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smart choice warranty HELP !
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Comments
I'm glad your dealer was good enough to help out.
the Bureau of Consumer Protection met with the former owners of this car dealership to review his losses and profits regarding the sale of National Warranty Corporation leases.
our office remained concerned over whether the dealer may have profited from the sale of these contracts and should relinquish such profits in light of the closing of the warranty company.we have reviewed our records of the former owner of the dealership and are satisfied that his losses in addressing several dozen claims such as yours outweigh any profits made through these sales.it is our determination that further action by this office against the dealer is not feasible under the circumstances.
I'm sure there are a few "lucky" souls relaxing in high style, while the rest of us pay for their lifestyle!
My contract stated "The contract is between me and the Selling Dealer"
when I found out smart choice was in bankruptcy I read my contract and it had a cancellation clause. I followed the directions and sent a request for a refund. They refused so I went to small claims court.
Their argument was that I had to get my refund from smart choice not them they said they had to service my vehicle but refused to refund me the money. We had a hearing on 6/15 and I just received notice they must refund me $1300
The key to winning was that my contract was with them the "selling dealer" not with SmartChoice.
Also, there hasn't been any actual damage to you, financially, since you agreed to the contract (and price). The dealer isn't on the hook for Smart Choice.
You haven't had any repairs, so no claims have been denied - if that had happened, you MIGHT have a breach of warranty action, but a lawyer isn't going to want to chase a bankrupt company and pay filing fees only to have to get in line behind everyone else...
Sorry I couldn't give you cheerier news.
Oh, and by the way, I haven't seen a state yet that allowed more than a 2 year statute of limitations on any civil action....your car deal is 3 years, 8 months old - even if there was a problem, you're out of statute of limitations, so you can't take any action.
http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/SOL-by-State.html
Nice try, though.
Is the contract between you and the "selling dealer"
Cancel the contract if you can (cancellation clause on back of contract) and sue in small claims for the refund (there was a formula for figuring out the refund on the contact) make sure you send everything by certified mail
My dealer refused my refund and then tried to get me to prove I had done
everything I was supposed to (oil change every 3000 miles etc.) they wanted
to prove I had voided the warranty. I wouldn't send them anything.
Sued them in CT small claims and won
I refused to send them anything
I note that the contract is between me and the dealer but also states the bit about liabilites with this Contract are with SC&E Administrative Services and performance is insured by an insurance policy issued by National Warranty Insurance Company in Lincoln, NE. What a bunch of crap, just a way to keep passing the responsibility on to someone else.
I bought this policy for $1895.00, along with a Dodge Durango for quite a few bucks more, in Lake Havasu City, AZ., at the Dodge dealership. They kept me there for 4 1/2 hours hoping they would finally weaken my determination to not be taken advantage of and it worked. I will be checking into their legal obligation and will post outcome here. Unfortunately, it has been my observation over the years that it is almost always the big boys with the big bucks that win in a legal matter.
There may be a class-action suit you could join, but we all know how well those judgements pay the people who are actually out money. I don't remember if there is one for Smart Choice customers, but there is one for Warranty Gold dumpees (different company, same story).
There have been a few people on this site who say they were able to get the dealer they bought the contract from to pay some or all of the bill on repairs that would have been covered. It would be worth a try, just ask the dealer before you get anything fixed. Don't march in with the bill and an attitude and expect help.
Other than that, Congratulations! You are the proud owner of an expensive piece of paper!
My Buick Regal I bought in September 2002 has been flawless, so a month ago I started getting ready to claim my big refund ($1,000+), and discovered the NWIG saga. Mailed in all the refund info anyway to see what would happen, and I got a check for $135 from ProGuard International in Laguna Beach CA. They refunded the "application fee" since NWIG went out of buisness.
I figure a 10% recovery on the dollar from a bankrupt firm ain't bad. :mad: