Absolutely horrible. Everything was going good until I renewed my auto insurance this year. I attained auto insurance with this agency last year (2024). I have a 2012 Hyundai Sonata and only requested to have liability insurance on my car. The first policy was about $480 monthly, that's very expensive for an older vehicle and for someone who has had their license for over 10 years. But I figured because I reside in NY ... that's why it's so expensive. Anywho, 6 months later, it's time for me to renew and the agency tells me that it'll be $521 monthly. I inquired as to why it has been increased being that I hadn't had any violations or accidents, and she said cost of living or some b.s. I brushed it off because I am so busy with work ... I renewed anyway. Things became bad when the agency contacted me in October of this year (2025), to tell me that I was short $5 on my premium. She also stated that if I didn't pay the $5, that my auto policy would be cancelled. I grew livid, because what ?! I basically went off and said to her that I am now paying $521 for a 2012 Hyundai Sonata, that the car isn't even new ... and asked her if that didn't sound strange to her that she's threatening to cancel my policy for their error in calculation ... I also expressed my feelings and said to her and myself that I basically settled when I accepted their insurance. I told her to give me until the end of the month 10/31/2025. Because I knew I was going to shop for myself. By then ... I had found a new policy with GEICO for wayyyyy cheaper ... and cancelled with them immediately. I later learned [today 11/25/2025], that the policy that they gave me was not a policy. It was a financing company, that was financing my policy with them [Mendoza]. So not only was I being charged for a policy that I was not connected to ... nor know who the f*ck it was with ... I was paying the financing company interest! I blame myself, because I didn't review the paperwork prior to signing them. And I am angry because this agency [Mendoza] was not completely honest with me! They never told me that I was financing the auto policy! Like why the hell would I need to do that ?! ... so it all makes sense to me now as to why when I asked them to give me a new quote, they declined by telling me that they couldn't find anything else. Horrible people. Do yourself a favor and shop around for yourselves. Lastly, I only found out that it is a financing company because I now have a balance, which isn't an issue, but it has interest on it. I reached out to the agency [Mendoza] this morning and usually they would respond to me ... they've yet to respond ... Never again and never will I recommend this agency [Mendoza].
Since I cannot respond to your [Clara's] response. Here is my response and my last time addressing this issue.
Hi Clara,
Thank you for replying, but your response still does not address the actual issues I experienced with your agency.
To reiterate:
* My premium was extremely high for a 2012 vehicle with only liability coverage. I accepted it because I trusted your guidance and assumed the pricing was standard for NY.
* When my premium increased again at renewal, I asked why, and the only explanation I received was "cost of living." No real clarification was given.
* Your agency contacted me to say I was short $5, and I was told my entire policy would be cancelled if I didn't pay it immediately--even though the shortage was due to your own calculation.
* It wasn't until AFTER I switched companies that I learned the "policy" I was paying for was actually being financed through a third-party lender. This was never clearly explained to me when I signed. I was not aware I was entering into a financing agreement or paying interest.
* Transparency was missing during the entire process. If financing was required due to the Assigned Risk Plan's payment schedule, that should have been clearly communicated upfront, not discovered a year later.
* When I reached out recently with questions about my balance, I received no response, even though you would normally reply quickly.
None of these points were addressed in your public reply. Instead, your response focuses on how pricing and financing work in general, but doesn't acknowledge the lack of communication, the unclear explanations, or the pressure placed on me over a $5 discrepancy caused by the agency's own error.
I understand you cannot discuss policy details publicly, but the concerns I'm raising are about communication, transparency, and customer service--not private information. These issues are the reason I switched agencies and the reason I left this review.
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