Today we got a official looking mailer with my name, car make, model and year on the front, which on initial inspection gives the impression that it’s from your car manufacturer. The letter states “ THIS LETTER IS TO INFORM YOU THAT IF YOUR FACTORY WARRANTY HAS EXPIRED, YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING FOR ANY REPAIRS…” Note the IF in the statement, this is how they can get away with it, but in reality many people, myself included fail to register the “IF” in the text.

The text goes onto say “PLEASE RESPOND BY 08/19/2014 AND MENTION THIS LETTER FOR A $100 DISCOUNT”, and in larger text below “IMPORTANT VEHICLE PROTECTION INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL IMMEDIATELY” with their phone number 1-800-420-8055. I give this number in the hope that people searching this number online will be linked to this blog article so they don’t get fooled by this misleading marketing and super aggressive customer representatives when you do call!

This company, Vehicle Protection Center operates out of Saint Peters, MO 63376, see the complaints about this company on their profile on the Better Business Bureau website [Link]. Clearly this mailer is designed to mislead car owners and this sort of misleading advertizing needs to be clamped down on; but unfortunately the US government allows for this sort of marketing practice.

I’m a massive skeptic; so I rarely take anything at face value, which is how I came to write this article after I Googled the number and found lots of negativity surrounding this company’s tactics. Obviously I didn’t call the number listed on the mailer after [or before] reading complaints online!

In addition; the question has to be asked, how did they get this information? The only organizations that should have this information is; Davis Moore of Wichita, KS, Kansas DMV, Progressive Insurance and Capital One Auto Loans, did one of these organizations sell our information or did Vehicle Protection Services acquire the information illegally? Either way, I am not happy that it’s out there!

Update [Oct, 11 2014, 14:43]: In addition to another two mailers from Vehicle Protection Center, yesterday we received a different mailer on fetching green paper from a company using similar scare tactics called Vehicle Services Department, tel: 1-800-200-7155, otherwise known as Auto Assure, LLC of 6400 Pinecrest Dr Suite 400, Plano, TX 75024, tel: 972-202-9761 [BBB Profile].

Update [Oct, 18 2016, 17:10]: I had not received a letter from these companies for a while; but today, I received a different one from a company called CarShield, see below, which suspiciously has the same address as Vehicle Protection Center, however they have a different telephone number; 1-800-615-7462. It’s the same tactics as the other two mailers, like the others, DO NOT CONTACT!

Update [Mar, 7 2018, 16:02]: Another name to add to the list of company names that these people trade under; this was sent to me by a reader, Paul. It uses the same phone number that Marion mentioned in a comment below and go under the name, Endurance Dealer Services (Endurance, LLC).

Paul’s Comments

I made 2 phone calls to their corporate office at 866-918-1438 and they were very apologetic when I called. I made 3 other phone calls to reps at 1-877-334-4872, so they knew I was upset, recording each call which showed up when I reached corporate. Endurance Dealer Services, 400 Skokie Blvd, Suite 105, Northbrook, IL 60062, 866-918-1438. Their reputation is taking somewhat of a beating with your blog, along with other related web-posts – found simply by searching “1-877-334-4872”. Here’s the letter sent to my wife (see above). Curiously, they asked if I received the note on pink paper. Obviously not, but they seemed concerned about that possibility.

Update [Jul, 13 2018, 15:13]: They keep coming, I know it has been mentioned in Paul’s comment above, but this is the first one I have received from Endurance, the phone number listed is 1-877-413-6377. This time, they spelled my last name incorrectly, given I haven’t received one of these in a while, it must be for the 2012 Ford Escape Limited I bought my wife a few months back.

Update [Sep, 14 2018, 11:11]: And, another one, Auto Assure again, and another different phone number, 1-800-200-9312. I’ll keep adding more as they come in, to make people aware of this scam!

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