Complaint Review:
Premium 2000 Plus - Gateway Management Services
My case is about a used truck I bought 5 months ago.
On September 8, 2003, I bought a Ford F-150 pick-up truck. The owner of the dealership (Hughes Motorcars VA) told me, he couldn't give me a lower price on it, because he recently spent $1800.00 on its transmission change. I said fine, I just needed the receipt for it, just in case, something would happen to it. He wasn't able to find the receipt so he offered me an extended warranty (Premium 2000 Plus) for a low price, that will cover my truck for 5 years/100.000 miles.
5 months later, on January 30, 2004, my truck broke down, I couldn't put it in any gear. It was towed to the closest Ford dealership (Ourisman Ford Bethesda MD) where they told me, the transmission needed to be replaced. I immediately contacted the warranty company and they told me that I needed to fax them all the proof of the oil changes and that I added the treatment fluids they sent me. I did that as soon as I got home and I left a message for Kathy at Premium 2000, that I did so.
I was waiting for their phone call on Monday, but they never contacted me, so I tried to call them and I couldn't reach anyone at the company all day. The next day, when I could finally reach them, they told me, their phone lines were not working all day Monday. So I sent the faxes again and I had to call them to make sure, they got everything. Kathy looked at the papers and told me, it was approved, everything looked fine, they just needed to send somebody to make a report about the transmission. Of course every time, I was told they were going to keep me updated, but I never was contacted.
After another number of calls to them and Ourisman Ford, 3 weeks later I had to find out (again I had to call them to find it out) that they were not going to pay for it. Their reason was that the problem already existed in the transmission when I bought the truck and the warranty. On their contract, it says, they don't cover any problems if it happens in the first 90 days. This happened 5 months after I bought the truck with the warranty.
Then, of course I talked to several people at that company but they refused to pay for it or give me any help or advise. They told me to go back where I bought the truck.
I contacted the Hughes Dealership about this problem and the Manager -Mr.Basil- offered his help, he contacted the warranty people and even faxed the receipt of the transmission change he had done on the truck. They refused to pay for it anyway.
My truck has been sitting there for 4 weeks. I wasted this whole time, I wasted all the money on the warranty and nobody seems to be responsible. I bought a truck with an alleged new transmission (which wasnt new according to the mechanic at Ourisman Ford, but he also said, that you cant tell about this problem if it was in the transmission 5 months ago or not).
I even bought a warranty plan just to be on the safe side and I ended up paying $ 3.529.80 for the new transmission and labor, I paid $579.00 for the warranty and $175.00 for towing. A total of $ 4.283.80. Not to mention they put me out of work for a month.
While the whole process was going on, the only person, who was trying to find a solution was Mr. Basil, who called the warranty company and tried to argue with them about the way they handled this situation.
Finally, he offered me to replace the transmission to a refurbished one and give me a 6-month-warranty on it or give me $1000.00.
By this time, I was stuck with a $440(!) bill anyway, which was for the removal of the old transmission for the warranty company's request to make the report about it!
To get my truck back as soon as possible, so finally I could start working again, I chose the get the $1000.00 from Hughes Motorcars and get it fixed at the Ford Dealership where they give me 3 years warranty on the new transmission.
After all this I went to see a lawyer about this situation, she read all the small letter parts on the contract, Then she called Premium 2000 where they both found out, that they have written every possible cause for these parts to brake down and at the and they added or preexisting condition are not covered item.
So, what good is this warranty good for? For nothing!
Of course, I don't even have to say, I can not cancel my warranty and get my money back either Don't let these people to sell their bulls**t warranty to more consumers! It only cost you and give a $440 bill on top of everything and a lot of headache!
Zoltan
Alexandria, Virginia
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Lynn
Winston-Salem,North Carolina,
U.S.A.
Zoltan, Alexandria Virginia, our decision was a fair and equitable
#2REBUTTAL Owner of company
Thu, May 06, 2004
As happens most often regarding a claim denial, by not only ours but every warranty or service contract company, the entire story and series of events surrounding the denial is not presented by the claimant. Please review our side of this story and realize that our decision was a fair and equitable one and that we are not in the restoration, reconditioning or betterment business. As appears in life and health insurance polices, warranty and service contracts do not cover pre-existing conditions -- this would be akin to "Russian Roulette" for our business. We are here to cover unforeseen catastrophic failure not to cover up for mistakes by manufacturers, dealers, repair shops or customers and certainly not to assist the unscrupuloas among the aforementioned.
Please take a moment and read the evaluation by our Claims Manager to be aware of "The Rest of the Story".
First of all, I would like to point out we are not in the refurbishing business. We offer warranties on vehicles which qualify for coverage, and yes, one of the qualifications for coverage is that the vehicle not have any existing concerns at time of purchase. Mr. Nemeth's car was sold to him under the pretense that the vehicle recently had a"new" transmission installed. The dealer went on to say he could not come down on the price for this reason. He also stated a receipt for this work was not available for Mr. Nemeth's records. Most of us can clearly see what is happening here. The dealer then closes the deal by diverting the buyer's attention away from the pressing issue offering an extended warranty adn the peace of mind that should be associated with such a purchase. Somehow his efforts work and Mr. Nemeth buys the truck purely on the dealer's word the transmission had been replaced. Five months down the road the "new" transmission is finally taken in to address the ongoing problems with it sticking in park and in drive. These symptoms were diagnosed after tear down as being the result of an imporperly installed shift cable. Not a component covered under the warranty, however, metal shavings are noticed in the burnt transmission fluid present. An internal torque failure is reported as the cause. This was not why the vehicle was taken in for repair. The condition of the remaining internal components evidence heat and discoloration due to operation of the vehicle after the above-mentioned failure. The inspection report goes on to state the condition is consistent with an improper repair which resulted in the loss of internal fulid apply pressure. The inspection report which is referenced does not come from our company. We hire an independent third party inspector to investigate the cause of failure and extent of damage on all claims.
Mr. Nemeth now seems to be aware of why the transmission replacement receipt was not available to him. It never was replaced. It was simply repaired enought to get Mr. Nemeth far enough down the road where the dealer could play "the good guy" in a claim situation. The dealer's repair facility put a large enough Band-Aid on the transmission problem to get him out the door. Five months later this incomplete replacement came to light. Coverage can not be awarded where failure is the direct result of an improper installation which exists at time of purchase. This is an industry standard. Of course the dealer tried to assist with monetary help and advise after the claim was denied. He was after all responsible. Mr. Nemeth was given instruction to seek recourse through the dealership by the Premium 2000 Plus Claims Department.
Please find this response to be a brief explanation of how our claims decision was correctly made. Dealer misrepresentation allowed the customer to purchase a vehicle that was never going to operate as the manufacturer intended due to faulty installation. Premium 2000 Plus has awarded over 4 million dollars in legitimate claims at an average of $1,600 per claim. Do not let the unjust displeasure of few negate the thousands of satisfied customers.