Which car dealer gave my info to this scam organization?

Factual Questions
1

I bought 2 cars last summer, different makes from different dealers, one new and the other with just a few thousand miles on it.

Since then I’ve been getting tape recorded calls saying I have let my car’s warranty expire but can purchase coverage, please hold to speak with a customer service representative. I get them at work and at home. Every time my wife gets them, she gets upset because I screwed something up and the warranty is now expired.

Except, of course, it isn’t, not according to either dealership.

When I wait on hold and speak with the representative, it’s a high pressured sales pitch that starts with them asking me about the model and make and year of the car. I’ve tried to explore who these people are, but when I try to get some kind of company identification they laugh and hang up. As far as I know, laws preventing unwanted sales calls are enforced through the recipient identifying the source of the calls, as if I have some way to reach through the wire and grab someone’s neck.

I don’t even know which dealer sold them my contact information, because they can’t tell me which car the warranty has expired on. Or won’t tell me. I don’t know how else anybody would know I have the cars - I didn’t finance them.

Any ideas how I can stop this? I’ve had two calls just this morning!

2

I don’t think anyone sold your number. The folks doing this scam are cold calling. I’ve gotten calls at home even though my current car had too much mileage when I bought it to qualify for a warranty. Also the calls we’ve been getting at work, **on our PA system!, ** never give a number to call back.

I can guarantee that our PA system does not have a warranty that’s about to expire.

3

It may just be coincidence. I get those calls all the time and I’ve never bought a car from a dealer in my life. If you’re convinced that it’s related to the sales, they may have gotten the information from the government. Are title transfers public record where you are?

4

Yeah, I’d vote on your SecState or DMV or whatever you have. Public records. I don’t get those calls, luckily, but I get junk mail with year and make of my car.

5

I’ve being dealing with these fuckers for over 6 months now. I wish I could get ma to send a complaint to the Wisconsin agency that deals with our do not call list violators. Pressing the 2 for not interested stop calling doesn’t stop the calls, and selecting 1 for a sales person gets you a person. At that point I tell them stop calling, and the calls continue to come in. I haven’t had a call for a week, but I’m sure they’ll start up soon.

6

I’m confident neither of your dealers sold your info. I’ve gotten this call - and the calls from “Card Services”! Yay! - on all six of the lines I answer here at work. And my home number (and I didn’t own a car then and hadn’t for five years). They’re just dialing apparently every number in America. Scam by buckshot.

7

I got this call a few weeks ago. I don’t own a car. The last car I owned was a 94 Saturn and it was totalled in 2002. It’s just basic telemarketing lists which can be obtained from many many sources.

8

I think public records are a decent bet. Have you asked both of the dealers if they sell any of your info? We just bought a car and they guy made a point of mentioning that they don’t. (I got a dollar that says both dealers tell you "oh, yeah, the other guy does that all the time "…). But it wouldn’t hurt to ask, make the point that as a customer you don’t think it’s cool. Also, if you really want to track them down and report them, can you get the number from *69? If you can, you may be able to use a reverse directory to find the company. A lot of work, but if you’re sufficiently ticked off, maybe you’ll find it cathartic.

9

When you bought your car did you opt for any of those third party options like stain protection and scratch removal and undercoating and all the other stuff like that?

10

What a weird coincidence. I haven’t had one of these calls for a few months, but just got one an hour ago at lunch.

I don’t think it has anything to do with the dealers. The ONLY number I get these calls on is my work-assigned Blackberry, which is a number I don’t give to ANYBODY. And I certainly didn’t have this number when I bought my last car from a dealership.

11

I get these solicitations all the time-for my wife’s car (off warranty this year), and mine (off warranty last year). They seem like legitimate businesses-only I don’t know a single person who has ever bought a non-factory warranty on a car. SATURN has extended warrnties, that will cover you to 100,000 miles. It costs LESS than the non-factory warranty, and I’d be inclined to trust SATURN more.

12

I should add that I’ve gotten similar solicitations in the mail that do seem legitimate in the sense that they know what type of car I have, so I have to assume that information came from my dealer. But the phone calls have never been related to my vehicle.

13

And, frankly, they could just set their auto-dialer to call every single number in an area in sequence. This isn’t your dealer selling your info, as evidenced by me getting the same call on every line at my office, both published and non-published. It’s a carpet bomb, that’s all. They probably get stopped by the government for awhile, then change their name and start all over again - hence not getting the calls and then they start up again a few months later.

Press 2, or whatever, to get a person and then when you get one tell them you’ll be right back and leave the phone off the hook until they hang up.

14

Doesn’t make sense that a dealership would be selling your info for someone else to sell you a warranty, as that would be direct competition. I get warranty sales mail from my dealership all the time - can’t imagine they would want to throw that business to someone else.

15

In my case, at least, they’re advertised as extended warranties beyond what the dealership can offer. Not sure if that’s true for everyone else here.

16

I get letters in the mail that have the correct make and model of my car. I always just assumed it came from some public records or maybe my finance company. But if I had to bet one way or the other I’d go with public records.

Just a thought, make up a make and model to feed to them and tell them you’ll send them a money order. If they buy into it you’ll have an address to send a cease and desist letter to.

17

They sent mail for months too. It went unopened into the garbage.

18

This is a pretty good indication that no dealer has sold your information. After all, if they sold your information they’d include the car information, no? It’s just a company that calls people randomly hoping to trick folks into buying a warranty.

I’ve gotten a lot of calls from them, too. From doing some Internet research they appear to be a shady company called “Dealer Services.” Google it with terms like “warranty” or “scam” and you’ll find more information. Here’s a fairly helpful page of info on it: Fight Back Against Auto Warranty Telemarketers | Lisa of Longbourn

19

And I got one yesterday on my cell phone! They are taking over Southern California! Run for the hills!

20

>Have you asked both of the dealers if they sell any of your info?

>I got a dollar that says both dealers tell you "oh, yeah, the other guy does that all the time "…).

>But it wouldn’t hurt to ask

Gee, Harriet, I figured it was worthless to try, because both dealers would tell me “Oh, yeah…”. Only, now, apparently it WOULD hurt to ask. It would cost me a dollar, right?

>When you bought your car did you opt for any of those third party options like stain protection…

No. Boy, I wonder what kind of scam artists they set you up with if you do THAT?!

>Doesn’t make sense that a dealership would be selling your info for someone else to sell you a warranty, as that would be direct competition.

Hey, yeah, you’re right!

> After all, if they sold your information they’d include the car information, no?

Well, I would have thought so, but wondered if there was some angle I wasn’t figuring.
>What a weird coincidence. I haven’t had one of these calls for a few months, but just got one an hour ago at lunch.

It was me. Sorry - I just couldn’t resist lashing out. This whole thing has been pretty awful…

Hmmmm. Well, these calls started pretty soon after the purchases, so I assumed a connection, but now I think the dealers probably didn’t trigger this. Whether the state might have, I don’t know - the most important thing I was going to do if it was one of the dealers was to never buy from them again, and suggest to friends likewise. But, even if it was the state, I’m not about to move.

What I would like to see, though, is a politician running on a promise of serious prison time for the individuals involved in companies that do this. If anybody hears of it, let me know?