I cannot believe I have spent so much time near Mexico and yesterday was the first time I saw a Mexico-registered vehicle on this side of the border. I saw a second one today, too.
Along the Canadian/U.S. border, I’m used to seeing tons of license plates from either side so I find it rather peculiar how few Mexican vehicles I see here. Then again, I don’t get the impression that U.S. customs is as welcoming to Mexicans in general as they are to this particular RVer…
I’ve following the Pastagate situation in Quebec closely. In short, the language police got a complaint about an Italian eatery’s menu being mostly in Italian rather than French and ordered the owner to change the menu to French or face steep fines.
There has been some outrage over this, but it’s mostly of the humourous kind, as though this was funny when it is actually terrifying.
It never ceases to amaze me how the world turns a blind eye to the fact that Quebec is overseen by a totalitarian and xenophobic government that uses fear and oppression to subjugate its citizens.
That Canada allows any of this to happen is no surprise. After all, Canada got a failing grade in human rights from Amnesty International in 2012. If it allows people to be deported to countries where they will be tortured, why would it care that a bloodless genocide is going on within its borders?
Reader Gary, this post is for you! 😀
My insurance cheques were sent to Lethbridge. Jody is home and has kindly agreed to deposit them for me for me on Monday. Intact sent me the full amount I requested!
This long nightmare is over and I can’t wait to open this tonight!
I’m going to do so outside. The last time I opened a bottle of champagne, I wound up making a hole in the ceiling (sorry, dad!).
Post edited to say that I did it!
Yeah, I could have been classy and splurged on a champagne flute, but who only drinks one glass of champagne? This glass is about a pint, or six servings, which is about right for me for champagne. *hiccup* And this stuff is good! I wasn’t expecting anything this delicious for less than $10!
On November 18th, I submitted a claim to Intact Insurance for the GST on the purchase of my truck and the difference in cost for my tow setup from what I had been previously paid.
A week later, I had not received confirmation that my adjuster got the email, so I called. She wasn’t available and there was no note on my file that the claim had been received.
On December 3rd (two weeks after I made the claim), I emailed my adjuster again. She confirmed that she had the file and it was being reviewed by the appraiser. Good enough.
First thing this morning (three weeks after I made the claim), I again emailed my adjuster to ask for a follow-up. She emailed me first thing in the morning in her time zone to let me know the cheques were in the mail.
What? Just like that?! She didn’t tell me the amounts, but, surely, I would have heard something if the full claim wasn’t being paid out; right? Regardless, they could be sending me a payout for less than I claimed and I would take it. I am just DONE with this accident and ready to move on.
I didn’t share the cost of the tow conversion when I had it done. Well, the grand total was $4,444.95. This includes all parts, rewiring the motorhome electric outlet, grinding the tow bar to fit in the hitch, passing the brake cable, the tax, the shipping and brokerage fees, and all the labour.
Intact had originally allowed me $2,200 for the tow conversion. I knew at the time that that amount wouldn’t come close to covering the actual costs. Here’s what I had to say about that in my final claim:
When I originally filed my claim for the tow system, I stated that it could cost up to $5,000 to get a new vehicle ready for towing and was able to provide evidence that a ‘family rate’, the cost for the installation of the baseplate alone was almost $2,000 (the tow bar came with the motorhome).
I was allowed $2,200, an amount I only agreed to if I could be reimbursed the difference. The estimator got this number by making one phone call to one shop in his area. Then, and still now, I do not believe that amount included the tow bar and all the other little adjustments that come with setting up a vehicle for towing. Moreover, his estimate was based on 5% sales tax when it was known that I would be getting my replacements in Quebec, which has 9.95% sales tax.
Since the estimator only called one place, so did I, choosing the most convenient and reputable place to have the work done.
The installation of the baseplate and electrical wiring on the tow vehicle was $1,600, plus tax. This amount is so close to the amount allotted me that it serves as evidence that the amount allotted did not include the tow bar nor other required adjustments. This amount is also very close to the amount I paid in 2008 to have my baseplate installed, serving as yet more evidence that the estimator’s number was way off.
