We had a few errands to run today...first on the list was to (again) try to find out from ICBC why we need to have a $168.00 inspection done on our truck each year before we can get insurance. After stopping at an ICBC location, Steve was told that he would have to go to an auto insurance broker. Ok, there was one just a short distance further down the street.
We arrived at Hub Insurance shortly after 11:00...Steve went in while I waited in the truck...for over 2 hours! The following explains what Steve went through...and why it took him so long...
Steve explained our situation with the sales rep and wanted to see if we could get the truck reclassified from a commercial vehicle so that we could avoid the annual inspection. The first thing the rep noticed was that the truck was incorrectly listed as a flatbed and that the G.V.W. was too low...so technically we weren’t insured...yikes. He tried to reclassify the truck and correct the info in the computer but ended up with an error message that he couldn’t get rid of. He called ICBC for help (put on hold) and was eventually told that because of the weight of the truck and since it’s not an RV it requires the inspection. He again tried to enter the info and got the error message so he said he could try to insure us under business use or “to and from work”. Wouldn’t business use cost more and doesn’t “to and from work” have a maximum amount of mileage....we travel?! So he called ICBC again (put on hold) but while waiting he kept researching options on the computer and found that he could change it from commercial use if it’s not used for that purpose but wanted to confirm with ICBC. When they eventually answered, this was confirmed. Then the rep said I forgot to ask about the inspection, so another call was placed and answered this time...no inspection required...Yaah! So now we save the annual $168.00 inspection fee but because the G.V.W. rating was too low to start with, that was going to cost more. Steve gave him the truck scale weights from last year when we passed through Pennsylvania. He now calculated that it was going to cost $2100.00 instead of $1421.00...WHAAAT!!! The rep was using the steering axle, drive axle and trailer axle weights and adding them all up together. It took Steve a while to convince him that the trailer axle weight has nothing to do with the truck and that the drive axle weight includes the tongue weight of the trailer. That knocked it down to $1642.00. So much for saving any money by not having an inspection done!
With that all taken care of once and for all, we headed to the bike shop where we had bought our bikes last year...the first service on them is free. So we dropped them off...they will be ready late tomorrow afternoon.
Our next stop was to the mall and both Rogers and Telus stores. We went to the Rogers store first...they have a very good promotion on right now—if you take out a 3 year contract, you pay $51.73/month for 10 GB. No, you cannot suspend the service/contract while out of the country but you can select a cheaper plan. However, the cheapest plan they have is $33/month...nope, not going to do that. He didn’t even suggest other options like buying the device outright.
Okay, onto Telus to see what they have to say. I was very impressed with Chelcie (yup, that’s how she spelled it), a very nice knowledgeable young lady. She suggested two options...we could get the device on a contract and although, like Rogers, you cannot suspend service, at least the cheapest plan they have is $10/month. The other option would be to buy the device outright and cancel our plan (and re-activate it) when we left and returned to Canada. After weighing both options, we decided our best option would be to buy the device outright...the cost was fairly reasonable ($149.99). After a long time getting all the paperwork done, we left with the mobile Wi-Fi device activated on a $60/month for 6 GB plan. Now I’ll just have to remember to give 30 days’ cancellation notice before we head south. Yes, we will have a re-activation fee each year but we still decided it was the best way to go.
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