Scam Alert: Automotive Warranty Advisors

Posted by Karoli in Scams April 3rd, 2007

This is the second notice we’ve received in the mail from these people. A couple of observations before I give details: a) There is no return address; only a telephone number; and b) There is no reference to which vehicle we should be considering a warranty for. Still, it looks pretty official, doesn’t it?

It took me awhile to track this down — Internet resources aren’t all that plentiful on these, but I did find some. There is a website for these people which consists of 2 pages: A home page which claims to have “Senior Warranty Consultants” to custom-design an aftermarket auto warranty for your needs, and a phone number.  The second page is a “contact us” page with the same phone number that’s on the home page.

A WhoIs query indicates that the business is located in Florida, but all contact information goes back to Premier Home Mortgage Corp. in Missouri, servers located in South Carolina (Nuvox Communications).

That’s the extent of what’s available online.

When we received the first notice, I assumed they were referring to the Prius, since our other car has nearly 200,000 miles on it.  But our Prius has an extended warranty out to 100,000 miles.  The language in this notice is loaded — here are some quotes intended to grab your attention:

This is your final warranty notice to extend or reinstate your warranty coverage

Sounds pretty official, doesn’t it?  Like maybe something isn’t right with our current coverage and it’s expiring?  Of course, as a throwaway they say that if you extended your warranty at the time of purchase, disregard, but they’re sending this out to everyone anyway.

It goes on with this:

The importance of having warranty protection is at an all time high.  If you have not extended your warranty yet, you must call (toll free) 1-800-xxx-xxxx on or before the deadline date.

This is an example of deceptive, covert marketing at its worst. It is a trap intended to force you to turn over your credit card and/or personal information on the phone.

WTOC TV in Savannah Georgia has a report on their website (their report concerns telemarketing, but I believe there are California restrictions on unsolicited telemarketers that would necessitate a different point of contact):

Two days ago, one telemarketer caught her attention, trying to sell her a new $1,600 warranty for her red 1999 Chrysler Town and Country van, which has 60,000 miles on it.

“They gave me this spiel about my car being out of warranty. You need this,” Sandra said. “If you need repairs, it will cost you money.”

Then the red flags started flying. They wanted her credit card and bank account numbers right then and there.

“There is no way I was giving my credit card over the phone,” Sandra said. “If I’m not giving credit, I’m certainly not giving my bank account number. She said, ‘We have to do this today.’ Okay. Red flag. You know this is illegitimate.”

“It’s just the most popular thing in cons,” Better Business Bureau president Ross Howard told WTOC.

Howard calls this type of scam spoofing. He says its object is to scare a customer into giving up personal info.

“Truth of the matter is, there are not many companies that will give you a warranty for cars with high mileage that is older,” Howard said. “They just want her money. That’s all it is.”

I did a search on the company at the Better Business Bureau website and got the following results:

The Bureau processed a total of 50 complaints about this company since the firm’s BBB file was opened in June of 2005. Of the total 50 complaints since the firm’s BBB file was opened in June of 2005, 47 of those were closed in the last 12 months

Several of those complaints were related to aggressive advertising, but many more were related to refund or exchange issues — nearly half. Despite this, the BBB gives it a “Satisfactory” record.

What troubles me the most about this covert, deceptive effort to get our personal information is that there are ties back to mortgage banking, whether direct or indirect. The BBB information lists a Sr. Vice President and Customer Service Manager as the company management - no President is listed.

So, assuming I were crazy enough to actually call this number, which I’m not and which I’m writing this to urge anyone reading this not to do, who would I really be giving my information to and why? Is the ultimate goal to engage them in some sort of mortgage marketing and/or scamming? (See this 2007 BBB warning about the proliferation of Advance fee Loan Scams).

The tipoffs that this was something other than what they claim to be?

  1. No notice that the card they mailed was an advertisement
  2. No mailing address on their correspondence
  3. An incomplete website with no explanation of their product
  4. The loaded language intended to make me believe I was somehow being irresponsible if I did not contact them immediately
  5. No association with Toyota, the dealer we purchased the car from, or the warranty currently covering the car

Beware of email, telephone calls and mail like this, and whatever you do, DON’T give your personal information to them, no matter how much you are pressured to do so.

