3rd Party Remote Call Monitoring Feature

An initiative from Vehicle Protection Association (VPA) now comes as relief to thousands of customers who have been affected by the unethical practices followed by some of the vehicle service contract call centers in the country.

The development comes after Attorneys General Bob Ferguson from the state of Washington, Chris Koster from Missouri, Greg Abbott from Texas and Mike DeWine from Ohio recently issued statements announcing that restitution payments are being processed for 19,000 former customers of US Fidelis, formerly one of the nation’s largest sellers of auto service contracts.

A report published in St. Louis Post-Dispatch states US Fidelis allegedly misled consumers through deceptive direct mail and telemarketing campaigns and failed to refund dissatisfied customers the amount owed upon contract cancellation.

The lackadaisical attitude of the providers has caused inconvenience to the vehicle service contracts industry, VPA said. VPA has urged these call centers to provide timely cancellation and refunds for vehicle service contract customers.

Vehicle Protection Association is a not-for-profit trade association promoting regulatory transparency, education and accountability for marketing and servicing automotive service contracts.

VPA has established VPA Standards of Conduct for its members with an aim to protect the rights of consumers who purchase a vehicle service contract. As per this contract, members are required to provide timely cancellations and refunds.

In addition to warning the failing service providers, the association also urges customers who are unable to get a cancellation processed from a vehicle service contract provider to contact them with their claims number and request their cancellation. Any problems should be reported directly to the administrator on the contract, or consumers can also contact the VPA, the association said.

“The Vehicle Protection Association strives to establish and promote integrity within the VSC industry. Providing timely cancellations and refunds to consumers is an important part of that process,” said Chris Carenza, executive director of the VPA.

“Some business partners in the industry have stepped up to assist in the handling of cancellations and refunds when problems arise, and we encourage other business partners to do the same,” Carenza added.