I’m sure he will remember our discussion about this and how certain I was that the amount he offered was grossly inadequate. The extra costs come from electrical wiring that had to be added to my towed vehicle to make it match the setup on my old car so that the battery would remain charged while towing, fixing the electrical outlet on the motorhome, and grinding the tow bar to fit the hitch (hitches have apparently changed in the last few years and nothing on the market today would have fit as is in the receiver).
I paid this extra money out of pocket without knowing for certain that I would be reimbursed because I had no choice. I had to spend this money to get hooked up so I could get underway again. I even did some of running of the electrical cabling myself to save a few hours in the shop.
I also gave them some information on why I chose the tow set up I did and why the shop supplied some parts and I supplied the rest.
I finished the claim with this:
Before I was hit by the third party, I had a technically and legally sound rig with good quality heavy duty components suited to my lifestyle. The above expenses were all necessary to return me to the same state and make me whole. I trust that Intact insurance will honour its promise to reimburse me the difference between the allotted and real cost of setting up my new vehicle for towing.
It looks like they have. Reader Gary, get that champagne on ice! I’m just waiting for confirmation from my mother that the cheque has arrived to Google how to open my bottle! 🙂
My mother had time to make crêpes this morning, which felt like a proper send off and left me optimistic that I would get to Saratoga Springs tonight. I pulled out at about 9:00 and was waiting in line at customs by 9:55. It took about 10 minutes to get to the booth.
I got the same kind of customs agent as I did in 2011, one for whom even the most straightforward story would not make sense. “It doesn’t sound like you work.” “Driving through the US to get home makes no sense.” “Spending time with a friend over the holidays makes no sense.” “You see that green arrow that says secondary inspection? Go there, park, and go inside. Your documents will be waiting.”
My initial reaction was disbelief that I would have to go through what I went through in 2011 once again.
Then I realised that they had pulled over all the RVs and that the folks ahead of me had five yippy dogs. This meant customs wouldn’t go into their rig and they would get an extra grilling. If I stayed the course, kept my story as simple as possible, and emphasized that I had plenty of money of money for a few months in the US and that I was heading home, I suspected that I would get through in record time.
I was right. I had to expand on my story a couple of times, adding more details, until the agent literally threw up her hands, sighed, and said, “You’ve been asked these questions before; right?” Mm-hmm. “Never been denied entry?” Nope. She shook her head, handed me a slip of paper marked ‘cleared’ and said, “Just go.” I was out in less than five minutes.
I was getting back into the RV when another agent came up to me and asked me where I was going. I said I’d been cleared and he replied, “Not by me.” I wish text could convey tone because this guy was in a great mood and just going through the motions. I felt so comfortable that I actually replied, “Oh, you must be the fruit guy!” instead of, “Oh, you must mean the agricultural inspection!” He burst out laughing.
He asked if I had pets and I replied my cats. He then asked me to come inside with him to watch out for them. Every other inspection, I’ve had to wait well away from the rig.
Bitha and Nee’s papers are not up to date. Because of their age, vaccines are not recommended. I’ve never been asked for their paperwork and decided to take a chance. Well, the subject came up for the first time. He said, as he poked around the kitchen, “I’ve never heard of anyone being asked for papers for their cats. Are yours pretty old?” I replied that they were and he said the same thing the vet told me, that vaccinating older cats is bad for them! Then he said that anyone who would expect me to have them vaccinated to get across the border would be a ‘jerk.’
He finally opened my fridge and gasped. “Your relish jar exploded,” he informed me sadly. What is it with me and condiments?!
He cleared me for agriculture and then that’s when everything went to hell in the proverbial handbasket. You were expecting the other shoe to drop, weren’t you?
I’d had to unhook to park because there was so little room to park everyone. I was given the option not to, but I wanted to be as cooperative as possible. I don’t know if I was flustered and missed a step or what, but I could not get the e-brake back off the truck to move it into position to tow. It was cold and the agriculture agent guessed that it had seized up because of the weather. He got in and did something and got the e-brake working smoothly again. Then, he and another agent asked me to get my tow setup manual and helped me hook back up properly. I’m telling you, you haven’t lived until you’ve tried to hook up your tow bar for the first time while being assisted by US Customs Agents!
More later. I can’t get online with my cell phone without access to wifi first, so I’m at the McDonald’s doing that. I’ll write about my trip to Saratoga later.