We've told you how mobile phone companies have been suing the annoying culprits behind the automated extended car warranty calls that plague us morning, noon and night. 

Well, in a complaint filed in an Atlanta federal court, AT&T Mobility has named a Maryland company, Volcano Leads, as one of nine responsible for millions of these calls during just a few months.

Justin Ramsey, the owner of Volcano Leads, denied the allegations when reached yesterday by business reporter Lorraine Mirabella, saying his business never owned an auto-dialer.

AT&T says the companies violated the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and hopes to prevent them from making future calls, as well as fining them $500 for each violation of the act.

See below for a copy of the complaint as well as a sampling of the numbers they were calling from --- perhaps they are among the ones you've set to silent ring tones!

Continue reading "Extended auto warranty call lawsuit names Maryland company" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 1:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Cars, Cellular/Landline/Voice over Internet, Scams, Warranties
        

Extended auto warranty calls have been dealt another blow!

An Illinois judge has issued temporary restraining orders against two companies responsible for about a billion  extended car warranty "robo-calls", according to the Associated Press.  

We told you last week that the Federal Trade Commission had sued two companies over these extended auto warranty calls, and readers certainly have shared their robo-call horror stories.

The restraining order will remain in effect until May 29, when an FTC hearing has been scheduled on these calls. 

Posted by Liz Kay at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Cars, Warranties
        

Chrysler has closed more than 700 dealerships nationwide, and now more than 1,000 General Motors dealerships are facing a similar closure fate.

Yesterday, the out-of-luck owners on the Chrysler dealership closing list were told they have a limited time to get rid of their inventory. I'm curious: is anyone tempted to buy a vehicle from one of these dealers, because clearly with the need to move product, there could be a lot of room to bargain and negotiate.

As business reporter Andrea Walker wrote: 

Chrysler won't buy back the 40,000 vehicles that are on the lots of the dealers slated to close. The dealers won't be able to sell the cars themselves after June 9 when they are no longer affiliated with the company. Chrysler said it will help redistribute the cars to remaining dealers and said there should be a demand for them because the automaker isn't producing cars while it's in bankruptcy proceedings.

Dealers get loans to purchase cars from the manufacturer, Andrea says, so if they don't make the sales and if Chrysler doesn't have to buy them back, they are in a tight situation.

Then again, you might wonder about the fate of your rebates and other incentives if you've already bought a car from one of these endangered dealers. Consumer Reports offered advice last month about bankrupt car dealerships and other potential problems.

UPDATED: Here's an Los Angeles Times primer on how warranties and rebates would be affected by Chrysler, GM dealership closings. According to them ...

(Photo: Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)

Continue reading "GM, Chrysler dealerships closing: good time to buy? " »

Posted by Liz Kay at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Cars, Cheap/Frugal, Warranties
        

Auto warranty calls irritating you? Well, Consumerist has posted the phone numbers of some car warranty callers --- information gleaned from settlement of a suit filed by Verizon Wireless. Two companies will be donating $50,000 to victims of sexual and child abuse.

If you're getting repeated calls from the same number on your cell phone, some readers suggest this advice to avoid automated calls: assign them a name in your phone address book, and a silent ring tone.

Posted by Liz Kay at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Cars, Cellular/Landline/Voice over Internet, Warranties
        

If your child's 529 plan investments took a nosedive last year, you'll have an additional chance to consider switching things up a bit, Excellent Eileen told us Sunday.

Usually you can make changes only once a year to a 529 plan, but this year investors will have two opportunities. Eileen warns, however, that just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

You might "lock in your losses" if you switch to less volatile, more conservative options and the market bounces back, she points out.

Whether you should make changes will depend largely on your child's age.

If you have a younger child, you have the time to ride the ups and downs of a fairly aggressive stock portfolio. And stocks still manage to provide the best returns over the long haul.

The difficult choice will be for families whose children are a year or two from college. Do you stay put with your investments, or not?

Continue reading "Consumer Sundays: a 2nd chance to change 529 plan investments and testing Comcast customer service" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 8:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Budgeting, Cable/Satellite/TV/Comcast/FiOS, College/Financial aid, Investments, Warranties
        

When I'm confronted by a problem I don't always know how to solve myself, I always try to find someone with more knowledge, power or leverage to assist me when I want to Get-R-Done, a handy phrase coined by that lovable Larry the Cable Guy.

In the case where I was getting annoying telemarketing calls about extended auto warranty offers on my cell phone, out of curiosity, I contacted my provider and asked them if they received a lot of complaints from their customers about these calls.

What Verizon's Leigh Schachter told me, warmed my heart.

Turns out, these auto warranty calls annoy A LOT of Verizon Wireless customers, which in turn, annoys Verizon Wireless a great deal, too, said Schachter in a phone interview with me yesterday. Schachter is assistant general counsel for ligitation for Verizon.

How annoyed is Verizon? Annoyed enough to file suit in state and federal court to stop these shenanigans.

Continue reading "Verizon hates annoying auto warranty calls, too: Part Two" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)
Categories: Cellular/Landline/Voice over Internet, Complaints, Consumer protection, Marketing/Advertising, Warranties
        

I was so glad to hear I'm not the only one annoyed by pesky extended auto warranty offers in my mail, my home phone and cell phone. After the column ran, my colleagues here in the office were quick to send me the numbers annoying them, too.

Marvelous Marcia over on the Metro Desk received several. She's been taking down numbers:

562-288-7125

517-931-2516 (not warranty, but low cost healthcare)

866-788-9833

The great and wonderful Real Estate Wonk-esse herself, Jamie, sent me this number: 402-562-8737. "Please don't make the mistake of driving without a warranty," the recorded voice urged.

Steve from North East said he got rid of one company, but now he's getting a number from outside of the country: 011-50622377029 Costa Rica!!!

Continue reading "Lots of people hate extended auto warranty calls, Part One" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (44)
Categories: Cellular/Landline/Voice over Internet, Complaints, Consumer protection, Marketing/Advertising, Naughty businesses/NBotW, Warranties
        

Warranties won't likely save you. Recently, I wrote about how Marquette Brand's relatively new laptop screen cracked and how the resourceful first year law student had Gateway fix it under the warranty. She should count herself fortunate since it's near impossible to prove that damage is not your fault.

If you're shopping for a computer, cell phone or some other gizmo, keep these handy dandy warranty tips in mind.

Continue reading "If you're a klutz..." »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Warranties