- Report: #1231744
Complaint Review: good sam -
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good sam
USA
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Good Sam Extended Service Plans Want to buy a worthless warranty for your car? Look no further... Englewood Colorado
On Feb 19th, 2015 I reached out to Good Sam to get information about an extended warranty for my 3 vehicles. My phone call was answered by Cory Hill and he explained to me how easy Good Sam was to work with and that in the event of any issues with my vehicle I would only need to take my car to the dealership of my choice and good sam would pay on the spot with no hassles. I asked him about a few different parts of my car to confirm coverage and he said it was all covered and directed me to this portion of their website: goodsamesp.com/whatiscovered.aspx (which mirrors the contract they mail to you).
After speaking with Cory for 45 minutes I told him I needed to think about it and a day later I called him back and confirmed everything with him regarding coverage and he assured me that I was in good hands and it was not “too good to be true” as their prices were significantly lower than other companies had quoted me. I ended up purchasing coverage for all three vehicles. My Mercedes ML350 for $604 per year, Mercedes SL500 for $855 per year and Escalade ESV for $561 per year which were to be invoiced quarterly with one quarter paid in advance. I paid the first quarters premium on my AmEx card and a week or so later I received a welcome package in the mail with all the coverage points outlined.
Fast forward to last week, my wife was driving our ML350 and the steering froze up and she nearly was in a car accident. We took the car to our dealership on Friday to have them look at it. Prior to doing so I had reached out to Good Sam to find out the procedure and I was told again how easy it was. They just needed a quote from my dealership and they would review and approve it. I told them I assumed it was the power steering pump which under section 5 of my contract states it is under coverage. I was told no problem, just have them call 888-861-8697 to make a claim.
My dealership looked at my vehicle and contacted Good Sam and they told them my repair (damaged Water Pump and Rack and Pinion) were not covered because I had neglected to purchase the Seals and Gaskets clause in their contract. My service advisor in turn called me and explained that he was told because the damage to the parts was caused by a leak that Good Sam would not cover it and my warranty I had purchased and paid for was worthless.
Shocked, I called Good Sam and was told that I was offered the Seals and Gaskets but declined it. I recall that part of the conversation, however as it was explained to me that coverage only applied to leaks and with my minimal understanding of cars and the sales person being eager to sell three contracts he did not explain to me the importance of this aspect of the contract. I confirmed with Cory several times that the main parts were covered; transmission, engine, shocks, steering column, etc and I was told “YES, 100%”, when the answer should have been “no, not if any damage is caused by a leak, which in 99% of the time is the case”. I spoke with Cory again and asked him why he didn’t explain it to me and why he mislead me and he was quick to get me off of the phone and said he would review the recorded sales call and get back to me.
A couple hours later I received a call from his Manager who identified himself as Shawn Ash and he told me that he had reviewed the tapes and that Cory did in fact notify me about the seals and gaskets clause and that “I was more concerned about the major stuff” therefore there was nothing that could be done for me. I asked him to show me where in the contract it states that by not purchasing the seals and gaskets coverage it negates all other. He referred me to section 11 of my contract that states ‘Extend seals and gaskets coverage to units with less than 150,000 miles (odometer reading) AND 18 model years old or less when the claim is filed.” I asked him how that negates it and he said it does. I asked why that wasn’t explained in full and he wouldn’t answer me. I requested that he refund my money I have paid to them in full as clearly I was taken advantage of, he said they would not. He did however agree to refund my payments that were drawn last week, but not the $505 I paid on Feb 19th when I thought I had coverage when in fact I really didn’t.
Clearly they record their calls for this specific reason, it is clear to me that they are predators and I am sure I am not the only one that his had a similar experience with them.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Please answer these questions...
#2Author of original report
Thu, June 04, 2015
1. Did I authorize you to record me? I don’t recall authorizing you to record me and as a resident of California you are required to have “two-party consent” on every call. Do you have that? If not, you are in violation of CA Penal Code 632.
