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make a note:
Step 2: Start insurance/warranty company.
2 replies
make a note:
Step 2: Start insurance/warranty company.
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Are there any legit car warranty companies?
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@IfThenElvis: The answer is, by definition, no. Insurance, under any guise is always, must always be, financially inefficient. This means that you ALWAYS pay in more than you receive. They prosper for the same reason that Casinos do, people, being the dumb idiots we are, always think that they are going to be the one exception and score the windfall that companies tout.
However, unlike Casinos, companies like USF make their most money by taking yours and NEVER giving it back (in claims). Really, what are you going to do--they have your money and practically you have no way of getting it back, regardless of how right you are and how wrong they are--so what.
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@IfThenElvis: You should always consider Certified PreOwned cars first - they come with warranties from the manufacturer.
Barring that, runchadrun's advice is solid. Manufacturer branded warranties are best. Dealerships typically don't like them best because the manufacturer limits the markup - which lessens their in-pocket. So insist on the manufacturer branded.
By the by, the bigger advice? You're better off getting a used car from the like dealer and not some random used lot. Sure, those random used lots may have \"deals,\" but one has to wonder why the Nissan dealer passed on that great deal at the auction and let BillyBob's Used Cars pick up that car instead...
@IfThenElvis: If you get the one extended warranty provided by your car's manufacturer then it's legit.
I bought a third-party warranty for the car before my current one directly from the dealer (I thought I was buying the mfgr warranty but it turns out that I didn't pay close enough attention) and it turned out to be legit. It was a little bit of a hassle to deal with because if the repair cost more than a certain amount they would have to send out an adjuster but they almost always paid. But since I had a VW, the cost of the warranty more than paid for itself. I don't remember the name of the company, though.
Some insurance companies sell a form of extended warranty but they are legally insurance policies and are generally regulated by your state's Department of Insurance so they tend to be legit.
These practices would be only be ok if this company was selling $180 pairs of jeans.
Just b/c the founder and President is an ex-con doesn't mean it's not legit. I mean, the LifeLock creator got the idea while he was in jail, and that's an honest company, right?::nervous chuckle::
But seriously. Chris, having bats in your house/eaves isn't that bad. They eat a lot of bugs. I have been trying to build a successful bat box for years and/or get bats to live in my barn, so the mosquitoes don't bother the horses much. Please don't associate these gentle, docile creatures with this scammer. ;)
@snowburnt: My next attempt is a batbox on a pole, and I can plant a garden underneath to capitalize on thew guano.
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Lol I'm getting these spam letters now that my car is a couple years old.
@Raekwon: I think they just send them to everyone, regardless of when (or even if ever) you bought a car.
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@Shadowman615: Yup, they've started sending them about the car I've owned for 6 years after I didn't respond to the letters about my wife's car (which we bought used in September).
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Wow, that woman got ripped off alright - I got my car warranty from US Fidelis for only $1595!
That CEO they interviewed seemed like such a slimeball
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\"One hilarious detail pointed out by Today is that US Fidelis calls itself a \"faith based\" company...\"
Good advice from the Bible:
\"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.\"
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@GMFish: It is my general attitude -- and I say this as someone who went to seminary -- that any company that tells me its religious orientation (other than a religious services company, like Bible supply or yarmulkas R Us) is covering for abominably bad business practices, whether it's just very badly managed, very overpriced, or an outright scam.
Sticking a Jesus fish on your sign is the fastest way to ensure I won't shop with you. Not because I'm not a fan of Jesus, but because it's like advertising you suck at business.
(It may also be advertising you suck at liking Jesus, all ye Moneychangers In The Temple. But that's between you and Jesus.)
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@GMFish: I'm tired of companies saying they're \"faith based\" - most of them probably aren't, and most of them use the meaning of faith by using it to take advantage of others. The better principle to follow is \"practice what you preach\" and stick to treating your customers like you say you will, and like how you would want to be treated.
@pecan 3.14159265: There are plenty of examples of companies use the whole \"faith based\" thing as cover or distraction for what they are doing. I find it disgusting but sadly it works quite often.
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@bohemian:
FAITH - noun
\"Belief that is not based on proof\", \"Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.\"
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God, those commercials look about as legit as those \"send us your gold, you morons\" commercials. I always think these things are going after senior citizens.
