Dealer Services Failing to honor 30-day satisfaction guarantee Allenhurst, New Jersey
11/4/2014
In November 2014, I was contacted by phone from a sales representative of Palmer Administrative Services (aka Dealer Services) and after some agressive sales tactics (including a sales manager taking over the call and reducing the price) I verbally agreed to place 10% down on a $2,760 extended service warranty on my debit card, under the stipulation that I would have 30 days to review the terms of service and would receive a full refund of all money paid if for any reason I decided to cancel.
12/3/2014
In December 2014, on the 29th day of the contract, I sent a certified letter via USPS (tracking number 70142870000232121440) stating that the contract was null and void because I was cancelling the contract within the first 30 days. I provided several reasons although I was not required to provide any reason.
A copy of the letter can be found here: goo.gl/XggY37
12/7/2014
I was charged $165.07, the first installment payment on the contract. This brought the total of money paid to $441.07.
12/9/2014
The first letter was received by Palmer Administrative Services (aka Dealer Services) in Allenhurst, NJ. (USPS: 70142870000232121440)
1/29/2015
A second certified letter was sent to Palmer Administrative Services (aka Dealer Services) as well as the insurance company Lyndon Southern Insurance Company (of Florida). In short, the letter seeks to recover damages according to the process defined in the contract, "...seek reimbursement directly from the insurance provider".
3/28/2015
A refund was never sent, nor was a letter or phone call made to clear up this matter. I have contacted my bank to reverse the charges on the basis of fraud. After exercising my rights to review the policy within the first 30 days, and submitting my cancellation in writing, the contract was null and void.
I have been made whole by my bank, but I write this letter of warning to others who are contacted by Palmer Administrative Services or any other name they go by. If your first transaction clear your bank with the line DEALER SERVICES then this is the same company (based in Allenhurst, NJ). I would strongly encourage you not to do business with this company because they cannnot honor their 30-day satisfaction guarantee and required me to take action against them through my bank to recover the damages.
4 Updates & Rebuttals
Response to Robert (Part 2)
#5Author of original report
Thu, April 02, 2015
Robert,
You remind me of a good defense attorney. I grew up the son of a defense attorney and I can appreciate you bringing this perspective.
I'll concede this point to you, and will amend my complaint as such. The truth is I do not know for sure whether the policy was "mailed" or "received". So yes it is possible that they were not obligated to issue a refund, and yes it is possible that is why they chose not to do so. If we were in a court of law, I'm sure this would be the deciding point.
IF the policy is "must be received" and I somehow missed that, then I AGREE with you about their obligation. In that case i would expect a response from the company indicating that my request had been received and while my policy was now cancelled, they were going to refuse to refund my deposit and first installment. I would be the sucker who decided to wait until day 29 and just barely missed out on an opportunity to get back the $440 of my own money, for which I got nothing in return. (other than 1 month of warranty coverage)
So, at worst, my case should serve as a warning to consumers to submit their cancellation in writing much sooner.
You're welcome to disagree with me on this Robert and others may see it differently -- but with insurance, if I declare my cancellation date is the 29th date and I put that in writing and have it postmarked, that means I am waiving any rights to coverage past day 29. The company is NOT obligated to cover me between day 29 and whatever day they received the letter. That's why its in writing and postmarked, its the only date I have control over. I can't have the post office accidentally losing my letter in the mail, what would happen then?
All I'm looking for here is the company to provide a public apology or to show the public what the policy really(a rebuttal). This isn't about me being right or wrong, its about educating the consumers. Is that not what this site is about? I mean they had an opportunity to set all this straight by simply responding to my original letter. I'm happy for them to prove me wrong. Consumers will then get to decide for themselves if that is fair treatment.
Robert
Irvine,California,
USA
That's the whole point...
#5Consumer Comment
Mon, March 30, 2015
I'm not here to argue whether cancellation means the letter was received or if the letter was mailed.
But that is what this entire "ripoff" is about.
If the cancellation had to be received within 30 days then you did not meet the terms of the cancellation and thefore would not be "owed" anything. Of course that doesn't mean that they still can't issue you a refund, just that they would be under no obligation to.
If the cancellation had to be postmarked within 30 days then you have a valid complaint and should be refunded the money per the terms of the cancellation.
Response to Robert USA
#5Author of original report
Sun, March 29, 2015
Thank you Robert for your comments. Here are answers to your question for others to read.
