i L i n d . n e t

5:40 a.m. and the Star-Bulletin’s web site is still displaying yesterday’s edition. It’s very unusual for the Bulletin to be this far behind the rival Advertiser.

Another check at 6 a.m. and the Bulletin had Friday’s edition ready to read, with a few obvious glitches like this one.

So it goes in the land of news.

Yesterday’s mention of the rash of calls from a supposed auto warranty telemarketing firm brought several replies. One reader says:

I have been getting those same calls on my cell phone for over 4 months now. The calls from different numbers all over the country and change all the time. i don’t know exactly what can be done because like you said it’s difficult to find out what company it’s coming from.

I have a few suggestion: check with the “do not call” registry. I found that my cell phone number isn’t on there and promptly registered my number. it takes 30 days to take effect, but after those 30 days you can report the calls to them and supposedly each call is a $500 fine.

Another person identifying himself as “a long time reader, first time writer” who works at a local car dealership shared an adventure playing along to try to get more information on what’s going on with this company. He found a shady, high-pressure sales pitch trying to pry lots of money and making dubious claims. I’m going to quote him at length because it is very informative and these calls have hit a lot of people.

The initial call (as identified by my caller id) came from (623) 238-6232. After listening to the prerecorded message I pressed the number to talk to an agent. He took my name and vehicle information (year, make, and model). I was then transferred to a “senior warranty specialist” who, I was told, would answer my questions about the company behind the “warranty”, the coverage and the cost. The specialist confirmed my vehicle and contact information and then transferred me to the Authorization department, allegedly due to the age and mileage on my vehicle (1998 Pontiac with 97,000 miles).

The authorization department advised that because of my vehicle’s age and mileage, my vehicle file had closed but that he was going to make an exception for me because, based on my answers to his questions, my vehicle was approvable. He told me that he would open the file again (but only for today and if I didn’t buy the contract today it would no longer be available) and transferred me back to my specialist. She was very pleased with the Authorization department and surprised that they offered me the best contract available, the “bumper to bumper” coverage.

I was told the contract was a Warrantech Deluxe and that a 48 month/60,000 mile $100 deductible contract would cost me $933.50 per year or $3,734.00 for the term of the contract. I was offered a $200 discount if I paid it in full today or I could use their payment plan (first year up front followed by 12 monthly payments of $233.38 – interest free!).

I asked for a copy of the contract disclosures and she agreed to fax them to me but insisted that she stay on the line with me so she could help answer any questions I might have. After two failed fax attempts I gave her my e-mail address and received the disclosures. We spoke while waiting for the document to come through. I asked how they got my telephone number and was told that she didn’t know how they got my work number, but that in general, they received the names and vehicle information from dealerships (!).

In response to my inquiry about redemption locations in Hawaii, I was told that I could take it to my dealer or to the chain repair shops. I asked for specifics and was told Firestone would accept it and that I could take my Pontiac to Cutter PBG in Waipahu (she looked up Pontiac dealers near my zip code on-line while we spoke). I repeatedly asked her if I could call her back after reviewing the contract disclosures and was told they could not take call backs. She would not provide me with her phone number. I was told I could cancel the policy and would be refunded my purchase price less a $100 administrative fee, then read on the disclosures that the cancellation administrative fee for Warrantech was $25. When questioned about the inconsistency, they advised the Warrantech policy would apply.

I asked about door to door refund applicability and was told I would be able to cancel it less the administrative fee. When I finally told her I was not interested, I was told my file would close after today and that the contract would no longer be available to me. She even went so far to tell me that my vehicle could be red-flagged because the warranty companies “might think I was trying to put something over on them”. I did not point out that they would be hard pressed to red-flag my vehicle since I hadn’t ever provided them with the VIN, the license number or even my real name. These are some of the tactics the high pressure sales centers employ to take advantage of the unsuspecting and the uneducated. To summarize the misstatements and the red-flags customers should be aware of:
· No service contract is truly “Bumper to Bumper”.
· Artificial sense of urgency, must buy today.
· Refusal to provide contact information – if you bought a service contract but never received the paperwork, how would a customer file a complaint, or even try to get a refund?
· They allege the dealer provided the customer contact information, yet they do not even know the make/model of your vehicle.

I tried to look up business information for the company listed on the e-mail I received in the state of California, the Better Business Bureau and on the web (Pacific Guard Warranty). Nothing came back under that name. I also tried to look up the number I got from caller ID. The number is out of Arizona, but it was not listed in directory assistance. I called it to see who would answer and got a recorded message from a mortgage company thanking me for calling back on the solicitation message they left. When I tried to speak with an attendant it said all operators are busy, but leave your name and number and they will call back (I didn’t).

Okay, it is Friday and time for a few of our favorite felines.

This is Mr. Leo on one of the somewhat rare occasions that he isn’t acting up and being naughty. He’s the one cat who has successfully worked around the diet by demanding payoffs. His message: Put a little food in my dish or I’ll knock over everything on the table. Then I’ll knock everything off the table. Try me.

So he gets special treatment. Wally seems to have lost a few ounces and is started to run the length of the house a couple of times a day. We’re hoping for some measurable progress with Duke, but haven’t gotten there yet. The difference we note with the rest of the cats is that they are hungry and waiting at designated meal times. No more of that “show me the food and I’ll decide if it meets my high standards” attitude. I’m hoping that will eventually translate into weight loss. We’ll see.