2. I would like a copy of the audio or a transcript of all my calls, why will you not provide me with a copy? You should considering you are voiding my costly repair bills based on that which is very convenient for you.
a. I do remember declining the Seal and Gaskets clause as it was explained to me. I was told it would pay for repairs if my oil leaked, my cars are well maintained so I wasn't concerned about oil/fluid leakage. My concern was Transmission, Engine, Power Steering pump etc, which I was told was 100% covered. Please again provide me with the audio clip or transcript where Cory Hill tells me specifically that everything in my car has a seal or gasket so if you decline the seals and gasket coverage the warranty will be 100% worthless and 100% of the claims will be rejected, because that is what his manager told me and the guy when I was trying to file my claim for repair.
b. I would like to see/hear the response to my question I asked multiple times, "What is the catch?", Cory Hill responded each time, "There is no catch, we have been in business for 60 years, your car will be 100% covered by everything listed on the Coverage section of our website. http://www.goodsamesp.com/whatiscovered.aspx "
Copied and pasted from their website:
Coverage for the steering assembly includes but is not limited to the following:
- Gear housing, and all internally-lubricated parts of the steering gear box the rack and pinion gear
- Power steering pump
- Main and intermediate steering column shafts and couplings
- Cooler and cooler lines
- Power cylinder
- Pitman arm
- Idler arm
- Tie rod and tie rod ends
- Drag link
- Control valve and cylinder
Covers all parts of the steering assembly, except for the following:
- All hoses
- Belts
- Fittings
- Lines
2. Why if my car needs a new power steering pump and rack and pinion is it not covered? The above from their website states it is as does the contract they sent me? I was told by John Ash I had no coverage because I declined the Seals and Gaskets clause which is listed on their website and contract as:
OPTIONAL COVERAGE
Extended Seals and Gaskets »
Extend seals and gaskets coverage to units with less than 150,000 miles (odometer reading) AND 18 model years old or less when the claim is filed.
Where does it say that without this optional coverage the whole warranty is void of any value? It doesn't. It is misleading by design. Why would you record calls if for no other reason than telling your customers "You declined coverage and I have you on tape". Would anyone in their right mind decline the coverage if they really understood it? I know I did not and as a result I signed up for 3 contracts for the term of one year for over $2,000 which covered nothing on my car. That would like buying an auto policy and it wouldn't pay out if you were in an accident, or a medical policy that only covered you if you were healthy. They keep going back to the call, but I like any other consumer am looking at the contract I agreed to and that they sent me. Salespeople will say or omit whatever they can to win a deal. That was the case here, I was mislead and assured I was being take care of and foolishly I trusted him becuase I was familiar with the Good Sam name.
The bottom line is they knew exactly what they were doing and selling me and it was misleading and they should be held accountable for their actions. Why would you want to prey on hard working people and act like you are helping them? The worst is the "I gotcha on tape" comments they keep referring to. If you do, provide me with the transcripts for the nearly 2 hours I spend on the phones with Cory Hill when he was assuring me that this was a good purchase and Good Sam was a reputable company and this was not a scam like all the other Extended Warranty companies out there because at the end of the day you sold me a warranty that was completely worthless and you knew it was. Sadly, I didn't!
Again, other Consumers need to be made aware of their sales tactics and they need to be honest!
Scott
Englewood,Colorado,
USA
The Rest Of The Story
#4UPDATE Employee
Thu, May 28, 2015
This is a case where this customer was offered full protection for his vehicle, and he chose a policy with lesser coverage. When the first claim came in a few months later, the failure was not covered under the plan the customer chose.
We do record all of our conversations with our customers, to protect them as well as to protect ourselves. I listened to the sales call in question, and our salesperson recommended that the customer include coverage for seals and gaskets, and discussed how he had that coverage himself, and had a paid claim because of it. The customer chose to forgo the additional coverage.
At the customer's request we refunded the customer's premium, pro-rated to the day of cancellation.
Good Sam Extended Service Plan has 50,000 satisfied customers and pays out millions of dollars in claims each month. We are one of the few Mechanical Breakdown Insurance companies that has bricks-and-mortar facilities all around the country. As a member benefit for Good Sam members, we offer the highest level of consumer protection available in the industry.
We would be happy to submit this situation to a third-party arbitrator to get an independent review of the claims decision and the sales process.
I don't think it is reasonable for this customer to blast our salesperson's full name around the intenet as he has done.. he is just doing his job and does not deserve the potentially negative and dangerous exposure. Threatening e-mails to employees is not a productive solution.
