"This is a limited time offer! Act now! Your car warranty is about to expire! It's important that you contact us immediately!"
The street hawkers of yesterday are the automated auto warranty callers of today. Their tone is still urgent, their warnings compelling. You might be tempted to dutifully answer their call by pressing the number on the telephone. But beware, if you do so, you've entered into the telemarketers' realm.
In this kind of scam, an automated call (a robocall) urges you to buy "extended warranty" coverage for your vehicle for $2,000 to $3,000. The "coverage" is deceptively portrayed as an extension of the original vehicle warranty and supposedly covers the vehicle from "bumper to bumper." You are often subjected to abusive behavior by the telemarketing company, especially if you ask that the calls stop.
Only after you purchase the supposed warranty will you find out that the company is not affiliated with your car manufacturer, the warranty doesn't provide “bumper-to-bumper” coverage, and excludes certain preexisting conditions. You'll likely then find it difficult, if not impossible, to get your money back due to the company’s stonewalling.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) often files lawsuits against telemarketing companies that deceptively use automated calls to urge consumers to extend their automobile warranties. The FTC warns that these companies disregard the federal "Do Not Call" Registry, which was started in 2003, and says the Registry is a valuable tool to protect consumers against scams and unwanted hawkers. The FTC has also declared it will prosecute any telemarketing firms which disobey the Registry.
Under FTC rules, it's illegal for most businesses to call you with robocalls unless the message is purely informational, like to let you know your flight's been canceled or to inform you about a delayed school opening. If you receive unwanted prerecorded telemarketing calls, file a complaint with the FTC at the National Do Not Call Registry. The FTC set up this website specifically to handle complaints against telemarketers whether or not your number is on the Registry.
You might be fooled by the official-sounding messages which are meant to sound as if they're coming from the car manufacturers. In reality, car makers use more reliable means to contact you if your warranty coverage is expiring or is somehow in jeopardy. Such an urgent matter wouldn't be left to chance phone calls by the car makers.
If you're in doubt as to the validity of a call, contact your car dealer or the car maker about it. Save the literature and receipts from your car and car warranty purchases. Research the issue of whether it is economically feasible—or even possible—to extend your warranty coverage, especially through a company other than the issuer of the original coverage.
Never give your personal information, like bank account numbers and credit card numbers, to anyone you don't know, especially over the phone or to an automated call. Once you've released that information, you can't be sure how it'll be used. Additionally, you'll likely have difficulty tracing the identity and location of the robocaller and might be left with no legal options to get your money back.
