Liar, Liar (So They Say)
I always knew my complaint would reach no safe port. When my tire got blasted by the object lying in the middle of the lane on the tollway, I knew I was on my own. Now, five months after it happened, my certainty has been confirmed.
The insurance called me yesterday at midday to tell me my claim against the tollway AP-9, run by Audasa, an affiliate of Grupo Itínere, which in itself belongs to Citigroup (we're talking big, big money, and big, big money always wins), was deemed unfounded. They are calling me a liar.
They claim there was no object lying in the lane, and that no call was made that day to complain of one. They say I have no proof of anything happening. Yet, I called the central offices on their direct SOS line from a booth on the highway, which records all the calls. I distinctly remember the person on the other side saying that, yes, there had been a complaint about the object earlier. The maintenance crew did come and change the tire for me. Yet now they are saying that never happened.
If I had joined some kind of association formed by users who have been affected by lack of maintenance, I might have had a different explanation given, such as that they aren't God and can't be everywhere at once. Never, ever, does the tollway give money to anyone affected unless television cameras are present, and the accident is unapologetically a result of poor maintenance. The last time that happened was years ago, when, as a result of icy conditions and lack of road salt, there was a pile-up north of Santiago. Then, the drivers got together and sued together. They were indemnified. Me? I'm just a small mosquito that can be swatted away.
I may be just one mosquito, but if a cloud of mosquitoes were to attack, perhaps the giant might try to avoid them and settle. Or at least quietly put into effect different practices to further help drivers, such as increase maintenance crews to pick up anything that has fallen off a car or truck quickly. As it is now, the result of that last class-action suit brought road salt every night the temperature is expected to fall below freezing. The reason of being for the giant is still highway robbery shrouded in booths every so many kilometers. And they will guard their hoard with every lie and argument under the stars.
Suffice it to say that whenever I go to Santiago, they will see me even less. The problem is travelling south or further north, because the tollway expedites the trip very much. To Vigo, by road takes well over an hour, whereas by tollway it takes about forty minutes. Years ago, when the concession ended, the tollway should have become free. It was, after all, built with public money, and public money is still invested in it. There is no reason the public should pay twice, through taxes and toll booths.
I encourage all the mosquitoes who have encountered problems to file a complaint. You won't get any money back, and you will be called liars. Just document everything and make them look through the stack. They'll start to get the message when the cloud of mosquitoes gets thick enough. It is better than just doing nothing and letting them think a summer's day doesn't have any bugs, and they can do whatever they want.
The insurance called me yesterday at midday to tell me my claim against the tollway AP-9, run by Audasa, an affiliate of Grupo Itínere, which in itself belongs to Citigroup (we're talking big, big money, and big, big money always wins), was deemed unfounded. They are calling me a liar.
They claim there was no object lying in the lane, and that no call was made that day to complain of one. They say I have no proof of anything happening. Yet, I called the central offices on their direct SOS line from a booth on the highway, which records all the calls. I distinctly remember the person on the other side saying that, yes, there had been a complaint about the object earlier. The maintenance crew did come and change the tire for me. Yet now they are saying that never happened.
If I had joined some kind of association formed by users who have been affected by lack of maintenance, I might have had a different explanation given, such as that they aren't God and can't be everywhere at once. Never, ever, does the tollway give money to anyone affected unless television cameras are present, and the accident is unapologetically a result of poor maintenance. The last time that happened was years ago, when, as a result of icy conditions and lack of road salt, there was a pile-up north of Santiago. Then, the drivers got together and sued together. They were indemnified. Me? I'm just a small mosquito that can be swatted away.
I may be just one mosquito, but if a cloud of mosquitoes were to attack, perhaps the giant might try to avoid them and settle. Or at least quietly put into effect different practices to further help drivers, such as increase maintenance crews to pick up anything that has fallen off a car or truck quickly. As it is now, the result of that last class-action suit brought road salt every night the temperature is expected to fall below freezing. The reason of being for the giant is still highway robbery shrouded in booths every so many kilometers. And they will guard their hoard with every lie and argument under the stars.
Suffice it to say that whenever I go to Santiago, they will see me even less. The problem is travelling south or further north, because the tollway expedites the trip very much. To Vigo, by road takes well over an hour, whereas by tollway it takes about forty minutes. Years ago, when the concession ended, the tollway should have become free. It was, after all, built with public money, and public money is still invested in it. There is no reason the public should pay twice, through taxes and toll booths.
I encourage all the mosquitoes who have encountered problems to file a complaint. You won't get any money back, and you will be called liars. Just document everything and make them look through the stack. They'll start to get the message when the cloud of mosquitoes gets thick enough. It is better than just doing nothing and letting them think a summer's day doesn't have any bugs, and they can do whatever they want.
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