Car Warranty Racket Exposed On Today Show

[The Straight Story]

Car Warranty Racket Exposed On Today Show
By Chris Walters, 1:01 PM on Thu Apr 30 2009, 41,508 views

US Fidelis exposed on NBC's Today showThe Today show recently aired a terrifically entertaining exposé of US Fidelis, one of the biggest companies behind the auto warranty racket that you've probably encountered via junk mail, telemarketing, or even on TV. They start by looking at an individual who spent $3,180 on one of their auto warranties only to be left stranded when her car overheated and they refused to pay.

"It's the biggest scam I ever got involved with," she told Today. She eventually got her warranty refunded after threatening to report US Fidelis to her state's Attorney General; this may have something to do with the fact that 40 state Attorneys General are currently investigating the company for misleading consumers.

The Today show goes on to point out that the company has 1100 complaints with the St. Louis Better Business Bureau. The St. Louis BBB president told Today, "In my 35 years of experience I've never seen this kind of activity on a company, where so many people have told us that this company is using deceptive practices and misleading advertising."

US Fidelis, a self-identified 'faith based' company, uses a halo for its logo, but its founder has served prison time for fraud.One hilarious detail pointed out by Today is that US Fidelis calls itself a "faith based" company and incorporates a halo in its logo. A halo! They must be trustworthy, then. On a related note, they point out that founder and president Darain Atkinson served time in prison in his 20s.

Still not convinced the company is crooked? (We know, you probably don't need any more convincing, but it's fun to talk about this stuff.) Here are a couple of interviews with former US Fidelis employees from the exposé:

Former Employee #1: We were told to give them the impression we were with Dodge, Ford, Chrysler, BMW, Honda, all of them.

http://consumerist.com/5234396/car-warranty-racket-exposed-on-today-show

I know it's from April, but thought worth posting now as their commercials are all over the place of late.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. I laugh when I get their emails

I drive a 1990 Geo Prizm that was used to begin with.

[Jokerman]

2. "a self-identified 'faith based' company"

That's a huge red flag for me. It's not that I have a problem with people of faith but when a company uses it as an advertising gimmick I just assume that it is bullshit.

[spanone]

5. they will fuck you in the name of their lord.

[Maru Kitteh]

3. GOOD! Everytime I see those commercials I wonder WHY they're not in jail already

I hate snake-oil hucksters of all varieties.

[slampoet]

4. HEY TODAY SHOW!!! The scam moved on to selling fake Health Insurance Months AGO!!!!

THERE I just scooped the Today show for the third time in my life.


Why these people still have jobs has everything to do with their looks and nothing to do with their job performance.