Company information:
Extended Warranty Corporation
United States
I have a older model Volvo that is nearing the end of its warranty. I received a letter that appeared to have come from my Volvo dealer. The letter implied this was a service my dealership was recommending to keep me in auto parts warranty coverage.
I contacted the company and was given a price that appeared too good to be true for complete coverage of replacement parts on my automobile. (first warning sign I ignored).
I was then told I had to make a yes/no decision on the spot or the deal would be withdrawn (second warning sign I ignored).
I said yes and then did a check on them. (third mistake)
Once I got a copy of their convoluted legal contract, it appears that they have an overly complex legal structure for what should be the simple business of providing insurance on automobile parts: The service end of the business is a legal corporation based out of Missouri while the billing end of the business is a separate legal entity in Illinois. (fourth warning sign--be wary of complex legal structures).
My Volvo dealer said that they would not honor the contract, and had no relationship with the company. They made it clear that I could take my business elsewhere. When reviewing the terms of the contract, I can see why my dealership would rather not have me as a customer than have to deal with Extended Warranty Corporation.
When I called Extended Warranty Corporation to inform them that I wanted to get out of the contract and terminate the relationship, they were rude.
I paid a tuition of $400 for some valuable business lessons. I give you the lessons learned for free:
When something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
When a salesperson says you have to make a yes/no decision right now the answer should be no.
Make no commitment until you have researched the company. I hope you are reading this note before you said "yes."
Now here is the amusing thing about this whole episode. While being hoodwinked into this scam, I was writing an article called How to Spot Shenanigan Prone Companies and working on giving a speech on the subject to a trade group. I am on the faculty of a Business School at a University.
This professor gets a grade of "F."
Now that you have seen the Monarch Notes, I hope you do better than me!
