Car Warranty Scams Out Of Control
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We receive many complaints daily reporting extended car warranty scams. These calls are not only annoying but also extremely misleading. CallerComplaints.com users report that these calls claim "your car warranty has expired". An anonymous Caller Complaints user remarked, "They say 'This is the last call.' I wish!"
Needless to say, the callers have no idea whether your car warranty is expired or not, let alone whether you even have a car. See Denise's comment from November 9: "I'm on the do not call list - keep getting calls...weekly about renewing my car warranty - I have no car."
Less savvy consumers who have been duped into purchasing extended warranty services over the phone have generally been extremely dissatisfied. It turns out that companies make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to be reimbursed for damages. William Brauch, special assistant to Iowa's Attorney General said, "A number of these companies tend to routinely deny paying, they come up with various interpretations, shall we say, of the agreements, which they say justify them not covering whatever the problem might be."
A few days ago the NY Times reported that several states including Connecticut and Iowa are investigating extended car warranty scammers. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal reported his office has received "a huge number of complaints", and that the state is part of "a large, multistate investigation into such calls".
The best advice in this article came from Robert Krughoff, president of the non-profit consumer advocacy site checkbook.org. He warns consumers, "You would never want to buy an extended service contract without seeing in writing exactly what's covered and what you have to do to make a claim." We agree! Never send payment for a service before you know/understand the terms and have the contract in hand.
Here are several numbers selling extended warranty services reported by Caller Complaints users that you should watch out for:
We are appalled by their blatant disregard for the Do Not Call Registry and use of unethical marketing tactics. As several users have pointed out, these calls also may be coming from "spoofed" numbers which makes it impossible to track down the perpetrators.
If you have received one of these extended warranty calls and are listed on the Do Not Call Registry please report the number to the FTC. Also, put in your two cents by filing a complaint at CallerComplaints.com. Let other community members know what scams are going on so they can benefit from your experience!
29 Comments 
I enjoy going to the specialist and asking them how it feels to be a criminal, or which of my 75 cars are they talking about.
These calls happen like 4 sometimes 5 times a day for me, its really starting to get agrivating. Unfortunately I never get the chance to speak to a living person, so I wonder how they end up making any money off of this...?
Auto Warranty fear monger. Please take the time to talk to these people and get a price for the service without buying anything. Make up a name and use a car that is about 4 years old with 60,000 miles or so. Be nice polite and very interested. Ask for a longer warranty than they offer. The robo callers (front guys)don't get PAID until you are a qualified prospect and turn you over to a real salesman. The salesman will only get paid if you are silly enough to buy. By getting a price, you waste the the salesman's time and cost them money. Agree to most anything (listen to their voice get excited) right up untill they want a credit card. Then ask to see the contract. Just listen for their voice go flat. They will try anything not to send the contract to you and you will never see it. Together we can make it too expensive and time consuming for anyone to market this type of product by calling random numbers and lying to people.
I get these calls (and others listed on this site) many times a day on my PREPAID cellphone. I get dinged at least a minute each time they call, even if I don't answer the call. What on earth can I do?
For once I got a contact number and a written offer from these car warranty sales guys:
"Thank you for your interest in our valuable protection plan. I enjoyed speaking with you today about your vehicle and I wanted to provide you with the information below for your review.
You will enjoy peace of mind knowing that our high quality protection plan is at work for you night and day. Avoiding the high cost of mechanical repairs is just a phone call away. You can join our family of customers that have made the smart decision to protect themselves from sudden and expensive repair costs.
Important Benefits
Claims paid by credit card directly to the repair facility.
Honored at the licensed repair facility of your choice.
Parts and Labor coverage included.
Rental and Towing coverage is included on most plans (not available in California).
Increased vehicle resale value by offering to transfer the warranty to the new owner. (not applicable for all plans)
I am happy to answer any questions and I am looking forward to your call.
