337-376-0219: Lafayette Area Phone Scam?

My lack of love for insurance companies has been well documented by those of you that listen to our show every morning. That being said I am writing this article to alert you and perhaps the honest State Farm agents that work in Acadiana to a company that is besmirching their good name.

Last night at 6:19 I received a call on my home phone number. The caller ID said the call came from 337-376-0219. The representative that was on the call told me he was representing State Farm. He then proceeded to tell me how he could save me money on my insurance, all he needed to know was some information. Warning Bells! Danger Will Robinson!

I never told him I was already a State Farm customer but I did tell him I was registered with the National Do Not Call Registry and that this phone call , in my opinion, was a violation. I asked to speak to his supervisor, he told me that was not possible. I told him I had his number on caller ID and would be reporting it to the Do Not Call Registry and to the Louisiana Attorney Generals office as well as making a call to my personal State Farm agent.

Suddenly his supervisor became available to talk to me. I asked the supervisor for the name of the company he worked for. He told me he was not allowed to give that information out. I explained my position and again asked him for the name of the company, again he refused. His inaction left me no other alternative than to report this call as promised to the agencies I mentioned earlier.

I did some snooping on the internet and discovered the phone call originated from a land line in New Iberia Louisiana. I am certain the Do Not Call Registry will have no problem finding the owner of this company and I am sure the Better Business Bureau will be able to shed some light on this call too.

To me the worst part about this whole situation is this; my State Farm agent and your State Farm agent probably did nothing wrong. They are probably unaware of this whole telemarketing scheme. That is why I wanted to bring this out into the open. If it is legit, then State Farm needs to hire a company with a more professional approach to dealing with customers. If it is not legit, these people need to be shut down, arrested and dealt with through the justice system.

If you can shed light on this situation, work for State Farm or have any other information I can pass along to my listeners I would greatly appreciate it. We all have to look out for each other.