Some Auto Warranties May Only Guarantee a Bad Deal
Friday, May 30, 2008
LITTLE ROCK – Have you received a phone call or letter in the mail recently regarding the expiration of your car's warranty? If you have, beware. While this may seem like legitimate correspondence from your car's manufacturer or your dealership, odds are that it's actually not; rather, it's an advertisement from a company aiming to lure you into an expensive service contract. Today, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel issued this consumer alert to warn Arkansans about this deceptive marketing practice.
Across the country, consumers have received telemarketing calls and letters or postcards, which are designed to look like official correspondence about their car's warranty. The consumer's personal vehicle information is listed in the letter and the warning "Final Warranty Notice" is displayed prominently in big, bold ominous print. Recipients of this notice are urged to call a toll-free number to ensure that their coverage remains intact. What the notification does not say, however, is that the coverage is unrelated to the consumer's existing warranty and that the company is unaffiliated with the consumer's car manufacturer. Thus, many people who receive the notice and call the toll-free number unknowingly end up buying a brand new costly service contract that may not have been necessary.
"Few things can be taken at face value these days, especially unsolicited mailings," said McDaniel. "Solicitations continue to get more sophisticated and sneaky, making it hard for the untrained eye to determine what's legitimate and what's not."
With any unsolicited or unexpected mailing or call, consumers should be cautious and verify the authenticity of a claim by directly contacting their service provider, using a number obtained from a bill or contract. Consumers are also encouraged to contact the Public Protection Department of the Attorney General's Office at 501-682-2341 or 800-482-8982 to see if it has received complaints or inquiries about a particular solicitation before simply responding to it.