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come on, anyone who robo dials my cell phone at 7 in the morning about my nearly 11 year old car's warrantly has GOT to be legitimate.
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@crazyasianman: Honestly? I'm a little surprised that they even pretended to deliver--I thought they were straight out phishing.
fuck all extended warranties for cars. I will never again spend money on extended warranties or tire warranties or any of that. I bought both of those with my honda. never used it once. $3000 down the drain.
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I guess faith based means \"We have faith that you will part with thine money, as thou art a fool.\"
Kinda reminds me of most christian sects actually...
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Ok, I do like the style of that house, if not the execution.
@Murph1908: The video said there would be a bowling alley. Anyone else thinking, \"Daniel Plainview?\"
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Maybe Mr. Atkinson \"Found Jesus\" in jail? Let's not all rush to condone this man for running a faith-based business. Everyone can change for the better. Maybe he plans on offering housing to hundreds of homeless families in his mansion, providing food, clothing, and spiritual guida--
pff.... pftttt.....
HAHAHAHA, I can't say that without laughing. You dumb jackasses. The house of cards always falls.
I have had a very positive experience with WarrantyDirect.com. No, I have no connection to them whatsoever other than satisfied customer. When my original Oldsmobile warranty ran out, they picked up the bumper to bumper to 100,000 miles and when that ran out I used them again for major drivetrain coverage. They worked well with the repair shop and agreed to pay for expenses that exceeded my policy cost.
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@IfThenElvis: I have a friend who had one through his insurance company (I believe it was Allstate). About a yearbefore it was to expire, his car had several major failures. The company (which had by this time pulled out of the Warranty business) was more that willing to cover the first couple, but got suspicious when his electrical system failed a month before the end. They sent out someone to check out the claim and they ended up covering it with no issues. He says that it was one of the best investments that he made.
Extended warranties are usually bad ideas. Buying an extended warranty from a company with an 'F' BBB rating is plain stupid.
I'm not defending US Fidelis (they sound like a sleazy company), but \"terrific expose\"??? Not at all. Other than the interview with the one customer service rep and the summary from the BBB, it was very light on facts and information. So one woman had her claim denied...they never say why. Her claim could have been denied for a legitimate reason, such as she knew it was overheating but continued to drive it until it did major damage.
\"Useless coverage\"...examples please. Is the policy too restrictive, too many exclusions? Are record keeping or claim filing requirements too onerous? Does the company ignore their own contract and deny claims for no reason?
The founder's felony convictions and $17 million home are not shown to be relevant. Were the convictions a single event (DAs love to stack charges) or are they a pattern of behavior? Were they related to a business venture that ripped off consumers? Why talk about the guy's new home? Other than being slightly inflammatory, it added nothing to the issue.
This is poor journalism and not worthy of Consumerist, though US Fidelis's behavior and extended warranty rip-offs are!
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@rolandsherpa: I had some similar thoughts, but wouldn't have been nearly as articulate about it. Kudos.
I was also wondering about how policies like this are regulated. I know in my industry (insurance -- not car insurance, though), there are loss ratios that we have to meet. What that means is that if we make \"too much\" money on a product, states can yank our ability to sell it because it's either overpriced, we're denying too many claims, or we're not getting as many claims as we thought we would. If there are similar regulations in place for this type of warranty product, then the denied claim in this story might be an aberration.
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@rolandsherpa: Well put. I've changed \"terrific\" to \"terrifically entertaining,\" because I *was* entertained. Even if I didn't learn a lot of truly incriminating info from the report.
Glad to see a story on this. When I started seeing commercials for US Fidelis and 3 or 4 similar companies literally every 5 minutes on TV, I knew they were no good.
I can only imagine the list of parts & conditions that aren't covered on a 10+ year old car.
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\"It's the biggest scam I ever got involved with,\" she told Today.
Uh, how many others have you been involved with? Maybe you're a bit too trusting?
I knew it! I hear this damn commercial at least 17 times a day. I thought to myself just the other day \"Maybe this company will be huge like the next Geico\"..Haha, you gotta love it when jackasses get caught!
Any one still not convinced this guy is running a scam should look up \"The Element Church\".....a mega-church run by none other than the $17 million dollar home owing Atkinson.
