of his office employees had explicitly told me. I explained to him that I needed to review my paperwork before we resume the conversation, and my desire was to instead continue the conversation by email so I'd have a record of our conversations and so I wouldn't have to discuss it while at work. I also asked him by email to explain the fee but he refused to communicate by email and said we'd have to do it by phone (I have the emails to prove this).
He later called me at my place of work. I asked him again if we could communicate by email because it wasn't ethical for me to discuss personal finances while at work, but he refused. So I reluctantly proceeded by phone and explained that I was told by someone in his office that there were no cancellation fees and he responded as though he didn't believe my claim, stating that everyone in his office knows about the early cancellation fee. I was very frustrated by what felt like clear and deliberate deception, so I asked him to provide me with the specific part of the contract where this fee exists. If there are fees, they should at the very least be described in the fine-print of his insurance contract and I wanted to see this verbiage with my own eyes before paying his outrageous fee. He searched around for a few minutes and then stated he'd need to call me back because he needed assistance finding it.
He called me back later that morning (again, while I was at work), and he quoted a vague sentence in his contract which states they are allowed to charge in accordance with state laws, with no explicit mention of any monetary amounts, percentages, or specific circumstances. So the entire subject of "fees" seem entirely shrouded in ambiguity and generality.
After he cited from his contract where this ambiguous verbiage was which granted him the apparent authority to charge me this 10% cancellation fee, I reminded him of the fact that someone from his office had explicitly told me there were no cancellation fees before I cancelled my policy. I explained that it's a matter of moral principle, and that I was concerned about the lack of integrity and transparency this $49.15 represented. He responded by having the audacity to claim he never said there were any cancellation fees, despite specifically telling me it was a cancellation fee that same morning! He instead changed his terminology and referred to it as a "short rate fee." From my perspective, these are two ways of describing the same thing: an early cancellation fee.
By this point in the phone conversation, I realized the man I was speaking to had no intention of doing the right thing. Even if he was legally entitled to charge this sneaky fee, the fact that I was lied to and misled (whether it was deliberate or accidental) on two separate occasions and by two separate individuals, should have been enough to warrant waiving that fee. I believe anyone with integrity and moral principles would have at least owned up to their errors and made an effort to do right by the customer.
I should also mention that I asked him to look back at the phone recordings as evidence of the conversations I had where I was explicitly told there were no fees, and then told there were fees, and then told again there were no fees, but he told me they do not record phone conversations. I frankly find this hard to believe, considering the many legalities associated with insurance companies. If any legal entity were to read this review and had the legal authority to do so, they could subpoena those phone recordings and they'd have proof of everything I've truthfully stated in this review. I'd also be willing to send all email communications as further evidence.
Toward the end of my conversation with him, I stated my intention to pay the bill and be done with it. I didn't agree with its legitimacy, but I was tired and disgusted by it so I wanted it to go away. Despite explicitly telling him that I was going to mail him a check for the full $49.15 amount, the debt was sent to collections. I received a bill for the $49.15 amount from "Credit Collection Services" within about two weeks of our conversation, after I had already mailed a bank check for the full amount to "Tim Jameson Agy Inc."
Please note that I am only writing this review in an attempt to warn others considering doing business with this company. This was the worst experience I've ever had with an insurance company and I wouldn't want anyone else to experience it. Consumers have a right to know.