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Warranty and Service Scams plague VW customers.
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We, at VW Southtowne, wanted to address a recurring issue that is plaguing our dealership (and possibly other dealerships) and your phones/mailboxes. Even our employees have been on the receiving end of these deceptive practices.
Have you gotten a call or a piece of mail telling you that your warranty is expired, one offering you an extended warranty, or that you MUST come in and get your service done? Did that person identify themselves as an employee of Volkswagen/VW Southtowne? If not- hang up and throw away that letter! Volkswagen Southtowne mail will always be addressed with our Volkswagen logo on it and we will always say, “this is so and so from VW Southtowne” when calling you. We will NEVER mail this kind of junk out to you. Unfortunately your information is being sold to third parties, whether it’s through the DMV, the post office, or something you may have signed up for in the past. As our customers, your privacy is our utmost priority and we DO NOT sell your information.
If you are a new VW Customer, chances are you have a warranty through the dealer, or you may have purchased extra protection with your used car. If you know you have one, don’t even answer the call and throw away that piece of mail. That’s right, we are saying just ignore the call and get rid of the piece of mail that looks like this:
Over the past 7 years there have been several auto warranty scams that have been in circulation. In 2008 NBC ConsumerMan, Herb Weisbuam, did a story on auto firms launching sleazy scams. The mailings look like an important notice from your car dealer or automaker. There is always an eye-catching warning on the front of the card, such as: “Final Notice: Expiring Auto Warranty.” To read more about Mr. Weisbaums research click HERE. In 2009 Edmunds.com posted a great article that is a great outline of what the warranty scam is, what not to do when you receive the call or letter, and what to do. READ MORE HERE It is surprising that even after the Attorney General issued a warning against these companies and a U.S. District Court in Chicago issued a restraining order demanding that three companies accused of aggressively making automated calls to sell auto warranties across the country cease the pitches that they continue to plague consumers. One of our employees answered a phone call from one of these companies and their answer to why they continue to call was “competition.”
After doing extensive research, it doesn’t seem like reporting to the BBB or FTC is an effective way to put a stop to this issue. However, here is a link to the FCC: Beware of Auto Warranty Scams. This will give you direction where to report these pieces of mail and the phone calls you are receiving. Don’t be fooled by numbers that look local, they also told our employee that they call from generated numbers and they may not even be from the area you live in.
What to take away from this: BE A SMART CONSUMER. If you know you have a warranty already- just throw it away or don’t answer the call. If you don’t have a warranty… just throw it away and don’t answer the call. You can always call us for legitimate options.
We don’t want to see our customers, or anyone else’s for that matter, put in a compromising situation. Feel free in the comments to leave the phone numbers you’ve received calls from to warn other consumers and if you ever have questions PLEASE feel free to reach out to our customer care managers regarding this: 801-676-6401
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