Robert's Question #1. What were the terms of the 30 day guarantee. Was it that the request just had to be postmarked by the 30th day or that it had to be received by the 30th day? Oh and yes, I am pretty sure you have all the terms in writing based on what other items you have posted here. Perhaps you can scan and post the section on cancellations
Answer: Unless there is some fine print somewhere I could not find, this was a standard 30-day satisfaction guarantee. I'm not here to argue whether cancellation means the letter was received or if the letter was mailed. What I can tell you was that I decided to cancel within the 30 day period, and I've got proof. Dealer Services -- if they like -- can file a rebuttal and show everyone more specifically what they think cancellation means, if not the date the cancellation letter is postmarked. Consumers have no control over what date the letter arrives. I can assure you that companies do not want to get into the business of disputing cancellation dates. This would be very VERY bad for their public image.
Robert's Question #2. One other question. I always wonder why people seem to do things in such a way to cause them the most trouble. So why did you wait until the absolute last day to cancel? If you knew you were going to cancel and had done it even just a week before it would have probably have been received by the 30th day and there would be no questions.
Answer: First, I agreed to the initial deposit on the stipulation that they would send me the terms and conditions so I could read and review them. When I asked them how long I had to review, they said 30 days from the contract date. It took about a week for the booklet to arrive. I did some research to determine whether I was better off just saving the money instead of purchasing a warranty. (This is good advice for ANYONE considering buying an extended warranty). You have to balance the risk of having your car needing repairs that exceed that amount over the life of the contract, versus what you're paying AND the required maintenance / upkeep that is required.
Not that it should matter, but really just to satisfy your curiousity, I used 2-3 weeks of time just to do the research and calculate the risk the best I could. I decided in the end, that the biggest risk would be me forgetting to get a "timely" oil change and then the company might refuse a warranty claim on these grounds. Lets just say that I didn't find that risk to be worth the $2,760 investment or even the $276 down payment.
To your comment "Why do consumers do things to cause themselves the most trouble" -- you're right, that is the purpose of me writing this in the first place. Consumers should (1) do business with companies that have good reputations and fair trade practices, (2) always use credit card to make purchase so you can dispute later if you have grounds to do (3) make sure you submit your cancellation in writing and send via certified letter. I'm not here to trash a company's reputation, I'm here to watch out for fellow consumers, and I encourage the company to come forward and offer a FORMAL rebuttal. Failing that, I believe consumers would "cause themselves the most trouble" by agreeing to this deal over the phone in the first place.
Robert Commentary #3. But now, this sounds more like a case of you trying to squeeze out as much as possible before you had to cancel. Perhaps you were expecting your car to fail and then would have found this to be worth it. Now, of course if the contract does say "postmarked" by and you followed the guidelines then yes you have a valid complaint.
Answer: I paid $276 up front for agreeing to a contract I had yet to read. I was not waiting for my car to fail, I was conducting due diligence, which is something I highly recommend all consumers do. So while I do appreciate your comments - they help me to clarify my intentions -- they are unfounded. Now that you have the facts, you can understand that I needed the time to research and make my decision and all I asked for was my money back. The company lost nothing, and I gained nothing. If I had to go back I would have kindly told the agressive sales people no thanks, but I didn't have the information I needed to turn them down at that time.
To my other fellow consumers reading this, please consider the FACTS. Be wary of comments like "perhaps you were expecting your car to fail" -- pure speculation and irrelevant to the complaint filed.
Robert
Irvine,California,
USA
Questions
#5Consumer Comment
Sat, March 28, 2015
What were the terms of the 30 day guarantee. Was it that the request just had to be postmarked by the 30th day or that it had to be received by the 30th day? Oh and yes, I am pretty sure you have all the terms in writing based on what other items you have posted here. Perhaps you can scan and post the section on cancellations.
One other question. I always wonder why people seem to do things in such a way to cause them the most trouble. So why did you wait until the absolute last day to cancel? If you knew you were going to cancel and had done it even just a week before it would have probably have been received by the 30th day and there would be no questions.
But now, this sounds more like a case of you trying to squeeze out as much as possible before you had to cancel. Perhaps you were expecting your car to fail and then would have found this to be worth it. Now, of course if the contract does say "postmarked" by and you followed the guidelines then yes you have a valid complaint.