Filed a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission with the information on the two companies I connected to the robocalls. Whatever the outcome might be, it certainly feels satisfying.
I’m also encouraged by this notice: “Your complaint has been entered into Consumer Sentinel, a secure online database available to thousands of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies worldwide.”
Here’s the link to do this yourself.
Yesterday National Auto Warranty Services, one of the companies that sells warranties through telemarketing (also known as US Fidelis), settled a lawsuit with Verizon for $50,000 and a promise to stop calling Verizon customers. Some news outlets are suggesting this will put an end to the calls. It will not. As I showed on this blog, companies other than NAWS/Fidelis are behind the calls.
Because of that story, I was on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show, talking about my story, along with a rep from Verizon.
I thought that by telling my story, other people would be able to track down the calls and file a complaint once they could prove which company it was. But I realize it’s not easy to get the information you need to file a complaint, so I figured I’d post this advice.
When you get the call,
1) Press 1 to speak to a representative.
2) This representative is unlikely to give any info about the company, so just tell them you are interested in the warranty. If they ask for a make and a model of a vehicle, give them one.
3) You will be transferred to a person who can give information about the company, so do whatever you can to get his phone number. I told them I had to call back with the mileage of the car and that my battery was dying. Only then did he give me his number.
4) Google the number. It should lead you to a website for one of the companies.
Now you should have the info you need. If you’re unsure of which company it really is, post it here and I will help (I’ve done lots of research into the various company names).
Today I did it! I tracked down the factory warranty call!
It’s Automotive Warranty Protection Services, aka National Dealers Warranty Inc., of St. Peters, Missouri.
A call today led me down a path of research that turned up the company’s name and details of legal action for shady practices going back years that include the use of illegal telemarketing calls like the ones I and everyone else seem to be getting.
The company was even sued by the Missouri State Attorney General last year. They settled for a moderate sum and a requirement that the company never use illegal automated calls again. Well I got a call from them today, so they appear to be continuing the practice in violation of this settlement, not to mention federal law.
[Note, this is not US Fidelis, a different warranty services company mentioned on many blogs as being behind the calls. (not saying they don’t do it themselves, but it’s not the one I tracked down today). There was also a report on NBC’s Today program about US Fidelis, as well as two investigative stories about its founder in the St. Louis Post Dispatch.]
Here’s exactly what happened today:
The factory warranty on your vehicle is about to expire 
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