My 84 year old mother, who is widowed, living alone, VERY hard of hearing and in the early stages of dementia, was contacted via phone by this agent/company. She had allegedly purchased an extended warranty from them several years ago for her 2000 Chevy Cavalier (so they said) which was about to expire. They were apparently calling to get her to purchase another Extended Warranty. Even with two hearing aids, she cannot hear well on the phone. She told the agent several times she was having trouble hearing him, and did not understand what he was talking about. She asked him several times to "PLEASE call my daughter and talk to her about it - she handles all my finances for me."
She gave him my name and number. Fortunately, she also wrote down his first name (no last name) and a phone number to reach him. When I got to her house later that day, she told me about the phone call and gave me the name and number she got. I called Dealer Services the next day and talked to a Customer Services representative. I was ASSURED that the contract would be cancelled and there would be NO bill generated. The other day, my mother received her Citi Card bill, with a charge of $1984.00, posted on 9/30/10, from Dealer Services! That is more than her MONTHLY income!
Also, I had already called and supposedly cancelled the contract! I called Citi Card immediately! They agreed to put that charge on hold, as a "disputed charge", and called Dealer Services, with me on the line, to discuss the charge. The Customer Services representative was rude and uncooperative, and asked "Why did you give us your credit card number if you didn't want the policy?". My mother does NOT remember giving them her credit card information, although if she DID previously purchase an Extended Warranty from them, the may have HAD it already. Also, I had already called to cancel the contract, so no charges should ahve been posted on her account. They also claimed that on October 2nd they had mailed out to her a 9X12 envelope containing the policy information. She never received any such envelope.
They said they would cancel the policy ONLY ifmy mother wrote a letter HERSELF asking them to cancel the policy, and stating why she wanted it cancelled. The letter also had to include the policy number, which they gave us over the phone, as well as the make, model, year, and current mileage of her car! Then they said it would take 2-3 MONTHS for the charge to be removed from her Citi Card account! We have written the letter as they requested, and mailed it. This is OUTRAGEOUS! To me. It constitutes Consumer Fraud, Credit Card Fraud, and Exploitation of the Elderly! The actual policy is allegedly issued from a company called Royal Protection Insurance Co., also known as Heritage Warranty Insurance Co. Out of Ocean, New Jersey. This company is well-known to your website. These people NEED to be shut down!
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