Service Protection Direct

Little after my car's original guaranty expired, I decided to open a policy with the "Service Protection Direct" as a replacement program for my manufacturer warranty. Their mailing address is 1301 Jamie Lane, Waterloo, Illinois 62208 and their phone number is 877-728-6040. A few weeks after I started my policy, I called for some repairs and was denied! Their reason: "There is a restricted period of time before having the freedom to open claims", which I thought was understandable. But recently, my transmission broke down due to internal transmission failure. I called and was denied coverage for this service! Their reason: "I don't have sufficient oil change receipts since I first opened the policy with them".

I explained that I usually purchase my own oil and have it changed by family members. Furthermore, since the transmission was not covered, I had to pay for the car rental out of my pocket. I have been paying $186.67 every month for this policy, over a year now. I'm supposedly under their "Platinum" package. I really think that they are targeting me because oil change is in correlation to the engine, not the transmission. I showed them proof of a few general maintenance services and a maintenance service I did to the transmission about 30,000 miles ago, but that was not enough for them.

The contracts that "Service Protection Direct" sells to the public are backed by the administrator Marathon, which is registered in the states it does business in. Marathon is responsible for all of their claims. Marathon's mailing address is PO Box 961, O'Fallon, Illinois 62269 and their phone number is 800-205-8988. By the way, my policy is still active today. I really don't know what further steps to take!

I purchased an extended warranty on my 2004 Dodge Ram Pickup in 2008, after my factory warranty ran out with Chrysler. I received numerous letters from companies telling me that my factory warranty was running out, and I should immediately extend the warranty, making me believe that it was through Chrysler. I agreed to extend the warranty, because my pickup had only 83,000 miles on it and the warranty would extend it to 178,121 miles, which was great.

They wanted $200.00 up front and $133.00 for 18 months for the coverage, which I thought was okay, since if I had a major problem with transmission or engine, I would be protected. They debited my account for the 18 months of payments, and I completed them in last of October 2009. Keep in mind that I am a 53-year-old woman driving this vehicle.

I started having trouble with the vehicle, and it didn't want to start. My husband took the battery off and took it to be tested, and they said the battery was weak and replaced the battery. Still it would not start. Finally, I got it running and decided to take it to shop in Tyler (closest Dodge dealer to my house for warranty work). It stalled on the side of the road and had to be towed into Tyler to Allen Samuels Dodge/Chrysler.

They looked at the truck and said it had bad battery--all they could find. They also said I should not have bought a battery from Auto Zone and that it's always bad! I said they needed to look at it closer, because I was not going to come and get it and risk breaking down. So later that day, I got a call from them saying "Oh, we didn't see it when we talked to you earlier. But your truck has a bad head gasket (or something like that) and there is water in the oil."

I said, "Well, I have an extended warranty." And he gave me a number to call for the Chrysler Warranty Company, so I could present my claim. And guess what I found out? I didn't have a warranty with Chrysler; I had a warranty with some off-the-wall company.

When we called them, they said my warranty didn't cover anything to do with the engine. (By the way, they did cover the towing charge for about 7 miles to Allen Samuels dealership.) The charges to repair my pickup was estimated at $3500.00 by Allen Samuels Dodge. I had it towed again at my cost $150.00 from Tyler back to my house in Winnsboro. I will never, ever buy an extended warranty on a vehicle as long as I live from any company whether they represent themselves to be dealer-connected or not.