Customer finds she wasn't in good hands

WEST SENECA, N.Y. (WIVB) - An Allstate customer thought she was in good hands, until she found out her insurance was canceled by mistake.

Shirley Lomas has been running around, going from the Erie County Auto Bureau to her insurance agent to a towing company, just trying to get her car back on the road. She's had to do it without the ability to drive, because her license is suspended.

Lomas didn't find that out until police stopped her last Friday on Seneca Street for operating her car, a Ford Taurus, without insurance.

Ironically enough, Lomas said, "We were actually on our way to pay the insurance."

Lomas had her daughter and her daughter's friend in the car, and it was a very embarrassing moment.

"I was searched, my car was searched, and my car was impounded, and I am still fighting to get my car back," she said.

As it turns out, Lomas had been driving since June without insurance, but had been paying her premiums, personally, to her Allstate agent. The problems all started when Lomas' daughter bought a new car, a Chevy Malibu, and the insurance coverage got juggled.

"The dealership called the company and said, 'You need to take the Ford off the road, and put the Malibu on.' Whoever was working there took both Fords off the road, and just kept the Malibu," Lomas stated.

Without the insurance, the State DMV suspended the Ford's registration and Lomas' driver's license. And when she tried to get her agent to fix the mixup without success, she Called 4 Action.

News 4 contacted Stover Insurance, the Allstate agency in West Seneca, just to make sure we didn't miss anything. They declined to comment, instead referring us to Allstate's corporate offices in Illinois. Lomas now has to go to court to clear her name.

"Going ahead and getting my car towed out of impound, and bringing it home because I still don't have a license and I still don't have insurance and registration, and I don't have plates," she sighed.

Corporate officials for Allstate told News 4 they will do whatever it takes to make up for the agent's error. That could include Lomas' lost wages, any court costs, towing charges, and impound fees.

Lomas is optimistic but says she will wait and see how things pan out.