Angie Cousart,
800-376-5688
Vehicle Plan Cost
2005 SUBARU Subtotal: 2934.00
LEGACY OUTBACK Tax: 0.00
Current odometer reading: 42,000 Total: 2934.00
VIN: *************XN0V1N $ Down: 495.00
Coverage Plan # Payments: 18
60 / 100,000 Monthly Payment: 135.50
UNITED CAR CARE PLATINUM
Expires: 12/01/2013 100,000
Deductible:$ 100
Please call me with any questions you may have."
They have listed their phone number and have asked for all of us to call, so feel free.
I spoke to Carlos and here is his contact info:
From: Carlos Deane [mailto:cdeane@awsdirect.com]
Sent:
To:
Cc: Carlos Deane
Subject: TUCCALLC02-sp.pdf
My direct # is 800-376-5688 ext.1678
Please remember to be polite.....
Another great way to kill off their interest is to insist that you want to pay by check. That would turn their scam into mail fraud, a federal offense. If they think you're a real live sucker, they'll go crazy trying to convince you to pay by any means other than the U.S. mail. Could be worth several minutes of amusement, if you're into yanking the chains of two-bit criminals.
As for the auto-dialed spam phone calls, I suspect the auto warranty scammers are just paying someone else for the service -- no different from email spam. Perhaps they pay X dollars per sucker reeled in, so that the phone spammers are only interested in (a) making the maximum number of phone calls, and (b) staying a step ahead of the FCC.
I understand many of the people acting as agents/brockers are part of a Multi-Level-Marketing program that feeds the quilifed leeds (for a fee)from a call center random dialer to the agent. So the agent pays the caller center and if they sell a warranty, the upline and the agent share the commision. If it works like many MLM programs, the head of the upline gats paid a share from the call center too, even if no sale is made. Kind of like SCAmway, where the upline makes a profit off every tool or meeting the Sales person attends or buys....
I got a card in the mail from an extended warranty car "service" and I called their number. I had to get very rude to even get them to take me off their mailing list!
Another number you should add to that list of bogus numbers is (866) 338-7877. I live in California and got a call from 'Dealer's Warranty, LLC' claiming that that number is their customer service. They can't provide a valid website or phone number where I can verify their legitimacy. They say they provide warranties through duralube and gave me this website:
http://www.1winnerscircle.com/
As you can see on that website, it looks like it was thrown together hastily and the Contact Us and Site Map button don't even work. Nice try guys but you didn't get me.
Contact Duralube.com and complain. www.1winnerscircle.com copied and pasted the info about Duralube on their site. Copyright infringement and the website is a fraud.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W6wegic3Hc&feature=related
Wow take a look at this YouTube vid of how the sales force is recruted for the Car Warranty MLM program. SCAmway will never go away and neither will these guys. There must be good money in just getting an agent (or 4)to try and sell YOU a warranty by phone. The sales agent pays for each qualifed lead, sale or not. No wonder the robo callers don't ever go away. The goal is to get you on the phone, than turn you over to the sales guy, not really sell any warranty.
You know its suck that you come up with a viable idea and ignorant folks with stamp anything as a scam. YOU called me, I never called you...Lets get that straight. If you want a warranty you can get one. In order to receive service you do have to pay. NOTHING IS FREE in LIFE. Our Warranties are the same as the dealers offer. If anything the dealership is ripping you off. Fact: Most vehicle warranties are back dated all the way to the date the vehicle came of the assembly line. So do your homework. And if a salesman goes flat it all because he or she has bills, and needs to eat to. adirondack get a life buddy!!!!!
Then we have people like George Thomas coming on here crying about trying to sell the crap..this is funny...people come here because they don't want to be bugged by the wacky phone numbers calling them at work/home/cell. Abide by the rules instated by the FTC and make your money - why are you cheating? I personally make it my best effort to waste of much of your time on the phone as possible because I think its hilarious, its the cheapest laugh money can buy.
267-464-5971
Finally found in here. This is third time called and also called me today and told me "this is second warning, your extended warranty car "service" will be expired. Please press one to renewed or press two for cancelled. I pressed one and hoping to talk to them. But it hanged up. Damn! I did check website who are they and where they coming from in
Type: Land Line
Provider: Paetec Communications
Location: Philadelphia, PA
P.S. I don't lived in US. LEAVE ME ALONE
I got calls from all following crooks, all of them are trying to sell me auto warranty and all had same recording.