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Sphere: Related Content


Leave a comment Comment RSS

Previous: Purity
Next: Josh Wolf: Free At Last, Free At Last

Viewing 70 Comments

    • ^
    • v
    I was quoted $2500-3000 for 2002 Volvo with 106,500 miles for 4 years bumper to bumper transferable warranty. If I sell my car in 2 yrs I can get my prorated 2yrs refund or I could let the buyer of my car assume the remaining 2 yrs warranty. The quote is too high for me! I was asked my mileage, VIN (but did not give it) home number office number! By the looks of the BBB reports alone I do not have time to hassle them or wait for them to resolve issues that I might have with them! Thanks for your information it helped me make a sound decision.
    • ^
    • v
    I recieved the exact card in the mail she offered to cover my vehicle with gold key warranty for my 2004 grand marquis because of the low miliage they could offer me this,the cost would be 2761.00 for a extended five year warranty 552.00 down and 18 pymnts of 172.71 a month for the balance. I told her that i didn'thave that amount at the time, so she told us to call her when we get the money together. My husband and i was going to give her a call on monday but a couple of things had me puzzled when i first called she had no record of my vehicle make, model or vin. i assume that being that they was offering an extended warranty that they should have a record of the current warranty with all the information of the vehicle
    • ^
    • v
    I wish I would have found this websit sooner. Unlike everyone else on here I called and purchased the warranty back in December and now I'm having problems with getting them to pay for my repairs. I have made several phone calls and no-one is doing anything. I will be taking this to small claims court.
    • ^
    • v
    I purchased my new car with a warranty in May 2006. I received the first notice from Automotive Warranty Advisors in December 2006, which I thought was odd. I received my second notice on 16 Apr 07 (with a deadline date of 20 Apr 07). This prompted me to go online, which I'm glad I did. Thanks for your information. The notice has been trashed!
    • ^
    • v
    I called gave my vin and mileage. I was told because I live in California that if I just lied and said I had out of state address that my coverage would be hundreds of dollars less. He described the insurance not warranty as all inclusive meaning that it would cover everything under the sun and beyond. It was amazing how good this policy was. It covered hotel rooms if stranded, rental cars, every conceivable thing that could go wrong with my car or any car that I owned? The only caveat was that my down payment had to be received, by credit card I presume, right now before I hung up the phone. He was only asking for $300 dollars and $150 a month for the next 18 months. When I asked to review the policy before making up my mind and handing over my credit card number he got a little testy with me stating that "Look, everyone just does it, It's a good deal"

    So, Brian or who ever I talked to this morning I got your little Final notice that gave me 3 days to respond. All I have to say to you is I am sure you will get all that you deserve and I am sending you back your ill intention to scam.
    • ^
    • v
    Wow, thanks to everyone who has shared their stories here. Hopefully more will come and post theirs as well, and we can get the word out about how deceptive this whole thing is, from how it's marketed to what they actually do for all that money.
    • ^
    • v
    Received this solicitation and my curiosity and suspicians were aroused. It Arrived on cusp of my initial warrany expiring and I am considering extended warranty. Seemed appropriate. Search engine brought up their website and fortunately yours also. Thanks to all that shared their stories. Forewarned and forearmed.
    • ^
    • v
    I ended up using them and spoke with a Rep who seemed pretty promising so I thought it over a few days and said what the hell so I did it. I received the contract and really combed through it very carefully. I wrote out the things I had concerns on and called the Warranty Company they sell the warranty off to and asked them in specific words what it detailed of. Of course they played stupid and asked me to read the contract and what’s listed is covered and what isn’t is not. Well duh!! Knowing that they would say that I started to get really detailed and asked under transmission it just states Transmission Casing. So does that mean it’s just the casing….she paused for a minute and said if it says that than yes. So internals isn’t covered…No. Okay is the Radio and Command Unit (GPS) covered. She reply’s only factory equipment, well it is factory…she states, is it in the book….I stated no, she said than well its not. I also bought the Radio Warranty as well at additional costs. So I asked okay since I bought the extra coverage and the GPS is built in than the warranty I bought is useless. She states no it’s still good to have but since it’s built in how are you going to cover it? No response. At this point I’m like WTF the guy who was selling me this told me I had the closest to factory bumper to bumper warranty which covered everything.

    As stated before this Company is working off of volume or something and is willing to get people in knowing that they probably wont read the fine prints in this case they were wrong. Also as stated in previous posts if you’re in it longer than a few days or so they penalize you for the refund or hate to say it you’re stuck in it. So I am here posting my experience….save yourself the time and don’t even bother calling them. Spread the word and help people from getting screwed over!!!


