PLATINUM WARRANTY

PLATINUM WARRANTY Almost every "big ticket" purchase you make comes with the option to buy a warranty. But knowing what to look for can be tricky. Contact 2 has the story of a Desoto man who's fighting his warranty company after paying out thousands.

?Looking at my warranty with Saturn, myself and the car dealership where I bought the warranty, they say it should be covered. They said they dealt with this same problem on several separate occasions and it's been covered every time.? Jeff Wiley bought what he was told was a top of the line auto warranty through Platinum Warranty Corporation out of Cleveland. So when an oil piston ring failed to work on his 2001 Saturn, he called the company, but says he was greeted with some bad news. ?They will not answer any other questions other than, ?Sir, it did not physically break. It failed to do its job, but it did not physically break and we're not covering it.?? Jeff paid $1,100 dollars for the warranty and has also paid out an additional $1,600 for repairs and rental fees. ?As far as I know, we've went every angle that we could and it's just not panning out.?

We asked the technician at Saturn of South County, who worked on Jeff's car, for his assessment of what went wrong. ?He had these two rings wore out, which caused the carbon build up under this ring and that stuck to that one, allowing oil to pass through here and then get burnt off at the top of the cylinders.? We also took Jeff's warranty to the experts at AAA to see if the company was within their contractual agreement to deny his claim. Phil Linck, AAA, ?I suspect the warranty company should go ahead and pay for it. If it's implied they don't cover carbon, it should be in there, if there's an implication on any warranty, it should be written down.? Mr. Linck says when buying a warranty of any kind it's important to do some research. ?One of the things you need to do prior to buying any warranty is check with the BBB. Check with what state the insurance company is from and do a little homework on that. But at this point, he's out his warranty, he's out additional expenses, he's out his time and who's going to make all that up. It just may be an indication or a point where the lawyers actually have to get involved.? We also talked to the claims manager at platinum warranty. The company maintains the pistol rings did not fail, which is why they're denying Jeff's claim. Platinum Warranty says the rings stuck due to excessive sludge in the engine, not because the part broke or failed, so they are not covered in the warranty. As for Jeff, he says, ?I don't think I'll ever buy another after-market warranty again. I'll buy a factory warranty from the car company, but not from any other individual company that's trying to sell a warranty.?

Jeff's case was complicated by the fact that he did some of his own oil changes, and doesn't have receipts. Still, he feels the company is wrong in not paying for his claim and plans to pursue legal action. Make sure to hold onto all maintenance records.

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