Complaint Review: EasyCare

As hard working, honest Americans, we expected a well-known company like Mazda to sell us a reputable and trustworthy warranty plan that would cover us in the event of a catastrophe.

How wrong we were.

We have discovered that Mazda contracted out its business to EasyCare of Norcross, Georgia, which does business as the Automobile Protection Corporation. The company is now trying to rip us off after the engine on our Mazda 5 basically blew up while we were traveling down the highway near Austin, Texas.

The car was taken in for service and all fluid levels were checked right before our trip. We have the receipt from the mechanic proving this. We have always taken care of the car, and done our part, as responsible motorists do--and we have several years of service records to prove it.

Mazda/EasyCare recognized the vehicle is covered by our warranty. But the company denied our claim on the groundless assertion that we failed to stop the engine from overheating--while it was traveling down the highway at approximately 65 miles per hour. You read correctly: the company expected us to stop the car from overheating WHILE it was rolling down the highway. 

Obviously, we took the very first exit possible and when it came to a stop the motor was damaged and now they are trying to evade their responsibility for it. So now, accoring to Mazda/EasyCare, all the damage it caused is our responsibility, and we're talking THOUSANDS of dollars. They have never given a straight answer about how it would have been possible to stop heat damage after a catastrophic failure occurs while driving down the highway. Is that exactly why people buy warranties -- to protect against some major failure?

Apart from that huge rip-off, I have discovered that the warranty company inserted a false and deceptive assertion into the contract we signed. It says that all complaints must be resolved by binding arbitration through the National Arbitration Forum. But the NAF stopped taking consumer complaints like ours months BEFORE we signed the contract. I just got an email saying thanks but no thanks when I tried to file an official arbitration complaint. 

As you might imagine, all we hear are crickets right now in Norcross, GA.

This has been more than a little stressful and the lost time and headaches without our car can hardly be calculated. 

If nothing else happens as a result of this, I hope anyone who reads this will avoid EasyCare, the Automobile Protection Corporation or any type of Mazda product of this nature. If you want to share your horror story with me, I'll be glad to include it in any social media posts I put up.