Fraudulent Mail Practice
Complaint
Vicki Curtis
Country: United States
I received a notice from CarSafe that looked like an official notice of Toyota Extended Warranty coverage expiration and believed that it was real. The notice said "Extremely URgent and Time Sensative, Service Contract Expiration - This is not a bill, Expiration: 28 Feb 2010. Service Contract Explanation - Extensions Available to 2015. This letter is to inform you that your factory service contract has expired or is about to expire and you may extend your service contract coverage on the vehicle." It only states in small print towards the bottom of the letter that my extended service contract coverage offer expires Feb 28, 2010, which was misleading, because it appeared to be from the existing warranty provider, which is Toyota. It was by chance my Toyota Repair Manager called & happen to tell me that my warranty was good till Oct 2010. I'm requesting a void of the contract & full reimbursement of coverage, which doesn't start until 30days from 2/23/10. Let's see if they actually send me the money back. How many of us were scammed by this misleading notice. Shame on CarSafe!
Comments
Their statement that "this is not a bill" was a lame but still deceptive attempt to sidestep the mail fraud statutes (39 USC 3001). The rest of the "advertisement" was still deceptive and fraudulent, as your "factory service contract" was not about to expire, nor did they even know one way or another whether it was, or even whether you owned a car, when they mailed this card.
If you have just paid them, due to being duped by their fraudulent marketing, immediately contact your bank to dispute the charges as fraudulent, and file fraud complaints with your state AG, their state AG, and the U.S. Postal Inspector, for using the U.S. Mail in a fraudulent scheme. Include with your complaints a copy of their fraudulent marketing card, and a summary of their fraudulent misrepresentation of the status of your legitimate warranty coverage.
Your bank can reverse charges resulting from fraud within 60 days of the statement showing the disputed charges, under FRB Reg. E for EFT checking account charges, or FCBA for credit card charges (or FRB Reg. CC if you sent a paper check). Dispute IMMEDIATELY, to ensure your dispute is within the 60 day dispute window, then follow up IN WRITING, to best invoke your dispute rights.
You should also file a fraud complaint with your local police or DA's consumer protection unit as well, so you can get a copy of the report to use in disputing the charges through your bank.
Get a copy of the police report, and forward it along with a fraud affidavit to your bank to substantiate the fraudulent nature of their scheme.
http://dgrove.blogspot.com/2009/11/scam-alert-bogus-mail-from-carsafe.html
Related names and numbers:
636-757-7700
720-407-0465
866-364-3331
866-364-3336
CarSafe
Dealer Preferred Warranties
Edge Companies
It appears that this "warranty" marketer is buying mailing lists including car information to target their deceptive offers so they appear more "legitimate" or connected to the manufacturer's warranty.
Careful deception that still succeeds at deceiving is still deceptive.
It also indicates the company's intent is to obtain business through deception rather than through competitive marketing of a fairly and accurately disclosed product.
If you have problems with this company contact FTC, your state Attorney General, and the Missouri Attorney General, who has sued a number of similar companies located in Missouri in the last couple years.
CarSafe BBB report, rated "D-".
http://www.bbb.org/stlouis/business-reviews/a ... es-mo-310250957
"...
The BBB has received numerous complaints regarding this company that sells extended service contracts. Complainants primarily allege misleading sales and advertising practices, poor customer service, failure to cover needed repairs, difficulty cancelling a policy and obtaining a refund, and that the firm made harassing calls or sent harassing mail solicitations even after they asked the company to stop. These complaint patterns are reflected in the complaint patterns below.
...
Name: Car Safe
Phone: (866) 661-2565
Fax: (636) 757-7702
Address: 1529 S Old Highway 94 Ste 110
Saint Charles, MO 63303-3707
...
www.dealerpreferredwarranties.com
dpwarranties.com
CarSafe.tv
...
(866) 364-3336
(866) 364-3331
...
Advertising Review
The Better Business Bureau has questioned some advertised claims contained in mail solicitations sent to consumers. The BBB brought to the firm's attention that an advertisement as a whole may be misleading although every sentence separately considered is literally true, and that misrepresentation may result not only from direct statements but by omitting or obscuring a material fact. The BBB continues to receive a pattern of complaints and reports from consumers alleging that the firm's solicitations are misleading. The company failed to substantiate the advertised claims.
..."
Looks like the Missouri Attorney General just sued them.
You should still block any payments and directly dispute charges through your bank as fraudulent if you can, as that is the most direct way to get your money back in this sort of case, particularly if the company goes bust.
http://ago.mo.gov/newsreleases/2009/Six_vehic ... _sued_by_MO_AG/
http://ago.mo.gov/newsreleases/2009/AG_crackd ... anty_companies/
http://interact.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-sav ... tive-practices/
"12.29.2009 4:09 pm
Koster sues more service-contract firms for deceptive practices
By Matthew Hathaway
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster today sued four more St. Louis area companies that, according to the suits, used unfair and deceptive practices to sell extended auto-service contracts or other coverage plans tied to the purchase of auto additives.
Companies named in the suits are St. Louis-based Carhill Enterprises, which does business as Consumer Protection Services; St. Charles-based CarSafe, which does business as Dealer Preferred Warranties; St. Louis-based Dealership Services; and Maryland Heights-based Dealership Warranties.
Carhill Enterprises was sued last year by then-Attorney General Jay Nixon as part of what his staff called “Operation Taken for a Ride.” To settle the suit, the company paid $7,209 restitution to eight consumers and $4,000 to the state to cover the costs of the investigation. Carhill also agreed to injunctive relief which requires them to inform consumers upfront of specific details of their product prior to purchasing.