3304526280
3234297582
2519576108
8174445194
3043690968
8152357297
7023148963
Wow George Thomas, You sound like a victim of some sort...Could be...But I don't see how I could have ever called you for a warranty, even if I were blind drunk. I just did as you asked when you called me at a brand new phone nunber I have never given out to anyone, and take the time to find out about the product you are offering. Of course I don't have to Buy Anything from anyone, but then again you don't have to call anyone either. I think you have bought into the idea that all these calls forwarded to you by the call center (for a fee) are anything but from a random dialer. The boss really wants you to think that is true, but how do you explain the people here that don't even have cars and are getting the calls? Is the boss getting a cut? I'll be talking to you soon, next time you call...I guess I don't need to give you the number.
I get these calls 3-4 times a week, always from a different state, but with the same war dialed "Press 1 to speak to a representative. Press 2 to be removed from our list." Now mind you, I get these on my work line, which is owned by a public agency. Since these calls tend to break my concentration, I always press 1 so I can waste their time too. Typical conversation:
Caller: Mumbmbmbmbm.... Would you like to renew your warranty with us today?
Me: May I as who is calling?
Caller: My name is Allen.
Me: And what is the name of your company?
Caller: Warranty Services Central. Can I get the make and model of your car, please?
Me: How did you get a hold of my number.
Caller: Your auto manufacturer referred us to you.
Me: Which one.
Caller: I can't answer that for security reasons.
Me: But surly if you're calling to renew the warranty on my vehicle on behalf of the manufacturer, then you should know what kind of car you drive. Where are you located again?
Caller: Southern California.
Me: Where in southern California. What city?
Caller: I can't tell you that.
Me: So you can't tell me where your company is located?
click.
I hate these calls, but since I can't get them to stop, at least I can waste their time, and maybe get some information to pass back to the FCC. Unfortunately I have yet to get to the point where I can extract any usable information from these con men (and women). Unfortunately, they know their game, and are pretty good about hanging up when you start asking pesky questions.
Seems like a lot of them come from the Washington DC area.
Just got another and asked "Justin" - "How many people actually fall for your F-ing scam." He actually replied that he SCAMS 25 - 30 a day.
Number from caller ID was 800-219-7425. If you call it back you get a lame recording that the number is not in service.
Next time you actually get one of these idiots on the phone ask to talk to a supervisor, I'll bet you get told that you ARE talking to the Floor Supervisor, as we were told!! (Convenient that the supervisor is actually taking/making calls, don't you think?)
Months ago I was getting Florida vacation calls, lower credit card interest calls, auto warranty calls. Finally I got fed up, found this site, searched the number that had been the biggest pest, got it's carrier's name & looked up the carrier's contact number. Then I called the carrier and complained that THEIR customer was using THEIR services to break federal law (DNC list) & wasn't that a violation of their customer's service agreement which could result in disconnection? They said they were familiar with that #/co., but gave me a bit of the run around, & finally said they were just a wholesale carrier, but couldn't give me information about the retail carrier for privacy reasons, and that I should complain to my local phone company. I asked them to look into it anyway & see what they could do, advising that if the calls didn't stop I would complain to the FTC. I called my local company too, but they said other than using pay-for services like anon. call rejection, there wasn't anything they could do. Imagine my surprise & joy, after thinking I'd wasted my time, to find all the calls about Florida vacations & lowering credit card interest rates just stopped. I still get an occasional hang up call & the rare auto warranty call, but it's not much. If it gets bad, I'll call the carrier again. This won't work on spoofed or anon. numbers, of course, but if they're driving you crazy and you have a phone number, you might try complaining to the carrier. I say make the phone companies take responsibility and stop criminal use of their services.
