Reply #61: AARP uses same shady solicitation techniques it warns seniors about

[jack99999]

Here is a letter I just sent to AARP:

In reading your Consumer Alert articles, I have become adept at spotting inaccurate ads that try to scare us seniors into buying something we don't need. I thought you should warn other members that there is a Auto Insurance mailing circulating that is titled" OFFICIAL NOTICE - AUTO INSURANCE PREMIUM ADJUSTMENT. But when you open the bright pink envelope, wondering what has happened to your insurance rate, you just see a bunch of advertising saying that you may be able to save a lot of money if you switch to the new company. This is false advertising, and the sort of thing you warn about regularly.

However, what makes this one a little special is that it is being sent by the AARP - HARTFORD AUTO INSURANCE PROGRAM, and your logo is right on the front page. This is the grossest commercialism mistake I have ever seen you make (other than supporting the idiotic bill that made it illegal for Medicare to negotiate drug prices). You people are commercial sell-outs, you associate with shady firms that use the same tactics that you condemn. And for your info, when I checked with Hartford, I found that I would save basically nothing if I switched to the AARP policy from State Farm. If I switch to GEICO, I would save nearly $400. So, you have aligned with a shady group that uses misleading tactics on seniors, and provides no savings either. Nice going. It will be interesting to see if you print this, which a non-profit group truly interested in protecting seniors should do, or just drop it to keep your business partners happy.