Summary: the site whocalled.us is cool. Here's why.
I keep getting calls every month or two, and mailings, from something called "warranty division" at 723 (New Jersey area code) 242-6506, and 723 242-6512. The mailing says I am about to expire my factory warranty on a vehicle I bought a few years ago. The mailings have the VIN number and some model info printed on the top. So it looks legit, right?
Except that I got an offer from the manufacturer, soon after I bought the vehicle, to purchase an extended factory warranty. And I bought it. So when I see these mailings, it reminds me of the time that I thought I bought the warranty via phone and credit card only to have it screw up and not go through; it took two tries to get it right after that. Because of that snafu, I always have lingering doubts about whether my warranty is good, even though the warranty service card sits in the vehicle and the contract is in my files (somewhere).
Since the caller ID from Warranty Division pops up occasionally, I decided to call them back a few days ago. I got a phone answering machine saying I can be removed from the Warranty Division caller list if I leave my number. No operator, no electronic voice mail system, just a hoaky answering machine and a "beep." So I left the nastygram.
And today a man called back. I said "Is this the factory warranty center? Because I already bought a factory warranty." He didn't answer yes or no, but instead said, "It's possible the VIN number on your warranty contract doesn't agree with what's on record, and the dealer doesn't have a record of your warranty." So at that point, rather than explode, I said, "I have the contract here, let's give it a look right now." He said "OK." I just happened to have the file handy, because I went and checked all this stuff yesterday. And I got it. And the warranty with the factory had the VIN that matched my title. And when I got back on the phone, he was gone. He hung up.
Next I called my local car dealer, and asked them to not release my personal info for sales of other produts. They said that was already their policy. So how did these guys get the info? He figured it was probably the State Motor Vehicle records that led them to me (but how did they get my number? I'm unlisted, and as of a month ago I'm on the National do-not-call list). He also had the opinion that they are trying to scam me to buy something, that they have been operating this way for years, and that I would probably not be happy with the warranty they sell, and if I have a factory extended warranty to ignore them, and there has been no success in stopping their scam marketing efforts. Oh.
So I called back the Warranty Division, and again got the same message machine I got a few days ago. I left a message that they could stop their calls again please, and that their rep had hung up when I pressed him. And that I would certainly send this info to my State Atty. General and perhaps the Atty. General in New Jersey. Argh!
Now, here is a great way to dig up info: whocalled.us is a great site. You put in the area code and number from your caller ID, and there it is: a form tells you how many other callers logged the same call, a form to report your incident. There is a place to put in a comment about what happened, and read other folk's comments and what they found out about the caller. Great resource!!
