BBB says complaints mounting against warranty company

By Cordell Whitlock

KSDK -- A company in St. Charles County has rubbed several customers the wrong way. Several complaints filed against it have triggered an investigation by the Better Business Bureau.

U.S. Fidelis in Wentzville sells extended auto warranties. Several attorneys general and plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit claim the company preys on consumers. U.S. Fidelis has had three different names since it began operating. Consumer advocates said the company is treading a fine line between unethical and illegal practices.

"They definitely took me for a ride," said Evelyn Henry, who lives in St. Louis County.

Just before Henry's original warranty expired on her car, she received a mailing for an extended warranty from dealer services. Henry had paid close to $1,000 over 10 months, when a light came on in the car.

"The camshaft sensor went out and the wiper motor went out," Henry said.

When Henry called dealer services, she said her claim was denied, although her warranty was billed as bumper-to-bumper.

The Better Business Bureau in St. Louis said inquiries into U.S. Fidelis, formerly named 'Dealer Services' and 'National Auto Warranty Services,' have come in at record numbers.

"U.S. Fidelis has an F grade with the BBB," said Chris Thetford, communications director for the BBB. "In the past three years, we have had 33,000 requests from consumers about info from the company and we've also taken over 1,100 complaints."

U.S. Fidelis has an aggressive marketing campaign nationwide. Consumer complaints include being misled by mailings and a refusal to see a contract before a policy is paid for. A class action lawsuit filed last week in St. Charles County against U.S. Fidelis claims consumers were repeatedly lied to about what they were buying. The BBB said many disputes remain unresolved.

Henry doubts she will get her $950 back.

"I paid them all that money, yet I had to come out of pocket and pay for the repairs by myself," she said.

NewsChannel 5 contacted U.S. Fidelis Thursday and left a message with human resources and on the president's voicemail but those calls were not returned. 40 attorneys general, including Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, have a lawsuit pending against the company. A settlement is being negotiated.

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Statement from Chris Riley, Chief Executive Officer, US Fidelis

At US Fidelis, we work hard every day to provide the public with a much needed offering, out-of-warranty extended vehicle coverage. In these tough economic times, this product can save consumers hundreds and even thousands of dollars, and can help ensure that they have a working vehicle to get to and home from work. The need for our service is clear. People who bought programs from US Fidelis received more than $20,000,000 in paid-out claims during 2008 alone.

We also are very committed to treating our valued customers fairly and with complete honesty ... from our advertising to our interactions with them on the phone. Unfortunately, some of our competitors do not, and have engaged in questionable marketing tactics ... and this has painted the entire industry, and US Fidelis as the industry leader, with the same brush.

Like any business, we have some customers who have issues with our company. And, when these are brought to our attention, we work hard to resolve them. In fact, we have been working with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to ensure that all of the customer concerns are resolved, including some that were inaccurately filed and related to other companies. While we handle nearly 15,000 calls every day, the complaints represent less than 0.3 percent of our customer base. Each and every customer concern is handled promptly by one of our 43 customer service agents. We are proud to say that all complaints listed by the Better Business Bureau from the past three years have either been resolved, or are in the final stages of being resolved.

We are proud of our company, which, in just six years, has grown from the ground up to an 1,100 employee company and the second largest employer in Wentzville, Mo. We are the leader in a very young industry and firmly believe that the legislative and regulatory oversight of our industry needs to catch up with the market. That is why we are actively involved in supporting legislative and regulatory changes that will protect consumers from companies that may not share our commitment to excellence. And, we are already making changes to tighten up the way we communicate with our customers, including recording all phone calls to ensure customer quality is adhered to at all times.

We take pride in the work we do every day to provide a high quality and valuable service to our customers and will continue to work to improve our offering.