Continental Warranty Deceptive Sales Practices North Hollywood California

I am sorry my previous response didn't address your issues with my company let me answer my opinion on them one by one.

- Excessive amount of phone calls, if you request information from companies on line you can expect them to call you. In the case of Thomas we had two requests so we dialed both leads at our normal volume. We don't leave a message for the first two or three days, because I cannot imagine how many "Victims" of Continental Warranty would be complaining on this site if we left messages everytime we called someone. I don't blame you for this complaint, I get calls on my home phone from numbers I don't recognize and it is frustrating. However, I don't think you realize the volume of business we do, and it is an efficient system for us and it works.

- We as a company do not use the verbage "certified warranty" We classify plans in two categories, new plans and used car plans.

- We don't disparage our competitors, any information I give to a consumer about a competitor is accurate information we have studied to make sure our program is the best available. I get quotes from competitors and I personally know more about our competition than most of the sales reps that work at those companies. We have comparison data between us and our competition to make sure the consumer gets the best possible contract. After 20 years of selling this product and the comparison shopping we do you can see how when someone says to us "The other company is offering the same thing for $500 less", that is like someone buying a Kia Spectra telling the owner of a BMW 325 that he got jipped because he spent $40,000 more for the same kind of car."

- Agressive sales tactics to a used car owner, I think that is the real complaint here. Thomas couldn't believe we told him if he didn't enroll today, we would live without the risk of him coming back to us. I guess it is a pride thing for Thomas, but people get rejected by insurance companies all the time. If you have 3 DUI's and you call a reputable insurance company they will deny coverage to you. If you weigh 400lbs and smoke, life insurance companies won't cover you. If you drive a used car and you want us to say here's a leaflet call us when your air conditioner breaks, I am sorry we are not that stupid.


BBB ratings, a B rating is a favorable rating. The reason for 150 people complaints resulting in a full or partial refund is because those 150 people were complaining that the refund process on their deposit took too long to get back. Before we charge someone's card we tell them exactly how long it takes to get a refund if they are not satisfied with our contract, but some people expect an instant refund and go to the BBB. Just a word of note, 303 people is less people than we deal with in one single day, but the report is for 3 years. If you look at reputable companies like Verizon or Bank of America, you will see 10,000 complaints and a B rating just like ours. The more people you deal with the more complaints you will have, it is a fact. The reason why the BBB gives us a strong rating is because we have a track record of responding to all of our clients concerns.

Warranty Direct isn't on the list I provided because they are still in business. They are the internet division of Interstate Dealer Services out of New York. They aren't a bad company, but I think Great American Insurance Company is a much stronger insurance company than their present backer Dealers Assurance Company out of Ohio. Do some research on that insurance company, you'll find the financial outlook of Great American Insurance Company is much better.

- Warranty Direct advertises "Wear and Tear" coverage, yet just like our plans their contract say a "failure" must occur for a repair to be authorized. I think that is misleading to a lot of consumers, but besides that I think they do a decent job as a warranty company. I personally think having a claims administrator to deal directly with the dealer like we have speeds up claims and causes less disputes over the dollar amount of the claim, but that is a personal opinion.

I hope this addresses your concerns, I don't expect anything but negative responses because honestly anyone so upset with us to go on a website and declare us a rip off because we declinied his vehicle for our coverage is not going to be satisfied no matter what we do. I do believe any rational and nuetral client reading this complaint will see we are far from a rip off.


Lonnie Pitts Welcome Center Manager lpitts@continentalwarranty.net

1-866-989-9100 Extension 1620

I'm not even sure why Continental spends time responding to the complaints. It just makes things more obvious that they're trying to justify why they're so dirty.

My issue with Continental was based on the following items which Lonnie never even addressed...

-- Excessive number of phone calls without leaving a message
-- Initially pitching their product as a 'Certified Warranty' when it's really a marketing term internal to their organization.
-- Bad mouthing of competitors using adjusters when their own company uses adjusters.
-- Agressive sales tactics to get my credit card information when I requested repeatedly to send me a "sample" copy of their warranty coverage

Lonnie, there is no excuse for your company leaving me a voicemail when I asked to remove me from your list. Your sales rep was not being "educational" about the topic of insurance-backed warranty but acted as though he had a point to prove. In fact, the rep tried to say that "Warranty Direct" was a horrible company when they've been in business for over 20 years. I also noticed that company is NOT on your list.

A company Rating of "B" from the BBB isn't all that great. On a scale of 0 to 10 (with 10 being the highest), your company is about a 6 which really only means that you respond to customer complaints.

Because I'm not a victim of your company, then I use the Rip Off Report to voice my opinion and warn others about your deceptive/high pressure sales tactics. Considering more than half of the 303 complaints resulted in full or partial refunds by your company, then you clearly acknowledge that you were wrong.

Continental Warranty follows a scripted presentation with every client we sell to make sure that information is provided accurately. When reading this post please keep in mind that we as a company strive to make sure our customers or potential clients are aware of not only the coverage we offer but also who insures our clients.

A lot of companies don't talk about the insurance company backing the plan they sell. A lot of companies use Risk Retention Groups as opposed to directly being insured to save on cost.

I have sold warranties on cars now for over 15 years. I think most of the clients we sell are very interested in knowing the people who back the contract they decide upon. Honestly if the insurance company is not strong, you have a $2,000 piece of paper. We are very proud of the insurance company we provide for which is Great American Insurance company. Why wouldn't we be? In a industry where all the coverage sounds the same and the price seems to be the only difference we want clients to know the real difference which is service and peace of mind.

Tony wasn't interested in who the insurance company is, thats his perogative. I think most people are very interested in making sure that money is available when a claim is needed. Any clients considering our program please check out www.gaic.com, I think you will find that when it comes to peace of mind, Continental Warranty is your very best option.

Tony my suggestion would be to check out:
Warranty Gold
Warranty USA
Platinum Warranty Corporation
E Warranty Solutions
One Source Auto Warranty
National Warranty LTD
Smart Choice Warranty

A lot of great websites, a lot of great emails, friendly people who let you sign up anytime, no insurance companies or risk retention groups, over 1 million people truely ripped off. But they enjoyed their shopping experience, so I guess there is a choice, sign up with a great insurance backed company that has experience and knows how to stay in business, or sign up with a nice company that has no guarantee to help you when you need it.

Please contact me with any questions or comments, by the way our BBB rating is a "B" Which means we are a good company and are recommended by the BBB. In a high volume business, we have complaints, 303 people in over 3 years sounds like a lot, it is less than half the people we have contact with in one business day and most complaints aren't about our contract, most come from people like Tony who think we our high pressure.

Lonnie Pitts Welcome Center Manager lpitts@continentalwarranty.net

1-866-989-9100 Extension 1620