Complaint Review: Motor Vehicle Services

These scammers sent me an "Immediate Response Notice" on my car, claiming that it was important that I call them right away since they knew my two-year new car warranty had expired. The notice looked like it came from the finance company or an affiliate of the finance company. so I called them. Talked to a Jett Thomas.

He asked me how many miles were on the car. and then he played the "take away" game. The guy said he had to consult with his program director to see if I was still eligible. Then the so called, Program Director, a Daniel (no last name) got on the phone and told me he could pull some strings and change my status to eligible for coverage but needed to buy it right away to qualify.

At this point the first guy gets back on the phone and begins the pitch about the extended warranty on my car, and how I need to purchase this because the owners manual on my car states that the transmission may go out after I put just a few more miles on the car. At this point I asked him who he was, and he said he was calling from "Motor Vehicle Services" I asked him if he was affiliated with the finance company or dealer, and he launched into this explanation that he was from an inexpensive extended warranty service company out of Missouri. He sounded credible because he even mentioned his records showed where I had last serviced my car, at Deel Volkswagen in Miami, Florida.

The price he quoted was for a "Diamond Coverage" to pay $395 down and $177.67 for a whole year (automatic withdrawals) which would cover me for 5 years. I was naive (to not use another more appropriate word), gave him my debit card prior to doing my due diligence. And after learning that they had scammed a long list of people, I immediately called him back and after a long wait. Finally got a Bryan Harrison on the phone who kept telling me Mr. Thomas was busy and so was the Program Director. I told them I had used an unauthorized card and needed to cancel and was going to put a 'stop payment' on it but needed his help in cancelling since just a few minutes had elapsed and after trying to convince me to keep it, he just conveniently disconnected me and no one would pick up my calls. Later, a person who identified himself as the Manager "Matt" said the only way he could cancel the card given was to give him another valid one and when I said no, that I needed to cancel the transaction period. He began with the standard scare tactics for meeting objections, and he simply was not going to cancel as it had already gone through and since it was a debit purchase there was nothing I could do. I got very upset and I immediately put a claim for fraud through my bank, however, he was correct, my bank only stops payment on checking account. I went to my bank and had to close my account and reopen another account; however, the bank informed me they may still have to pay if bank finds it was a legitimate debit purchase and there was no fraud committed.

I am very upset that I may lose $395 to these scammers. I also intend to file a complaint with Missouri BBB and contact the Missouri District Attorney about this. I hope this helps others not to be ripped off.