In a press release, Koster’s office said the businesses sued today used misleading telemarketing, letters and postcards to trick consumers into believing the factory-warranty coverage on their vehicles had expired or was about to expire. Consumers were not informed that the companies were not affiliated with auto makers or dealerships.
Also, the suits allege that some firms sued today participated in what Koster has called “the additive scam.” The sale of these so-called additive warranties, which was first reported by the Post-Dispatch, allows companies to sell a form of vehicle protection that may not be subject to some consumer-protection regulations.
Consumers are sold an automotive additive — a bottle of liquid, or some tablets. Companies selling the additive say that if the product fails to prevent a breakdown, the warranty on the additive will cover repair bills — or at least some portion of them. But, for consumers, there are big drawbacks to this form of vehicle protection. For instance, consumers aren’t entitled to a pro-rated refund if they cancel. When they buy service contracts, they are.
Last month, Koster filed similar suits against six area firms: St. Peters-based National Dealers Warranty, which does business as StopRepairBills.com; south St. Louis County-based Warranty Activation Headquarters, which does business as Nationwide Automotive Protection; St. Peters-based Extended Warranty Corporation, which does business as Key Protection Group; St. Charles-based Dealers Warranty, which does business as Mogi; St. Peters-based U.S. Auto Warranty; and St. Charles-based Dealer Warranty Services.
Koster is asking the court to issue injunctions requiring the companies to comply with Missouri’s Merchandising Practices Act; provide full restitution to victims and to the state; and pay civil penalties and court costs.
..."
Right now, i would not recommend purchasing a policy through anyone, INCLUDING YOUR DEALER. though mogi does not know that i know this, the last numbers i had heard through their customer service was that 70%-80% of all customer claims were denied. in many of those cases the vehicles were left on the auto-shops parking lot for weeks on end with some of those even being impounded due to lack of payment.
I must give that its not mogi’s fault for the claim not being paid, it would be the administrator of the policy. however, mogi does mislead customers into buying the policies through deceptive practices such as lying, forceful sales tactics and threatening. when the say it rolls down hill, trust me, it rolls from mogi’s management.
The managers create an extremely stressful environment and even threaten their own employees knowing they can get away with it due to the lacking jobs in the economy. currently they have a number of lawsuits against them pending, one of which is a $10 million class-action.
Once they go out of business, which it looks like they may do, anyone who has bought a policy through them will lose whatever funds they paid into it. some important names and numbers in case you would like to voice your opinion personally:
Brian Marino: Owner: 314-560-5572
Jackie Campbell: CEO and head of customer service: 314-495-4888
Dana Rodrigue: Ass. CEO and head of sales: 314-757-2698
hopefully this helps detour anyone interested in buying an extended service contract. whether the company has an A or F rating with the BBB, they all do the same thing. take your money, put it in savings or an account that accrues interest and pay for your repair yourself. the average consumer with an average vehicle spends less than $1,000 on repairs over a 5 yr period on a new vehicle…the avg cost of an extended policy? $2500-$3000…actual cost of that policy before the mark up? maybe $500. food for thought.
Thank you for posting this. I'm glad I checked it out first!
I called CarSafe on 4-28-10 and asked for their physical address which is in Missouri. I was told it is on the letter. It was not nor was it listed inside the letter. The representative told me they do not send out anyone to inspect your vehicle. My reply, how would you know what condition my car is in with out an inspection? He said; the repair service company would send in a report on the vehicle condition when you take it in for service. I asked if he could send a list of service companies under contract with CarSafe, he could not.
New Orleans, Louisiana
After reading the content of the letter I find that it is an advertisement for an extented vehicle maintenance contract. I bought a 100,000 mile extented warranty when I bought the used vehicle. I DON'T NEED ANOTHER ONE!
I received the last letter on 3 May 2010. After the previous letter I called the phone number listed and explained the situation, and requested that I be taken off their calling and mail list. I was then hung up on. It didn't slow them down, now I just received the letter from 3 May 2010. I will call my State Attorney Generals Office next!
Here is their information: CarSafe 866-364-3336
to get my numbers, that was when I realized what they were up to. I will
be taking this to the legal authorities in my state.
I INFORMED THEM THAT MY WARRANTY WAS STILL IN AFFECT WITH TOYOTA FOR ANOTHER 5 MONTHS. I ASKED WHEN THEIR POLICY WOULD TAKE OVER AND WAS TOLD IMMEDIATELY. WHAT ABOUT MT PRESENT WARRANTY? ANSWER; YOU WON'T NEED IT ANYMORE, OURS WILL COVER IT ALL.
NOT WHAT MY DEALER REPLIED.
GLAD TO HAVE READ YOUR SITE. THANKS FOR SAVING ME A BIG LOSS AND HEADACHE.
1.There is NO physical address on the letter
2.There is NO identification of your car or VIN which they ask YOU to supply. (If they don't know what I drive how the Hell do they know that my warranty is about to expire. This is such [***]
I plan to send this to the Postal Authorities as well as the Missouri Attorney General and Illinois as well. Since this letter crossed state lines it also becomes a Federal offense. I am criminal defense attorney and I can tell you that both AG's, and the Feds can seek separate actions against these idiots. So if you live outside the State of Missouri where they are allegedly located contact BOTH your state AG and Missouri's AG and the Postal Authorities.