Heritage Warranty Insurance Dishonest and fraudulent practices Lincoln Nebraska
My wife purchased a 1999 Chev. Monte Carlo in 2000, and at the time purchased an extended warranty from the dealer, which used Heritage Warranty Insurance.
We had never had any issues with the vehicle until November 2003, when during a routine oil change, the mechanic noticed that the intake gasket was leaking. He indicated that it is a common problem for GM vehicles, and that it needed to be fixed, otherwise it could lead to a leaking head. The repair shop contacted Heritage Warranty to file the claim, and the repairs were approved.
In the process repairing the intake gasket, the mechanic noticed that the head was already leaking. The manager of the shop informed Heritage Warranty of the leaking head, and was told that an inspector would be sent out on Tuesday (this was Saturday when the initial repairs were taking place).
The manager of the repair shop called me and told me not to worry that he deals with inspectors all of the time, and knows what they are looking for when it comes to a leaking head.
On Tuesday, the manager called me in utter amazement. He said that the typical inspection for a leaking head takes no less than 25-30 minutes, with the first step being using a straight-edge on the head to see if it is warped. The repair shop manager said that he and the mechanic were with the inspector the entire time he was there, and that he DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A STRAIGHT-EDGE WITH HIM! The inspector was there for only a total of 7 minutes. When the shop manager questioned him about not using a straight-edge, the inspector responded that is was obvious that the head was leaking, and it wasn't necessary.
Three days later (so much for their claiming to make a decision within 48 hours), Heritage denied the claim, stating that in fact the head was not leaking, and that the repair shop had not proven that the leak existed. Both the repair shop manager and I talked to Heritage to tell them that a proper inspection had not been done, and that we would like another inspector to be sent out, but Heritage said their decision was made. I even offered to pay the cost of sending out another inspector, but Heritage declined.
When I informed the employee at Heritage that both the mechanic and shop manager said the inspector didn't have a straight-edge with him to determine if the head was warped, the employee called me a liar, and said that he was looking at a picture that the inspector took of the head with a straight-edge on it. I was willing to concede that maybe the repair shop guys gave me some bad information, so I asked to see a copy of the inspector's report and the pictures the inspector took. Heritage claimed that I was not entitled to see the report, since it was done by a third party, and that I would need an attorney to contact them to get it.
I spoke with an attorney about the incident and whether or not because the report was done by a third party I was not entitled to get a copy. He indicated that there is no such law, and proceeded to call the legal department at Heritage to attempt to resolve the issue. He was just immediately forwarded to voice mail, where he left a message, which was never returned.
Several weeks later, I was so frustrated that they hadn't called my attorney back that I attempted to speak with the legal department. I too was just sent to voicemail boxes, and left a number of messages over the course of several days. Finally, I received a call back from a para-leagal who was quite helpful.
The paralegal faxed, and emailed me a copy of the inspector's report, as well as all of the pictures. Not suprisingly, there was no picture of the head with a straight-edge on it.
I have contacted the Nebraska Better Business Bureau in an attempt to resolve this issue, but Heritage has responded to the BBB by insisting that the head was not leaking. They have provided no response to the repeated requests that I and the BBB have made as to where this "mystery" picture of the head with a straight-edge on it is.
Brenda
Flower Mound, Texas
U.S.A.
STOP! ..before you think about using the Better Business Bureau (BBB)... CLICK HERE to see how other consumers were victimized by the BBB's false or misleading information. Don't be fooled! It has been reported, when there are thousands of complaints and other investigations underway by authorities, the BBB has no choice but to finally give an UNsatisfactory rating to a BBB member business that is paying the BBB big membership fees every year. When a business is reported that is NOT a BBB member, BBB files WILL more likely show an UNsatisfactory rating, then reportedly shake down that company to become a member of the BBB. One positive thing about the BBB is, either way, if a business has an unsatisfactory rating with the BBB, you can be sure, the business is bad. But what about all those BBB member businesses that had complaints filed against them? Consumers never get to hear about them. What about the BBB advertising to the public? Is this a false and misleading perception they are giving about consumer confidence when dealing with a business? Click here to understand more of what consumers and business alike are saying about the BBB. You decide. ..Remember. The BBB membership is not earned, it's paid for!
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Patrick
Flower Mound,Texas,
U.S.A.