Oh look...the church has the same business address as the main offices of US Fidelis in Wentzville Missiouri.
Looks like he IS faith based....just has faith you will part with your money so he can finish his $17 million dollar home.
Nice house.
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The BBB received 1100 complaints. At what point does someone take action?
1. Why was this company still allowed to operate despite 40 AG investigations?
2. There needs to be some sort of federal law that empowers the government, in cooperation with X number of state AGs, to completely shut down / enjoin a business at the drop of a hat. Everyone in my office received multiple calls from this company... usually at their office number, home number, and cell number. We are in NYC... 80% of us don't have cars.
3. That guy's house needs to the toilet papered.
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A lot of the car warranty calls I received came from area code 417, which is Missouri.
I've had an idea to start something like an car \"clinic\" - I can do quite a bit and already do for about 15 cars of friends and family, but anyway, we'd be able to do most things (definitely not all, but most of the stuff that people get ripped off on) and our rates would be far far lower because we'd have a higher volume and wouldn't have fancy equipment for the big jobs. For instance, we wouldn't replace engines or transmissions, or do emissions testing, which usually require hoists and dynos/computerized equipment, nor would we do alignments or sell tires. I can probably count on one hand the number of times (excluding state inspections) I've had to take a car to a mechanic to do something I couldn't, so it seems to be that most of this stuff is pretty easy to do, people are just scared of it. It upsets me that people get such large sums of money taken from them for something that isn't really that hard to do.
On the weekends, I'd let 3-5 people sign up for an informative session to learn how to do things themselves. A relaxed environment, really trying to help the community.
It would definitely be a gentleman profession - I have a job now that I work in the morning/early afternoon and could do that then go to this. Charge $30/hr instead of the $70-90 local shops charge and I'd have a line of cars out the door.
Just one of my pipe dreams.
Check your city zoning laws. Suddenly $30 per hour is going to grow when you have to rent a storefront and comply with waste disposal laws.
Frankly, when I see a business that has one of those Christian fish symbols in their advertising, I stay away. Not because I think Christians are untrustworthy, but rather because I think anyone who wears their religion on their sleeve to advertise their business is trying to get undeserved credit. It makes my alarm bells ring.
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OK...is it just me or does their corporate HQ look WAAAAAAAY too much like an Iron Cross?
Never trust anyone who;
Claims to be Xtian
Uses being Xtian as part of their sales propaganda
The only good xtians I have met, personally or professionally are the ones who demonstrated it with their actions rather than their words. The rest are like Falwell and his ilk.
I wanna know under what grounds the lady's car repairs were denied.
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Normally I really dislike civil forfeiture, but it does seem appropriate here.
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I get these, and also a lot of calls from people wanting to talk to Ashley. I suspect Ashley owes someone money. I keep telling them, \"No this is still not Ashley,\" but they keep calling. I'm ignoring them, but maybe I should hook up Ashley with a new car warranty and kill two birds with one stone.
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I generally consider any claim of being a 'faith based' business to be a huge red flag.
@revmatty:
I'm a pastor at a church in Texas and would love to say that the phrase \"faith based\" is a safe bet. Unfortunately, many faith based businesses are more business focused than faith focused, which causes accusations of hypocrisy when our \"faith\" in their business is compromised. I would rather such organizations be non-profit and truly focus on faith and let businesses be just that...money makers. My opinion though...
I need to check the warrenty my dealer sold me and make sure its not these yahoos!
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When I registered my Crown Vic after buying it from the county auction I got the robocalls from these douches. They kept telling me the factory warranty on my Crown Vic was about to expire (No kidding, the car's only 10 years old and wasn't purchased from a dealer).
Their first call was also their last because the price they quoted me was TWICE the purchase price of the car.
\"Why would I pay $3200 for your warranty when I only paid $1500 for the car? I mean I could buy two more cars just like it for what you want for your warranty.\"
\"Oh\"
*CLICK*
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I think if you get one of those phonecalls you should just waste their time, ask a lot of questions and give them a lot of objections. It's kind of fun to listen to them spin their lies. In the end tell them to F* themselves and don't call back.
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I am not interested in helping a man build a \"Haunted Mansion\" in Missouri. Whenever I see the term \"faith based\" associated with someone that is an instant indication of a con man/woman or a bigot.
