I have been getting calls on my cell phone telling me my auto warranty is almost up. They know where I purchased my auto and they have my name and phone number. Such is the case with many of these businesses. My coworker got a call today. They don't know the make and model of your car, or your location, for the most part. They'll ask you what your make/model is and your mileage. Then they will go into their reference book and see what the manufacturer's warranty is for whatever it is (my friend drives a Cobalt and the GM warranty is 5-yrs/120,000 miles or something like that). Then they will offer that warranty to you--which is to say they will offer you the new car warranty for your used car, which should sound an alarm right away. What they said to him was that because his mileage was over 60,000, they really shouldn't even be offering him the extended warranty, but they are doing a special one time promotion. Then they will ask for a down payment and begin monthly installments. They asked him for >$300 CDN deposit and then were going to ask for $200 or so per month, which is very expensive. First off, don't give credit card information over the phone. Second, if you need a warranty, get it through your auto dealer, not from a company you've never heard of. There are companies in California, in the mid-West, Tennessee--all over. Basically what they are doing is selling you an extremely overpriced warranty that will cover an extremely limited number of problems. Also, from what I've read online, when they do cover a problem, they will insist on using second-rate parts. In the worst case scenario they are just trying to get your credit card information and rob you. Some of these companies reportedly go out of business rapidly after getting x-amount of deposits/down payments. One of their tricks is to pass the phone around to two or three people to keep you off guard. They ask questions to verify your identity when really they are asking because they don't know. They will ask for your VIN, etc.. In some cases they actually do know if your real warranty is up. If you get contacted and it sounds legit, contact your auto dealer anyways. Odds are they will warn you that it is a scam no matter what they've said over the phone. You can ask for the business name of the company that is contacting you, and if they (reluctantly) give it up, you can look them up with the BBB or the equivalent. Also, if they are unwilling to submit the terms of the coverage in writing, they are a scam. From what I've read they refuse to do this and they also refuse to let you talk to a 'manager' or whatever over the phone. In some cases people get calls every day or several times a day once they are identified as a mark. Just a heads up for everyone because this is becoming more common. They asked for my co-workers credit card information almost immediately and then when he was reluctant, they said they were only offering the deal to him now and would delete his profile off their system if he said no. He told them he didn't have his CC on him and they eventually said they would call him back later. The number that called him was an unlisted business number in Cali, but these operations are popping up all over the place. Supposedly they target the elderly and women especially.
Supposedly they are using an automated response service to steal your phone information and then make long distance calls too, the bastards. If an auto warranty company calls and its automated, asking you to press buttons to talk to someone, don't. Whatever the sequence is gives them license to make calls with your number, somehow, or so I've been told.
I've been called by those guys at least 5 times in the past few months. They're kinda dumb for contacting people who don't even have a license.
Practically everyone I've mentioned this to says they are being harassed by these companies with incessant phone calls. I don't know how widespread this scam is but it seems rampant right now.
Yeah, I get like 3 calls a day from different states, all telling me my warranty is almost up. I even get mail from these companies every couple days, as well.
I get those messages on my office phone, which is funny because I never use my office phone number for any of my personal business ever. My boss gets them too.