To the Heritage Employee who Responded
#4Author of original report
Tue, December 21, 2004
DON'T YOU DARE CLAIM THAT YOU RE-EXAMINED MY CLAIM TO ASSURE THAT IT WAS PROPERLY ADJUDICATED ACCORDING TO THE SERVICE CONTRACT VERBIAGE AND STATE REGULATIONS. ALSO, WHERE DO YOU GET OFF PUTTING IN THE LINE ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO DO ANYTHING UNLESS THE CUSTOMER CONTACTS YOU DIRECTLY, AS IF I NEVER MADE THOSE 2 DOZEN PHONE CALLS TO YOU, AND WAS REPEATEDLY HUNG UP ON BY YOUR "fully staffed and trained customer service department dedicated exclusively to researching and answering customer questions." Does Candice, who hung up on me several times when I called with questions qualify as being trained and dedicated to answering customer questions? Apparently she must, since as I understand it, she is one of the Customer Service Managers.
To claim that you are fully dedicated to researching claims issues couldn't be further from the truth. When I asked to see a copy of the report by the "independent" inspector, I was flatly told that I could not and it would never be allowed since the report was the private property of Heritage. And besides, Chad (the CSR who I spoke with) told me, its an open and shut case from Heritage's perspective based of the photos included in the report, so why would I want to see it anyway? I finally was able to speak to his manager, who initially gave me the same song and dance about the report being private property. I protested that if they were going to deny the claim based on this report, I at least wanted to see it. Finally, the manager relented a bit, and claimed that the only way I would be allowed to see the report was if my attorney requested it. I complied and immediately phoned my attorney and had him try to get the report. He left 6 messages with the legal department at Heritage during the course of the next week. ALL OF THEM WENT UNANSWERED!!!!!
Our persistence finally paid off and we got our hands on the report, and as I stated in my earlier post, it showed no photos of them using a straight-edge on the head to prove that it wasn't warped, which supported the shop's claim that the inspector never even had a straight-edge with him. When I informed the legal department of such, and asked where this photo was that they claimed they had, they refused to answer. I responded by stating that I trusted that they would now cover the repair since the reason they claimed that wouldn't was proven false. The para-legal put me in touch with Bill (who allegedly was an "expert" in auto repair warranty issues) to further discuss matters. Not surprisingly, when I spoke with Bill, Heritage's reason for the denying the claim changed from the head not being warped (as proved by the alleged straight-edge photo) to saying that the straight-edge test did matter anymore and they knew that the repair was denied without that. When I stated that clearly the inspector thought it mattered, since he lied about doing it and included it in his report, Bill insisted that the straight-edge test suddenly had no significance with their denying the claim. He provided NO further information as to why the claim would be denied if we didn't consider the alleged straight-edge test.
To you at Heritage Warranty Insurance, you were fully aware of this problem, since I called MULTIPLE times. You didn't research anything to re-examine it, rather, your way of dealing with it was either to ingnore my calls, or hang up on me.
Heritage
Lincoln,Nebraska,
U.S.A.
response
#4UPDATE Employee
Wed, November 10, 2004
As readers are aware, the truth is the absolute defense to any claim. Heritage Warranty Insurance, RRG would further explain specific facts of a situation, but doing so raises certain privacy issues. Heritage can only respond directly to customers and cannot discuss personal account or claim information with third parties. This is important for readers to understand since they will only have the opportunity to hear part of the story.
Heritage readily addresses customer concerns. We have a fully staffed and trained customer service department dedicated exclusively to researching and answering customer questions, as well as, a claims department responsible for adjudicating claims according to the service contracts. Heritage further protects its customers by utilizing independent inspection companies throughout the United States to verify the vehicle failure(s).
In the event a customer disputes a claim, Heritage fully explains the claim and/or re-examines it to assure it was properly adjudicated according to the service contract verbiage and state regulations. It is important for a customer to contact us directly with their questions, as we cannot address what a customer fails to bring to our attention.
Steve
Tampa,Florida,
U.S.A.
Heritage is within its contractual rights to decline your claim for several reasons
#4Consumer Suggestion
Mon, January 26, 2004
You're not going to like what I'm about to say. Heritage is within its contractual rights to decline your claim for several reasons.
1. You did not go into the service department for a intake gasket complaint.
2. The service department used the leaking Head to "up sell you" and to defraud any service contract company including yourself.
The service department you went to in my opinion is obligated to fix your vehicle for free in fact, you should make a copy of this, show it to them then, ask for a explanation as to their actions!
AS for Heritage's actions I would say they also acted in bad faith all around if your story is accurate.
To help with the claim payment cancel the Heritage policy if you did not finance it you may get the monies to help off set the out of pocket expense. Or file in Small claims court against both the service department and Heritage "let the judge decide"!