Got another 4 of these annoying calls today, so I've adapted my stregity to the following:
For all their calls, get the company name (spelled out to waste their time), then their general location... Egg them on for about a minute or two, make them THINK they get a sale, THEN I start cussing them out, and threatening them with "brutal trauma". Heres my point: if they call the police on me for making a threat, they will automatically expose who they are, and then the FCC will take a huge crap on them...
Depending on each seperate caller, I try to use profanity that would offend them the most. I dont beleive I need to explain how to do this, but have some fun with them and blow off some steam with them as your target. Also: right after I start cussing them out, I also say: "hey **** tard, you do realize that YOU called and SOLICITED ME ON MY CELL PHONE." ~ "Click" is the next thing usually heard, while the really stupid ones agrue with me about who called who...
This is how I'm handleing them now, if you dont like my method, tough... Your not paying my cell phone bill, I AM...
you could answer them and tell them they just called private Ph# at the FTC or FCC or tell them do you know you just call a Suicide Prevention Hot Line and blocked a real call now ? you just killed some how do you feel.. or better yet Dude I work 3 cubes down from you just called us...messing with their minds work great one I got so nervous she started to cry.. I hung up.. they are wasting my time at home and on my cell phone and i hope they are found and taken out with raid that puts them al in jail.
they are not selling anything and how ever they got my ph# i want known and shut down as well.
I think they are getting them from the contest we see in malls and place to win a car or free gas for year we sign up and enter out Ph# and forget that this going some place and we never see who wins that car or get the gas do we? I think the will use the well the gave us their Ph# and so we have the right to call them to defend them self's(if you sign some things and put your ph# on it yes you gave them the right to call ) I have 866 message # it is the number I put on all these type of contest and I don't give out any home or personal phone # unless i know who I am dealing with.. the Feds need to stop this and now I think from what I am seeing these guy are using VOIP phone service as it is easy to spoof the caller ID on it. getting them to give you more info is great and you can use that for your state Attorney General to trace back the calls . some seem to be coming out of India from how they are speaking and that would show a VOIP would be used to spoof and hide the calls as well.
the FTC and the FCC need to step up and deal out some jail time for there people and pail back those like me who's cell phone minutes get eaten up on their calls as well
C Consulting
tracking the internet bad guy down daily
Southern California was the only answer I got when I asked them their address. The caller said the name of his company was Warranty Help Desk. I honestly was insulted for my intelligence with that one. They will not give you any solid info. They wasted my cell phone minutes. I told them I was calling the Attorney General's office and was a private investigator that could find out anything. The click couldn't have been faster from their end.
I was thinking the exact same thing Ccounsoulant! They are probably getting our #s from mall! Pretty easy if you think about it!
I GET 3-4 CALLS A DAY FROM THIS PERSON STATING MY CAR WARRANT IS ABOUT TO EXPIRE[I DO NOT OWN A CAR] I ASK TO BE REMOVED FROM THEIR CALLING LIST --A FEW DAYS LATER THE CALLS START AGAIN. WHAT CAN BE DONE TO STOP THESE CALLS
They will not stop. The first call is from a random dialing call center that "sells" live prospects to the sales person. The only defense is to always talk to the sales person and get a price, but never buy anything. Too many price quotes without a sale, and someone will get fired. Be polite, kind, interested, and talk about anything, but don't buy. It's the one thing they cannot stand for long. Then report the number here...
HELP!!!!!!
anyone have any ideas how to stop the calls
between phone must call about 10-20 times a week,
Pressed 2 to be removed
and still calling a year later.
Pressed 1 to try to order the minute asked where they are located
and a phone number to call theme back, they hang up
is anyone doing anything about this
is this legal
actually informed one of them
that am on the national do not call list
their response was
"well, how is that working out for you...."
FCC is now going after these types of telemarketers. They plant to shut down the two largest within 6 weeks...Hope it works. But still talk to each and every one of them as long as you can and then report the number here.
From sources on the internet, it would appear that some of these scammers are receiving assistance from carriers in the form of special programs to torment the public. Qwest offers a service to block unwanted calls and at the same time sells technology to the telemarketers to make their job more stealthy.