Autoprotect warranty

Merlin3977

Davejo33 wrote: »

Don't be fooled it's autoprotect too!! Bought a 54 plate Vauxhall Zafira 2.0 DTi in May this year and came with a six month warranty. The car was getting difficult to get in gear, noisy and vibrated, on the service the garage was asked to check the clutch and reported they suspected a Dual Mass Flywheel failure. They contacted Customer (Auto) Protect who stated yes it was covered. They stripped it down and confirmed it was the problem they diagnosed, Customer (Auto) Protect said they would send out an Independant Engineer who quoted fair wear and tear. He stated in his report that in the 5 months since the vehicle had been purchased it had covered 3842 miles (below average mileage) the fault was not present on purchase and it was fair wear and tear!!! Customer (still Auto) Protect also stated in their letter:

The definition of ‘Mechanical Breakdown’, as defined in the warranty booklet on page 2, ‘is the failure of an item included under the ‘Parts Listed’, causing a sudden stoppage of its function, for a reason other than wear and tear, normal deterioration or negligence. Damage caused by the effects of overheating or abuse is not regarded as a mechanical breakdown under the terms of this Agreement’

So same old story you shouldn't have checked it until it totally failed
and even then it would be fair wear and tear. My garage spoke to LUK who produce the part and even they stated it was a mechanical failure and they bloody make the things!!! So now I have a £1200 bill and have to get another engineers report to prove the fault, at my cost, and try to claim although if they do pay out it will not cover the clutch most likely damaged by the failure of the flywheel. I am aware the vehicle is still within 6 months of purchase so have contacted the garage under the sale of goods act and have also informed the finance company who legally own the vehicle. If anyone has ever known this bunch of bandits to have ever paid out for anything without a proof of failure signed off by the all mighty himself :A then let us know otherwise anyone looking at purchasing a warranty off these clowns, save you cash, put it on the National Lottery your chances of winning are far greater!!

Hi,

It could be worse. I've been fighting these cowboys and Red Sands as the underwriter since July 2009!

In Jan 2009 i bought a BMW M3 From Lanmere (Ilford). Paid £22k for the car with a completely immaculate dealer only service history and took out a "warranty" with Autoprotect (and i use that term very loosely) through him. Knowing M3's as i do and the fact that just about everything costs thousands if it goes wrong (gearbox for instance can cost £7k) i agreed to the dealer selling me an Autoprotect Gold policy on the basis that it covered virtually every mechanical and electrical defect.

Being an expert witness i consider myself quite savvy, and after reviewing the policy definitions, concluded that whilst expensive it was worth the risk of a four year policy at £4k. After three weeks of buying the vehicle it was put into a main dealer BMW garage and subjected to an inspection 2 service (£1300) and they noted that the car was a very good example, mileage was low and service history was immaculate.

In June of 09 i noticed a noise coming from under the bonnet and took it directly to BMW who stated that the vanos unit was noisy. As such they needed to investigate the noise further but also informed me that there was a knocking noise lower down the engine. I told them of the warranty and they said to speak with Autoprotect.

After speaking with one of their Essex Boy Oiks, they agreed that the vanos was covered and said that i would need to pay for further investigations into the other issues and let them know what the problems were and that they would send an engineer.

Basically after spendoing a thousand pounds stripping the engine down i was called and asked to attend the garage. There they showed me the engine and explained that basically it was knackered and that it would have only been a metter of miles before it blew. They confirmed that this was a recent development and that i should again notify the warranty people.

I won't go on forever but in summary their two bob engineer came out and stated it was normal wear and tear and that it wasn't covered. As such i would have to find £14k to repair the engine myself or BMW sais a replacement engine was £11k.

I obviously went ballistic first, then decided i wasn't going to stand for this and found an insurance expert witness and a highly respected auto expert who has represented Rolls Royce and BMW.

Basically after throwing nearly £8k on proving that their warranty should stand or that it was mis-sold, thus leading to them being liable due to mis-selling we took ur case to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Now, whilst we were more than confident i can honestly say that we weren't prepared for the length of time it has taken or the apathy they have demonstrated.

First, an adjudicator refused our claim against Autoprotect/Red Sands and said we should have read the small print! after this i sought further legal advice and we then went wrote a letter of complaint to the FSA about the FOS's conduct and failure to accept our case.

Subsequently they made the FOS put it in front of the ombudsman and in October this year we received a preliminary decision in our favour, where the ombudsman overruled their own adjudicator and awarded us the entire cost of a replacement engine and many thousands of pounds towards the replacement vehicle we had to buy on finance. However, the cheating gits were not quite finished and requested an extension of time before the ombudsman gave his final decision (after all, two and a half years wasn't enough for them!)

