I bought a 2004 VW Touareg in Sept '03 and purchased a Heritage extended warranty at that time for around $1,800. Only this year has the extent of my misfortune been shown to me. At the conclusion of my factory warranty, I felt secure that, while inevitable, my future trips to the shop would be covered; (if you have a Touareg you know what I mean) "covered", however, doesn't mean reimbursed apparently.
"Reimbursed" isn't what I signed up for under my warranty terms, so when I found out that the authorized repairs weren't paid for directly to the repair shop my nightmare began. I was told by the boys at National Admin. Svc.Co (NASC) that payments could be made either to the shop or to me only after they receive the completed repair bill. Only then would they BEGIN processing payment. To further the frustration, they won't receive faxes or emails of the paperwork, but of course when it comes to sending out the claims for processing, THAT is all electronic and they have no phone number or e-mail or address for Heritage... They say!
In January I brought my Touareg in for 2 problems: a chronic issue with the tire pressure monitoring system, and faulty ignition coils. VW service recommended the replacement of all ignition coils, but Heritage would only authorize the repair of the ones that had actually failed. Heritage also authorized the replacement of a sensor for the TPMS. So I paid the entire bill figuring that, while mis-leading and certainly inconvenient, I would get my money back in a week - maybe two. Well, the following week I didn't recieve payment but rather the remaining coils' failure and the continuing TPMS problem. So back we go to the shop.
At this point I am still blissfully unaware of just how deceitful Heritage and this so called 3rd party administrative company are. The remaining coils, having now failed, are approved for replacement as is a new TPMS module. But guess what? This is a new repair visit, so I can look forward to another $100 deductable. Not being made of money, I am now looking for the first payment of $450 and the next of $750. Meanwhile my car is being held for ransom which I won't be able to pay until the good folks at Heritage pay up
7 weeks have gone by since the first repairs and the less-than-helpful boys at NASC keep telling me a different story, but always with the same ending. Every time I call and speak to OTIS or GORDON or MARK they're more than happy to look up my account and claims status but when it comes to actually answering questions as to the whereabouts of my reimbursement or the whereabouts of they who have it, I am stonewalled. As of today, there still aren't any check numbers associated with my approved payments, which means there isn't even a "check in the mail"! They denied the claim for rental reimbursement because the repairs only took "3.7 hours" HAH! And they only approve rentals for work over 4 hours. The car was in the shop for 6 days before the work was done, but whatever. They still don't have any contact information for the folks responsible for making the payments "... It's all handled electronically..." they tell me. Odd that they can process all of the claims without using the postal service on THEIR end!
After repeated calls and mounting frustration I googled good ole Heritage Claims and found that unfortunately, I am not alone in my misery. Now I see I have been ripped off by yet another company that preys on those who would trust them to simply do what they promise. I am disgusted by the lack of remorse and the smugness of their representatives who apparently feel that they can operate above the law. The only comfort I have is the knowledge that evil begets evil, and these folks will get theirs... I just hope that I'm there to see it.
Kevin
Meriden, Connecticut
U.S.A.
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