Interstate National Dealer Services, Inc. Warrantech Inc. Unscrupulous Warranty Company Denied a Covered Part in a Luxury Care Package because "there is no cause of fault". In other words, "we don't know why you broke down and we are not covering it". Uniondale, New York

Andrew Sargeant

Chief Operating Officer

USA Risk Group
P.O. Box 306
Montpelier, Vermont 05601
Tel 800.USA.RISK
Fax 802.229.6280

Dear Mr. Sargeant:   

Please allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Ms. Perry.  I reside in Brooklyn NY.  I am a single parent with a child working three jobs.  I purchased an extended warranty with Interstate National Dealer Services at 333 Earle Ovington Boulevard for the purposes of having peace of mind and confidence that in the event of a vehicle break down my car would be promptly serviced and back on the road.  My peace of mind has been turned into a complete nightmare. My vehicle broke down and was immediately towed to a car dealership for repair.  After diagnosing the problem with my engine my warranty company, Interstate, was contacted and an inspector sent shortly thereafter.  It was noted that the valves on the engine were bent, but the timing belt was intact and the engine had not been starved.  The Inspector and the Service provider indicated that the car had jumped timing.  Despite this information being document my claim was denied because "there was no stated cause of fault".  I spoke to several customer relation representatives who seemed to brush me off and reiterate the claim had been denied.  Mr. Tony Serrano advised me on 9/21/09 that "he was authorized to speak on and deny claims on behalf of the company".  He stated "the claim would remain denied until I or my mechanic could prove what caused the failure".    When I asked to speak to someone from corporate about the situation he referred me to customer relations to lodge a complaint.   I was told I would have to send a fax to have a senior level manager speak to me about the situation.  After hours of getting brushed off by Interstate I was ultimately told by a CCR, Danielle # 1373 that the issue was going no further and that I could not wait on her line to speak to anyone else.   This morning I went to the office of Interstate National Dealer Services and was allowed to speak to Mr. Larry Cassani (516) 610-4816 who advised me that the claim was denied because "there was no cause of fault and that the timing was working properly".  His comment contradicted the comments of his subordinates and the previous reports submitted.  When I asked if the policy stated a claim could be denied because no fault could be found he said "YES".  He stated "it was his job to protect his insurance company and that is what he was going to do".  He advised me that "my having to travel to get to any of my three jobs was not of his concern and had nothing to do with the claim".  I asked if I could review the policy with him and he stated "NO".  I asked if he could review the policy with the Attorney General and he stated "YES".  I asked if he could have someone from Interstate speak with the Service provider, he stated "I do not care what they have to say, they have nothing to speak to us about". 

Despite me having travelled to their location to get a proper explanation and treating Mr. Cassani with courtesy and respect, I was told "we have nothing further to discuss with you ,  Please leave our offices and we will dispatch another inspector in 24 - 48 hours".   

Proof of loss has already been established and and my claim has not been paid.  The Attorney General has been properly notified of this unscrupulous activity, and I am now appealing to your company USA Risk Services for intervention in this matter.  You are entitled to be informed of the unprofessional activities of your client in it's attempts to protect your company that serve nothing better than to betray the public's trust and subject your company to public scrutiny. I would appreciated if you could assign someone from your company to open a claim and follow up on it. 

Thank you for your attention.   Have a great day.    

cc:  The Honorable Chuck Schumer

After repeated requests, on September 21, 2009, to speak to a senior level manager about my claim I was denied.  I was advised to send a fax to request to have a manager call me back.  I opted instead to visit the office of Interstate National Dealer Services which I did on September 22, 2009.  I was greeted by a receptionist that had a stack of employment applications on her desk.  She was surpised to learn that I was not in fact an applicant but a customer.  I was then greeted by another woman that represented herself as "in charge" of customer support.  She jotted notes about my claim and took down my claim number.  Shortly thereafter Mr. Larry Cassani, National Claims Director appeared and offered to speak to me privately about the claim.  After a quick review he reasserted the companies position that the claim was denied because there was "not a stated cause of fault" for the valves being bent.  He admitted the belt was intact, and the engine had not been improperly maintained, but because they couldn't find fault for the valves being bent they were still going to deny to the claim.   I reminded him that the inspector stated the cause of fault as "the car jumped timing" which bent the valves.   I reminded him that his assistant stated "the car jumped timing" just the day before and that the service provider indicated the same.  Mr. Cassani then flat out lied and stated that the timing was in order and it must have been fixed.  (Hmmmm, magically it was fixed).  I asked him where in the contract did it state that if Interstate couldn't find a fault a claim could be denied.  I asked to review the contract with him.  Mr. Cassini refused to go over the contract with me.  I asked him if he could review the contract with the Attorney General, he said "YES".  When I informed him that their choice to refuse service was severly hampering my ability to travel to my place of work, he replied "your ability to get to work has NOTHING to do with us or this claim".  He stated that "Interstates job was to protect it's insurance company".  This comment above all others stunned me that he would make such an admission.  After hearing this comment I asked about the loyalty to his customers and he stated again "their job is to protect the insurance company and NOT to pay out claims". 

After a very polite discussion Mr. Cassani suddenly stood up and said he had nothing further to say to me about the situation and asked me to leave the office.  When I asked if the supervisor of the claims department could contact the service manager he stated rather rudely "We don't have nothing to say to your service provider and I don't care what he has to say".  He said "we can send out another inspector in 24 - 48 hours and now I must ask you to leave". 

Before standing up I reminded him that the customer service group was rude on the phone, didn't seem concerned about their customers and didn't listen fully to the customer.  I added that the CSRs seem to make assumptions, refused transfers to senior level management and didn't seem genuinely sympathetic at all.  To this he nooded and motioned me to the door. 

THIS COMPANY IS A DEFINITE RIP OFF AND ITS ACTIVITIES SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED BY THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.