Since people often post about whether to purchase an extended warranty or not (excluding factory backed ones of course) the regulars might keep this in mind for future reference. The only difference between these guys and the others is an indictment.
Cdaquila should pin this as a constant reminder to all the folks that ask about third-party extended warranties.
Hi - a little off-topic from me. Y’know, I don’t know if a sticky is the answer to this one, but I think that this is one of a bunch of subjects that would benefit from some sort of “greatest hits” or frequently asked questions treatment. I’m sure you all can think of others, but that shifting-into-neutral question and a couple of others immediately jump to mind.
You’re right, this is a ‘FAQs’ type of thing. It’s be nice if we could have that.
I think it would be a fun (and useful) project to identify these subjects, and I’ll see how we can get something like this going. I don’t know how it will be prioritized, but it gives us something to look forward to!
Great start…now how about “kevin trudeau”…How scum like this are NOT behind bars is beyond me.
he uses the money he scams from people to pay for his lawyers, who keep him out of jail
Last fall I bought a new LCD television set from a big chain electronics store. This past spring the set developed a problem in the power supply. I went to the store where I had purchased the set. I was asked if I had purchased the extended warranty. When I said that I had not, I was told that they wouldn’t help me and that I had to deal directly with the factory. I did call the factory. It took ten days, but a serviceman came with the correct circuit board and the television was repaired in less than 20 minutes. I told the electronics store that I would do my purchasing of electronic goods from WalMart or a similar store. If I have to deal with the manufacturer myself, there is no reason to pay more at the electronic store.
I always turn down extended warranties whether it is on an automobile or a vacuum cleaner. I save money by being my own insurance company. I have an upright vacuum that is great on carpets, but the suction for the tools is really weak. I was going through a Sears store and a canister vacuum caught my eye. It was priced at $20 because it had a problem–all the tools had been lost. There was just the power unit and the hose. I bought the vacuum because I already had the tools with my upright. Three days after I bought the vacuum, I received a call from Sears. For only $20 a year, I could protect my investment in the vacuum cleaner for the next 5 years. I turned down the offer.
While these 2 guys are the extreme and turned it into a criminal matter, one has to consider how many times that some warranty companies will cease operations and reincorporate the next week under a different name while leaving the subscribers holding the bag.
There’s also the matter of muddying the waters and denying even a legitmate claim. This forces the subscriber into a situation then of possibly retaining a lawyer and trying to push a claim through.
While the real answers will never be known to me, back in the late 80s I worked for a long time, reputable dealer and rumblings were that we were in trouble. My employer had backed someone in a new GM franchise and the guy he backed gutted the franchise pretty quickly and skipped out; stiffing everyone in the process.
The rumblings were that he left with nearly a quarter million dollars and he ended up in San Antonio, TX running an (drumroll) extended warranty company.
(Yep, the dealer I worked for went under a year or so later after decades in business and I also had to move on. )
NY had a problem with construction companies some years back. They’d start up…last about 2 years…then shut down when the people they did work for took them to court for the shoddy work they did. Then start up a new company.
Laws were changed so that the individual owner could be sued instead of the company. It still happens, but now where near the frequency it use to.