Call Kurtis: Auto-Pay Overdraft

The auto-pay, or auto bill-pay, feature many businesses offer can be a convenience, or it can be a headache, as Kim Benedict recently found out.

"This is the most insane company I've ever dealt with," Kim says.

Kim says she gave the insurance company that handles her vision and dental care a new bank account number over the summer for auto-pay. But in November she says the insurer, Morgan White, tried to automatically take the money from her old bank account, which wasn't authorized and didn't have enough money in it.

Kim says when she talked to customer service, the representative told her "There's a problem. Your account's on hold for non-payment."

She says she tried getting them to fix it with one call after another.

"At least, at least 40 times to resolve one small issue that should have took one phone call."

She says she rarely got to talk to anybody.

"Finally got through to somebody they hang up on me."

She says she finally got through, and thought it was fixed. But then in December a letter showed up; it wasn't fixed. In fact, it said her policies were in danger of being canceled because her payment didn't go through.

"You're kidding me" was her immediate reaction. On top of that they were charging her a $30 service fee because her account had insufficient funds.

"I have a shoestring budget. I manage my money very carefully because I can't afford to go over at all."

We first tried to get Morgan White division manager Sigrid Wells to talk with us. When she didn't initially respond we contacted CEO David White, and senior VP Johnny Morgan.

The next day, Wells bypassed us and called Kim, telling her she wanted to investigate her case further.

Three weeks later Morgan White notified Kim that her account was in good standing, and they waived that $30 fee. Kim's next step was to find a new insurance company.

"You can only be treated so poorly for so long before you say enough is enough."

And this is the risk you take with auto-pay. If something goes wrong a company can drain your bank account.