    BEWARE OF Automotive Warranty Advisors & Warranty America LLC who they work closely with!!!
    • ^
    • v
    I'm particularly concerned by this type of scam, as I work for an Agency on Aging. The elderly are prime targets for this kind deception, and may end up spending a disproportionate amount of a very limited income thinking that they are making themselves more secure. I will disseminate the scam info widely to the aging-services community.
    • ^
    • v
    Thanks for the information. This is definitely not a good deal. I sent a note to my local NBC Consumer reporter as an alert with the link to this forum. If anyone is interested in information on car info inclding warranties check out http://www.lemonlaw.com/lemonlaw-resources/auto...
    • ^
    • v
    I just got off the phone with these guys and am glad I told them NO. I called because my factory warranty was about to expire and the timing seemed right. The longer I talked to the rep the more pushy he became. He then put his floor manager on the phone to close the deal and he was even worse. The whole thing reminded me of the movie "Boiler Room". When I told him I wasn't ready to commit right now and that I would call him back, he said that if I hung up, the deal was off. That just solidified the fact that it was a scam. I'm glad I did not give him any of my information. I should have checked them out on the internet before calling. Beware of these guys.
    • ^
    • v
    I too received that same card that is shown above. I called out of curiousity as well and my representative was very nice and quoted me a deposit and monthly terms. I said that it was too high and he immediately lowered it but definitely wanted my credit card number for that deposit. I told him that I have to talk to my husband and he gave me his extension to call him back within a few hours. I immediately went online to look for anything about this company and I found this. I didn't give out any of my personal information. Now they did have the info regarding my vehicle. Thank you for alerting all of us to this site.
    • ^
    • v
    This is a scam- I recieved a call from them today and pressed 1 to talk to someone since I don't have a car. I talked to Brian and and told him that I did not like telemarketers calling me and to take me off of their list. He acted offended saying 'How dare I call them telemarketers; that they have been in business for 20 years...' so I asked him where they recieved their information from- He said they got it from the dealership. So I asked what the dealerships name was. He said that they did not have that information. I asked whos name was on the car/policy- He said that I had to give him the year, make and model of the car. I said no way, that they must be stupid to think that I would fall for that. Brian then started cursing at me saying that I must have mistaken him for someone who gave a s*** and that he had too many other people to call before the end of his shift to deal with me not purchasing anything from him and he hung up.
    • ^
    • v
    Thanks for posting this. I received this card in the mail and thought it was strange that they are wanting to extend my warranty, but they didn't even list the year/make of my car..... so I thought I'd do a little research on this and glad I found this page.
    • ^
    • v
    it to late for us we purchased the warranty with this company .we were told we had a $ 50.00 .deductible when we were uses the warranty it now $80.00 ,we were told the national rate of labor is highing is or city san Francisco. but David said no matter were we it is $50.00 debuctible, not ture . what can i do about this now?
    • ^
    • v
    Robert,

    I'm not sure what you can do about it. It looks like some folks have had success filing complaints with the Better Business Bureau (there's a link in my post), but it's difficult to prove that you were told $50 because they do everything by phone. Unless they have a recording of that call (which I'm sure they don't), they'll claim that it has always been $80.

    I'll do some research and if I find anything that will help, I'll post it in a new blog post.

    Good luck!
    • ^
    • v
    Final Warranty Notice really caught my attention when I received the postcard. My deadline was yesterday. I felt a scam coming on and had not a moment for a fishing expedition for information since none but my name appeared on the card. What I am curious about is how my name in its configuration of last and middle got on that mailing list.
    Thanks for any insights and thanks for posting this info. My curiosity was satiated.
    • ^
    • v
    i'm the sucker born in the last couple of minutes. i took the bait and signed up for the warranty this morning. read this online and just called "my agent" to cancel the warranty. of course, i had already given my check info via phone. i put a stop payment on the check, but am still worried. anybody else fall for this crap?
    • ^
    • v
    keep writing the ( complaints@cbbb.bbb.org )this BBB is in FL Serving Southeast Florida and the Caribbean (West Palm Beach, FL)2924 N Australian Ave. West Palm Beach, FL 33407 Phone: (561)842-1918Fax: (561)845-7234 Email: info@seflorida.bbb.orgWeb: www.bbbsoutheastflorida.org the more people the better keep writing them
    • ^
    • v
    Do You Know Anybody Who Got Ripped Off By a Car Dealer? I need storys for my new book. Can you ask around. My new book will be out with in 4 weeks. Just go to my website to submit story if you got ripped off.

    Thanks,

    Bob
    http://www.CarDealersExposed.com
    • ^
    • v
    I was contacted by mail several times by way of postcards stating that my vehicle factory warranty has expired. They offered me a warranty to cover my engine, water pump and transmission. Before I agreed to the warranty I asked the man(B.Deen-who, conveniently, no longer works there) on the phone several direct questions pertaining to the offered warranty. I asked, what if I sold the vehicle or had an accident totaling the vehicle in the next year or two, before the warranty was up, would I get my money back. He said YES. He said it was fully refundable as long as I never used it. I asked all of these questions because $2000.00 is a lot of money for something we may or may not need. Well, I never used it and due to mechanical failures of the vehicle we insured, that were not covered, we ended up having to sell it because we were unable to keep up with the repair costs. When I was going over my contract I noticed a stipilation stating that "Coverage is listed in YOUR warranty and is not subject to any verbal representations made by the seller of the product." Basically, what Mr. Deen told me was a lie and I did not get the actual contract in writing(which I never even signed) until after they had already charged my credit card and started me on the contract. I would have never conscented if I had seen the contract as it actually was. I called the company to cancel the contract and asked them to honor the refund guarantee and I was told that my particular contract does not