Photo: Moose Photos on Pexels.com
Robocalls are one of the most frustrating things invented, and their evil is taken up to 11 when they are used for scamming. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is taking action in federal court, and this case has caught our attention as it focuses on a group of defendants from Florida, who have allegedly called hundreds of thousands of people across the U.S. to pitch them "extended automobile warranties."
There are several defendants in this case, but the biggest one is called American Vehicle Protection Corp., also known as AVP, and they are accused of getting over $6 million over the last four years from American consumers while pretending to represent their dealer or car manufacturer.
The defendants are headquartered in Pompano Beach, Florida, and are accused of violating the FTC's Act, as well as the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule.
Moreover, the Do Not Call Registry was violated, along with other illegal conduct, such as deceptive telemarketing, failing to pay the fees required to access the numbers on the DNC Registry, and scrubbing those numbers from their call lists, as well as other accusations.
What is even worse than this alleged impersonation is the fact that the coverage that was offered was "much more limited than represented," as the Federal Trade Commission explained. This is an age-old issue that is yet to be fixed.
According to FTC, consumers were blasted with illegal calls, despite being on no-call lists, and the robocalls spoke of “bumper-to-bumper” warranties, but those did not come from the manufacturer of the vehicle, and they did not cover the repairs that people needed, and the FTC wants to hold AVP accountable for that.
Over the phone, customers were promised "full vehicle coverage" from anywhere between $2,800 and $3,400, and they were also promising the possibility of a full refund on the down payment or even on the full payment within 30 days (about 4 and a half weeks) of buying the warranty if they were not happy with the purchase. As it turns out, those refunds did not happen even though they were requested. The FTC warned about these robocalls in May 2021, but this is not the first time when were mentioned by an American Government organization.
The defendants are headquartered in Pompano Beach, Florida, and are accused of violating the FTC's Act, as well as the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule.
Moreover, the Do Not Call Registry was violated, along with other illegal conduct, such as deceptive telemarketing, failing to pay the fees required to access the numbers on the DNC Registry, and scrubbing those numbers from their call lists, as well as other accusations.
What is even worse than this alleged impersonation is the fact that the coverage that was offered was "much more limited than represented," as the Federal Trade Commission explained. This is an age-old issue that is yet to be fixed.
According to FTC, consumers were blasted with illegal calls, despite being on no-call lists, and the robocalls spoke of “bumper-to-bumper” warranties, but those did not come from the manufacturer of the vehicle, and they did not cover the repairs that people needed, and the FTC wants to hold AVP accountable for that.
Over the phone, customers were promised "full vehicle coverage" from anywhere between $2,800 and $3,400, and they were also promising the possibility of a full refund on the down payment or even on the full payment within 30 days (about 4 and a half weeks) of buying the warranty if they were not happy with the purchase. As it turns out, those refunds did not happen even though they were requested. The FTC warned about these robocalls in May 2021, but this is not the first time when were mentioned by an American Government organization.
Google News