They claim to be "urgent" but some car warranty offers are actually BOGUS!
They claim to be “urgent” but some car warranty offers are actually BOGUS!
They claim to be "urgent" but some car warranty offers are actually BOGUS!
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- We have to move fast. We have to drive to our jobs. We have to run our kids around town. There's no time for our cars to break down! Ask yourself, if something major happened to your car, would you have enough money to pay for the repair? Many of us would say "no," but FOX6's Contact 6 says you should steer clear of "extended warranties!"
“I have an SUV and I know the repairs on the car are not cheap," Stephanie Lasley said.
Lasley was excited to buy a used Kia Sorrento.
She loves driving it, but she thought it was going to need some work soon -- so she talked with a Missouri company called CarSafe and paid $250 dollars up front for its extended warranty.
She also agreed to pay around $100 a month -- but the paperwork never came.
“I am searching the internet and thinking 'let me find this number' and 'where is this company?' They were nowhere to be found and they definitely took the $250 out of our account," Lasley said.
Diane Reinders was also asked to pay $250 up front before seeing the paperwork from a company called Auto Protection Alliance in California.
When she decided to cancel, she tells Contact 6 the experience was horrible.
“He is telling me that he can`t cancel and what is 'wrong with you,' blah, blah. You know, I was in tears before this phone call ended and I am not a very confrontational person, but I ended up being confrontational back. I ended up yelling back at him,” Reinders said.
These companies call your house and send you postcards -- telling you that your warranty is up and you have a limited time to renew.
"Our advice would be for people who are considering buying an extended warranty or service contract -- resist a high pressure pitch. Never give anyone money over the phone unless you see the contract in writing first," Sandy Chalmers Wisconsin's Consumer Protection Administrator said.
The Federal Trade Commission also says beware of auto warranty scams with phrases like Motor Vehicle Notification, Final Warranty Notice or Notice of Interruption. They are trying to make the offer seem urgent and it's not.
“I definitely will be doing, checking some homework on a company I choose to go with or like you said, I can save the money each month," Lasley said.
Unfortunately Contact 6 couldn't get Lasley's $250 back because the company went out of business.
Reinders has a different story.
“I dug my teeth in and I told my husband, 'I am not giving up. I am going to get the money back,'" Reinders said.
She came to Contact 6 and even though Auto Processing Center has an F-rating with the Better Business Bureau in California for not responding to customers, it did respond to Contact 6.
“It was shortly after that I got my money back!” Reinders said.
Of course, it’s better to never let your money go in the first place. It’s hard enough fighting traffic. You shouldn’t have to fight high-pressure car warranty companies!