It sounds like they are violating the Do Not Call registry too.
@Andy Barlow:
The church and faith business is booming. In my town, someone publishes a directory of \"Christian businesses.\" Christianity is touted as some sort of exclusive private club. It's made up of people who patronize each other, build their own religious empires with tax free money, manipulate others with guilt, and judge at will. It is all very offensive and embarrassing to me. I was raised in the Christian faith and still consider myself to be of the Christian faith, but can hardly stand to utter the word to others, because it's been largely twisted into something based on exclusivity, power and greed.
The fact that scammers piggyback onto the faith-based theme is just a logical extension of the faith-based business concept.
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Even legit warranties don't make financial sense unless you're buying a known shitheap.
If you're buying a new car because you want the warranty, you're spending more on that car than it will ever save you. Even if you end up needing a new engine or transmission, you could have saved money buying used. The only exception is if you're dealing with manufacturing defects popping up in the first year or two on a car with really low depreciation, like a Mini...and even then it only makes sense if you were going to buy nearly-new.
If you're buying an aftermarket warranty, it only makes sense if you're buying something like a Dodge Caravan, where you KNOW you're going to need a new transmission.
If it were a winning bet for the consumer, no one would sell aftermarket warranties.
Warranties are a bad reason to buy a car (don't get me wrong, they're not a reason to NOT buy a car) and are a sucker bet in general.
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@TechnoDestructo: I think it's more nuanced than this.
With warranties (the aftermarket kind), you're buying peace of mind. If you put a value on that, then they're worth something even if you never file a claim.
There are a few things to watch out for.
- Review the contract before signing up. Usually there's clause that explains what's covered and/or what isn't. Maintenance and parts that fail under normal wear and tear usually aren't covered, but there may also be some ambiguous language on what is covered. If it looks fishy, it probably is.
- When you buy, determine when the warranty takes effect. Dealers will sell an aftermarket extended warranty even when the car is still under factory...but the clock may start ticking on the extended warranty immediately, and not when the factory warranty expires. You're paying for coverage - make sure you can use it. Or try to get the price prorated.
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I'm sorry...toward the end of the video, in part of the Fidelis commercial, did I see a car die, turn in to a ghost and go to heaven?? Too funny.
As a dealer, we get phone calls constantly from people who get a call and are told their warranty is about to expire - on the Hyundai they bought 3 months ago with the 5 year bumper to bumper coverage!
The people who usually get upset are the elderly, in my experience. I guess younger consumers just hang up. The bogus warranty companies seem to prey on the elderly.
Fidelity and Zurich are two companies that right service contracts that actually pay the claims. There are many, many, many out there who will not pay claims for the smallest of reasons.
I'm not sure if this has already been mentioned, but is Fidelis one of the companies using ID spoofers to harass people with this bullshit? In that case, they should be fined $10,000 per call until the company (and anyone in an ownership position) should be jailed for a year for every call that they cannot pay the $10,000 fine.
That doesn't even begin to get into the the actual deal with the warantee itself.
Faith-based? Yes. They have faith that there will always be pliable morons who will send them money. Now that they've been exposed they'll have to air their BS commercials every 5 minutes for a few days, instead of every 10, to keep business flowing.
Maybe I'm misremembering, but I saw an ad on TV for Fidelis today... and I'm pretty sure it was during the Today show.
Seriously, I understand that the world is full of sleazy slimeball con artist crooks... but do TV companies have to accept their dirty money and run their ads? Isn't the TV company at least a little bit complicit?
I work as a receptionist and get anywhere from 5-50 auto-dialer calls a day from an auto warranty company. No matter how many times I dialed in and asked to be taken off their list, the calls would keep coming. Requests to speak to a manager only result in me being hung up on.One day when I called in, I just asked the rep how she slept at night (\"I sleep fine, how about you?\"). Now I just dial in and put the call on hold so they answer to our hold music - I figure it is at least somewhat as aggravating for them as these incessant calls are for me.
The home of Chuck Berry.
I worked for one of these companies as a rep. We were called National Protection Service or The Warranty Division
When customers would ask if we were from chrysler,honda, ford etc...we would say we are with the warranty division which was not a lie since the name of the company was warranty division. It was such BS! omg...everyday, in order to get the sale we would fake like it was our first day, and the old people would feel bad and sign up.
