An insurance company wants to do a favor for me at no obligation

For my last seven birthdays, the government has given me a Medicare update guide, free of charge. I was surprised this past week to receive a nice form letter from somebody called Frank DeJiulio, concerning Medicare update.

Mr. DeJiulio said, “I just received a shipment of the brand new updated free Medicare Guide, and I put one aside for you, thinking you would definitely want to have this.”

Why, how altruistic of Mr. DeJiulio, that he thinks enough of me to save a thick book I get every year for free.

Mr. DeJiulio went on: “Will you please let me know if you want it so I can hold it for you?”

And: “Just send in the RESERVED COPY request below. There’s NO obligation! It’s yours for the asking, no strings.”

Mr. DeJiulio says he is regional sales manager, but he does not say for what or for whom. The “RESERVED COPY request” form mentions American Senior Benefits at “Your Local Office,” 2437 SE 17th St. in Ocala. An enclosed postage paid envelope for the “RESERVED COPY request” goes to Booklet Fulfilment Center, PO Box 289, Mount Laurel, NJ.

Let’s first see if we can find Mr. Frank DeJiulio.

Turns out there are three Frank DeJiulios – An actor born in 1986; an insurance company owner in Ocala, Fla.; and a Frank DeJiulio, Jr., professional baseball pitcher from Florida. My bet is the friendly and altruistic Frank DeJiulio who owns an insurance agency in Ocala sent the letter saying he has set aside a copy of the free Medicare Guide.

He is listed at ASB Financial site as regional manager. Surprisingly (not) Frank Jr., the baseball pitcher, is listed at another site as Recruiting Manager for ASB Financial in Tampa.

Okay. Next, we will look for Booklet Fulfillment Center in Mount Laurel, N.J.

Google did not return any hits for that search, but did link to around eight sites for Social Security.

The Post Office Box 289 address is listed for T.H.E.M of New Jersey, a “Manufacturers: Distributor,” and for Universal Synergetics Inc. What those companies have to do with booklet fulfillment is beyond my guess.

At the least, Mr. DeJiulio’s letter is misleading. To claim he “put … aside” a free government publication borders on a mistruth. A lie, in other words.

And I wonder, too, does the federal government ship boxes of Medicare Guide to insurance and investment firms? Your and my tax dollars well spent? I think not.