A representative from the Auto Processing Center, Santa Ana, CA 92705 called 11/15 to offer an extended warranty on my 2004 Ford F-150. He repeatedly said it covered everything except maintenance items and had a 30 day money back guarantee—the salesman said all I had to do to cancel was call their office at 1-800-356-8170 and I would receive a full refund and not be charged further. The price was $2,395 with $195 down and 18 monthly payments of $122.22.
I was skeptical of an extended warranty offered on a vehicle that is nearly 9 years old and I had not had a chance to research the company to see if they were reliable. But since there was a 30 day money back guarantee, I decided to order it for a review. And since I would be ordering it via credit card, I could always dispute the charge if they failed to refund my money in case I cancelled the order.
I purchased it for review and received a copy of the vehicle service contract via UPS. Upon reading it, I found that it only covered a limited number of listed parts. For example, for electrical, it does not cover any of the dozens of sensors, relays, and computers in a modern vehicle. I was astounded by extent of what was not covered and by a very long section on what is not covered which could include all of the items previously listed as covered. For example, Section C, 1, L says that it does not cover defects that were covered by technical service bulletins (TSBs). There are at least 142 TSBs for the 2004 F-150 so it would be quite the research project to determine what parts would still be covered by this service contract. The service contract requires pre-authorization before covering a repair during which they would undoubtedly check for TSBs to see if they could get out of covering a repair. And TSBs are just one of dozens of exclusions listed in the service contract. There are enough, in my opinion, to rule out coverage of just about any repair. The "catch" on this contract, and most others I suspect, is that they do not intend to pay for many, if any, repairs. That's how they make their money.
American Auto Shield, LLC, 5695 Yukon St, Arvada, CO 80002 is listed in the service contract as the administrator of the contract, i.E., the company that provides authorization for repairs and makes payments to auto repair centers for repairs.in researching this company, I found that they have numerous complaints against them for failing to authorize repairs, failing to honor the contract, failing to make refunds, shoddy service, misrepresentation, etc.
Omnisure Group, LLC is listed in the vehicle service contract as the administrator of the "payment plan agreement." There are a number of rip off reports on this company.
Based on my review of the vehicle service contract and research on the companies involved, I called the Auto Processing Center at 1-800-356-8170 on November 26 (within the 30 day cancellation period) and cancelled the contract and advised them that I expected a prompt refund of $195 to my credit card account.instead of providing a refund, the company, through it's Omnisure company charged my credit card account an additional $122.22 on 12-17. I have been unable to get representatives from either the Auto Processing Center or Omnisure to return my telephone calls. I have filed a dispute of the 2 charges with my credit card company. Since I filed the dispute within the credit card company's standard 60 day dispute period and had followed the vendors stated 30 day cancellation policy, my credit card company will give me a credit and charge back the amounts to those companies. That's the security of making purchases via credit card rather than any other means.
In conclusion, the vehicle service contract being sold by the Auto Processing Center or any of its aliases such as American Auto Shield or Omnisure is a rip off. Their promise of a 30 day money back guarantee is also a rip off. Save your money and simply pay for repairs as they occur. You cannot save money with a service contract such as those sold by these companies. Also, pay by credit card and understand the dispute provisions which provide you security if the vendor fails to perform or deliver what they promised
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