It was legit, but the services were not that great. We promised a towing allowance and food and lodging allowance, but we never said HOW MUCH the allowance was over the phone. Turns out if they get stuck somewhere they got 25 dollars in towing and food and shelter.
I felt bad and obviously got canned. They have 90 people get fired out of every 100 new hires. And out of those 10 maybe 4 stay 6 months
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Greeeeeeaat.
Now not only does Missouri have the highest number of meth addicts in the country and puppy mills, we have this guy too. :P
Her claim might have been denied because the car was busted BEFORE she got the warranty. If they can prove you knew about it before the purchase of the warranty,they won't cover it.
OK, so I've gotten several of these calls recently, and they've been unsolicited to my cell phone, and I don't even own a car. Now, if I'm not mistaken, thats a violation of a bunch of FTC regulations that have punitive damages attached to them. I have my call logs with the phone numbers those calls came in on. What can I do?
~Adam
I am actually preparing a legal case against this company. I had a warranty THAT was about to expire and I THOUGHT it did because of these phone calls. Besides being on the do not call list I never did any business with them. Needless to say I did not have repairs done because I thought my warranty was expired.
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Rusty and Steve Wallace are in their commercials, which makes you wonder how desperate they are for cash. Then again, they also do ads for 5 Hour Energy...and Geico...and..
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Their CEO does that rapid blinking thing that people do when they're lying. He should really try to control that.
I actually kind of enjoy getting these phone calls, they really make me laugh. The reason, I drive a 13 year old car, I haven't had a factory warranty in many many years. They always try to say that soon I will be without coverage, I always respond that I've been without coverage for about 10 years now. It shocks me that people would fall for this, but maybe I'm just cynical and distrustful.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-453252-100x100.png\")
I thought they just called from a damp basement, but they have REAL offices with a sign and everything! Brazen. Why not just have a sign that says: \"ScamShop\"
When they call, I like to ask which car they are referring to then when they don't know, I call them on their bullshit.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-159466-100x100.png\")
@*****_GitEmSteveDave
Be careful with bat guano. Inhaling that stuff is very dangerous to your health. They drill that stuff into you as a kid in Arizona. Not that I was wandering into a lot of caves and stuff or anything.
Comments hate me again.
I have been hearing all over that this company is scam, but I have given them my business for the past year or so, and I haven't had any problems. Every time I have had to take my car into the repair shop, US Fidelis has worked very well with the mechanics and has covered virtually every repair that I have needed so far. I haven't gotten my money's worth in dollars yet, but the peace of mind that I have is priceless.
I bought the warranty after they kepy calling me since my vehicle factory warranty had just expired. Luckily I did because 5 months later here i am and my transmission has gone. I took my vehicle to the dealershipp thinking the US Fedelis warranty was going to take care of everything the way they said they would when i purchased the warranty but now they are tell ing me they need 5 oil change receipts to cover my transmission. Now I'm not car repair man but what does my oil change have to do with my transmission going. They are tryingto get out out of fixing my car. I will up date this tomorrow after i speak with them. BTW Rusty you should not put your name on this company.
When will people ever figure out that the most common way to scam them is for the scammer to say or imply that they are religious. More people get conned at churches and \"Bible study\" groups than anywhere else. Why? Because religion advertises itself as the foundation of morality, so the sheep who buy into that automatically assume that everyone else wasting time at the church (and this goes for all religions not just Jesus-ism) is an upright, moral, honest person.
Any time you see a business advertise itself as being \"faith based\" or get a business card with a little \"Jesus fish\" on it it should scream SCAM to you. I'm a lawyer, and I can't begin to count the number of people I've met who want to sue someone for ripping them off - someone they met at church.
