Beware of car warranty scams
The message always sounds urgent: Final notice -- please call immediately about the warrant on your vehicle!
Post cards and automated phone calls are flooding the state with warnings of potential problems with your car.
The messages are designed to get quick response by making you worry.
"They were telling me my car warranty expired and that I had to take action immediately," said Carol Garza.
Out-of-state warranty companies are filling mail boxes, and flooding phone lines.
Carol got a cell phone call at 4 o'clock in the morning and two more calls at work.
"I don't know where they're getting my phone numbers," she said.
I first sounded alert last fall when an 80-year-old Seattle woman got a card and doesn't even own a car.
I called the number on her card and learned the consumer lists are generated by businesses that have access to vehicle registration data.
The companies are located all over the country, but most are in Missouri.
According to the Missouri Better Better Business Bureau, there are more than 100 auto warranty processors operating in that state alone.
The Missouri BBB says auto vehicle processors generate the third highest number of complaints in that region, and many of the companies have unsatisfactory records.
The company that called me gave a ball park estimate of $600 a year for a bumper-to-bumper policy. That's about what I'd have to pay if I purchased a warranty from my local dealer. I know what I'm getting and I'm dealing with an established company only with the local dealer.
With the telemarketer's product, I have no chance to see what I'm getting or whether it would really cover the services that I might need. What's worse, I have no way to know if the policy I'm buying would even be honored by a dealer in the Seattle area.
The man on the phone claimed our state attorney general had given him authorization to sell the warranties in the state of Washington.
When I told him I was a reporter and I knew that was not true (the Attorney General does not approve the sale of any product and the Insurance Commissioner has jurisdiction over insurance products), the telemarketer quickly hung up.
My Problem Solver partner Herb Weisbaum also got a card and called the company that solicited him. He got a quote of $3,100 for a 4-year warranty. His local dealer could give him a 3-year warranty for $1795.
"I was under enormously high pressure," Herb told me. "I was told if you don't say yes now, it will be erased from our data bank and you will never have the opportunity to do this again."
Herb says the salesman got hostile when Herb told him no, then asked he could call Herb back the next day, after he checked with his wife! So much for "your only opportunity."
If you get the pitch, do not take the bait. Auto warranty scams are very high pressure and high cost. They give you no company background. You get no policy details before you buy.
And, according to the BBB and local dealers here, there's a history of problems getting payment for repairs or refunds when you want to cancel.
If you think you need an extended auto warranty, contact a local, established dealer and find out what they have to offer. Find out your options and specifically what's covered and what's not. Do some homework on your particular model and find out the typically service costs you might expect to incur.
Whatever you do, do not buy a vehicle warranty from any company that contacts you out of the blue with deceptive scare tactics and a hard sell.
And keep in mind that in this state, auto dial, automated telemarketing is illegal.
Previous report:
Don't fall for vehicle warranty gimmick
For more information:
Consumer Alert: Don't be tricked by car warranty notices
Car warranty scams target seniors
How to avoid auto warranty scams
Post cards and automated phone calls are flooding the state with warnings of potential problems with your car.
The messages are designed to get quick response by making you worry.
"They were telling me my car warranty expired and that I had to take action immediately," said Carol Garza.
Out-of-state warranty companies are filling mail boxes, and flooding phone lines.
Carol got a cell phone call at 4 o'clock in the morning and two more calls at work.
"I don't know where they're getting my phone numbers," she said.
I first sounded alert last fall when an 80-year-old Seattle woman got a card and doesn't even own a car.
I called the number on her card and learned the consumer lists are generated by businesses that have access to vehicle registration data.
The companies are located all over the country, but most are in Missouri.
According to the Missouri Better Better Business Bureau, there are more than 100 auto warranty processors operating in that state alone.
The Missouri BBB says auto vehicle processors generate the third highest number of complaints in that region, and many of the companies have unsatisfactory records.
The company that called me gave a ball park estimate of $600 a year for a bumper-to-bumper policy. That's about what I'd have to pay if I purchased a warranty from my local dealer. I know what I'm getting and I'm dealing with an established company only with the local dealer.
With the telemarketer's product, I have no chance to see what I'm getting or whether it would really cover the services that I might need. What's worse, I have no way to know if the policy I'm buying would even be honored by a dealer in the Seattle area.
The man on the phone claimed our state attorney general had given him authorization to sell the warranties in the state of Washington.
When I told him I was a reporter and I knew that was not true (the Attorney General does not approve the sale of any product and the Insurance Commissioner has jurisdiction over insurance products), the telemarketer quickly hung up.
My Problem Solver partner Herb Weisbaum also got a card and called the company that solicited him. He got a quote of $3,100 for a 4-year warranty. His local dealer could give him a 3-year warranty for $1795.
"I was under enormously high pressure," Herb told me. "I was told if you don't say yes now, it will be erased from our data bank and you will never have the opportunity to do this again."
Herb says the salesman got hostile when Herb told him no, then asked he could call Herb back the next day, after he checked with his wife! So much for "your only opportunity."
If you get the pitch, do not take the bait. Auto warranty scams are very high pressure and high cost. They give you no company background. You get no policy details before you buy.
And, according to the BBB and local dealers here, there's a history of problems getting payment for repairs or refunds when you want to cancel.
If you think you need an extended auto warranty, contact a local, established dealer and find out what they have to offer. Find out your options and specifically what's covered and what's not. Do some homework on your particular model and find out the typically service costs you might expect to incur.
Whatever you do, do not buy a vehicle warranty from any company that contacts you out of the blue with deceptive scare tactics and a hard sell.
And keep in mind that in this state, auto dial, automated telemarketing is illegal.
Previous report:
Don't fall for vehicle warranty gimmick
For more information:
Consumer Alert: Don't be tricked by car warranty notices
Car warranty scams target seniors
How to avoid auto warranty scams