High-Pressure Tactics and Car Warranty Scams — Seniors, You’re It!

Have you ever picked up the mail and found a postcard warning you that your car’s warranty is about to expire? The card urges you to call a toll-free number to renew it. Or maybe you are sitting down at the dinner table only to be interrupted by a telephone call from a high-pressure salesperson trying to talk you into something you don’t need or want. As much as I love to be kept posted on things I may forget — such as renewing my license, setting my clock back or ahead or even remembering a doctor’s appointment — I really become annoyed by these warning and unwanted telephone calls. This is especially true when the warranty expired several years ago, or even worse, is A WARRANTY THAT I NEVER HAD!

I have found that these solicitations often target unsuspecting seniors who have received pre-recorded phone messages (which, by the way, are illegal) or mailings that ask them to purchase an extended warranty. The mailings include phrases such as “motor vehicle notification,” “final notice” and “priority level high” to make the offer seem urgent, when in fact they are just a scam.

Be careful: These solicitations are another way to get us to pay thousands of dollars unnecessarily. What’s worse is that the caller even has the nerve to tell us that we must make a down payment before we can receive information about the warranty.

In my case, I have an older car and there is no reason why I would need to purchase an extended warranty from an out-of-state company, especially since the coverage doesn’t cover repairs that I might needed such as tune-ups, brakes, tires and oil changes.

When I am not sure about things related to my car I have found the following Web site to be helpful to me: www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/cars/usedcar/usedcar.htm.

My 2008 New Year’s resolution is to hold on to my cash and read the fine print! What’s yours?

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Shawne Buckner

Consumer Affairs Outreach Specialist

County of Summit, Office of Consumer Affairs

As an outreach specialist, I am responsible for developing a consumer education program, giving public presentations and mediating consumer complaints against businesses regarding the purchase of goods or services. Many of these complaints involve foreign lottery scams, predatory mortgage lending, unauthorized charges on credit cards, mail order and telephone sales, motor vehicle repairs, Internet scams and prize offers. I am member of the Summit County Foreclosure Prevention Partnership Program and Tuff Stuff Committee and a board member of Westside Neighborhood Development Corporation of Akron, where I help to provide leadership in the area of housing and commercial revitalization.

I began my career in consumer protection and education in November 2006; prior to that I worked in the banking/mortgage industry for over 10 years. Born and raised in Akron, Ohio, I graduated from Ellet High School and went on to pursue an education in criminal justice at The University of Akron.

If I had to pick one thing that I love about my job, I would choose the public speaking events that I give to senior citizens. My goal is to educate as many senior citizens as possible about ways to protect themselves from becoming a victim of crime. My speeches to senior groups range from medical health claim scams, free credit reports, work-at-home schemes and home improvement scams, to protecting themselves from purse snatchings, robberies and burglaries.