I wasn't aware US Fidelis was calling itself a \"faith-based\" operation but it sure sounded like a scam to me based on the few commercials I've seen which are all targeted to NASCAR hicks (\"Tell 'em Rusty the racecar driver sent you!\"). The same religious people who con, steal, and rip people off all day long are the same religious people who pay to see people hurt in 'awesome' car crashes.
this is a copy of a letter I sent to rusty wallace website about us fedelis who is one of his racing sponsers and that I am just finding out about the problems caused by this company. I just like many others are in need of help from this scam. Peter McCabe PO Box 424 Croton Falls, NY 10519 June 8, 2009To: Rusty Wallace
My name is Peter and I would like to tell you a story, obviously it’s about me. Being a Father you will understand where I am coming from. My oldest son Peter bought this ‘95 GMC JIMMY the truck was clean , well just like any thing with some years to it ,it needed some things done, so I did them. Breaks all around, from exhaust to the converter back, shocks, belts etc. You know in the mud, snow, rain and cold on the ground have been doing the maintenance on all my vehicles for over forty years like that. Okay, sorry getting long winded, to make a long story short. He gave me the truck so that I could use it to go back and forth to the doctor in the winter and to use it for whatever. Also that he signed up for US FIDELIS coverage, Bumper to Bumper warranty so I wouldn’t have to worry about any major problems should they arise. To my surprise the motor quit, the main bearings were shot the crank, in short the lower end, also the main fuel injector body was leaking. So I got the truck towed and they tore the motor down and had to pull it. To our surprise US FIDELIS refused to cover the motor or the work done, they said because I changed the oil and not a licensed repair shop. I changed the oil once in over 148,000 miles and it’s my fault because I wasn’t aware of this clause in the contract which I never saw. I can’t afford this that’s why my son bought the coverage, I haven’t worked since 1997 and my wife got laid off in January of this year. Nobody wants to hire a terminally ill 58 year old man who was told he had a year and a half to two years and that was eleven and a half years ago. I was on a Liver transplant list for 6 years now they say when and if I need it there won’t be a problem in getting it.
Enough about me, for I could write a soap on the days of my life since 1997. I am writing you to see what you think about advertising and using your name to back US FIDELIS coverage company, that the first thing they do is look for a loop hole so they don’t have to back up the warranty. How many of your fans have bought into this thinking that there vehicles are protected and they find out after it’s too late they have been paying for nothing. Seriously how many people can afford to buy a new car today, they buy used and do the work themselves and don’t keep records except in there heads. They bought this coverage with the hope that they would not have to worry if something happens of an extreme nature. I just need to vent and let you know how I was treated. I hope you and your son have a winning season on the tracks.
Respectfully;
my husband signed up w/ us fidelis on 4/30/09 we did not recieve anything from them until 6/9/09.we did get a payment contract around 5/15/09 for x amount of dollars a month. on 6/09/09 i called us fidelis and was on the phone for 2 hours and getting a song and dance routine. we finally came to an agreement that we would get our money returned and the contract would be voided.today is 6/16/09 and we still have not received our money after they promised it would be returned in 3-5 business days. after another2+ hours on the phone they told me it will be charged back into my husbands account today or tomorrow. then they had the nerve to tell me to enjoy the rest of the day. i informed them that after i have my heart attack from all their shinnanigans i will be calling every day until this is resolved. now i will contact the BBB and consumer affairs
I never believed in there staements. I was emplyed for 40 years in the automotive buisness (Service & Parts Manager).now retired. Even by todays standards their expence figures are unrealistic and greatly inflated. Example: I had to replace A.C. Compressor,Condensor, Evaporator etc.also convert (rectofit) the system to the newer refrigerant (required by law). It did cost me 1/4 of price they claimed to be. Also there prices for replacing an engine or transmission are totally unrealistic. Then you would be better off to junk your vehicle. H.S.
1 got usfidels in may i needed my car repaired and they denied it they said that you would have to get oil ghanges at a oil chaning place you can`t change it your self so your contract is no good on your motor so you are up a creek without a paddle so it`s worth nothing
I used to work for these clowns and I could write a book on all the crooked shit they do. First of all they use a script that itself is one big lie. Second they steal from their own employees. The pay changed on a monthly basis. I saw guys making 10k one month sell the same amount of deals the next month and only make half. Thirdly that faith based shit they sell the community and people around them is a total crock!!! Both owners are convicted felons and just found a new scam to screw the general public. They are only still in business cause it is a huge money maker and they know how to spread the money around if you get my drift.
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$3100!
The dealer tried to sell me one for $700...
@donnie5: That better have been an expensive ass car.