As a result we've received comments from the ombudsman which effectively amount to an almost reversal in decision, whilst still finding in our favour. They also want to reduce the amount of our award. However, fortunately (and i can't go into details here) they have made the mistake of "last letter syndrome" and have completely undermined their entire argument. I can say that they have resorted to accusing us of modifying the car, racing it and also failure to service it and check the oil but the facts speak for themselves as do BMW and our two experts.

going on the last letter from the ombudsman where he has suggested an award figure, i can say that these conmen will be paying out more than double the original claim and awarding compensation!

So, after nearly three years and several thousand pounds we are about to beat these idiots into the ground and receive payment. I've also been told by a solicitor that once we have the final decision we can, for a fixed fee, take them to court in a recovery of costs action and claim compensation through the county court as well as all the money spent fighting this.

If these !!!!!! shaft you, don't let it drop. Make a complaint to the FOS. It may take a while but Autoprotect and their underwriters are known to the FOS/FSA and the more complaints that roll in the more people will win and the more the likelyhood that these crooks will get their comeuppance!!

If anyone is interested, i'll post up the full award details once the case is closed but sitting here now typing, knowing we have won our argument fills me with happiness!!

Good luck with them, they are basically crooks who will take your money for a piece of worthless paper they claim is a warranty.

AUTOPROTECT, YOUR TIME WILL SOON BE UP......:rotfl:

Merlin3977

Oh, one last thing. If anyone is interested in having a go at causing these guys the maximum amount of trouble, head over to the consumer action group forums, and abuse them on there. Also if you head over to the reviewcentre.co.uk (autoprotect have a review rating of 1.2 out of 5) there are loads of people on there, like me interested in clubbing together and approaching both Watchdog and Inside out.

The more people that are made aware of these criminals the better.

If anyone wants to share their stories i will be only to happy to receive messages with your own tale of Autoprotect woes. Who knows, if twenty or more disgruntled people complain as a group they may even make the rogues gallery!:cool:

And one final thing, the more you post the name Autoprotect, the more Autoprotect complaints get pushed up the Google search rankings which means that people searching Autoprotect get to find out just how bad Autoprotect really are and how Autoprotect sell worthless warranties that Autoprotect don't honour!

McGoo2002

I recently purchased a Motorhome for 28k from a large, reputable dealership, complete with 3 year comprehensive warranty.

After 8 months we discovered a damp area inside, on investigation we found water was leaking in around the window, with the likely cause being a damaged seal.

Whilst disappointed about it, we were also reassured that we had purchased it with a good warranty from a main dealer.

The damaged was assessed and a quotation was given to auto protect, who refused the claim out of hand claiming it was mechanical failure due to wear and tear, I appealed and request they assess the vehicle which they declined to do.

I followed the issues up with the dealership, who to their credit offered to repair the van at a heavily discounted price. They also informed me this was not the first problem they've encountered with auto protect.

Moral - an auto protect warranty isn't worth the paper it is written on, however buying from somewhere that is long standing with a good after sales reputation is.

Aimster

I am so glad I searched on this before I handed over £450 for a 2 year warranty. Going to save the money for future garage bills instead, as sounds like I would end up paying them anyway!

poppasmurf_bewdley

McGoo2002 wrote: »

I recently purchased a Motorhome for 28k from a large, reputable dealership, complete with 3 year comprehensive warranty.

After 8 months we discovered a damp area inside, on investigation we found water was leaking in around the window, with the likely cause being a damaged seal.

Whilst disappointed about it, we were also reassured that we had purchased it with a good warranty from a main dealer.

The damaged was assessed and a quotation was given to auto protect, who refused the claim out of hand claiming it was mechanical failure due to wear and tear, I appealed and request they assess the vehicle which they declined to do.

I followed the issues up with the dealership, who to their credit offered to repair the van at a heavily discounted price. They also informed me this was not the first problem they've encountered with auto protect.

Moral - an auto protect warranty isn't worth the paper it is written on, however buying from somewhere that is long standing with a good after sales reputation is.

In that case, I do hope you are claiming back the cost of the warranty from the car dealer that sold it to you in addition to the cost of having had to pay for a repair that should have been done for free! They've sold you something they have admitted isn't very good, as well as charging you for repairs to something that should have been spotted before you bought it.

bocky

NorhternMonkey wrote: »

Hello,
If i can advice anybody,Do not buy or even take out extra warranty it is a rip off,If the garage add it into your price with the car opt out and take any reduction even if it is 99p.Tell the garage they should not deal with them it only tarnishes them unless they are in on it as well. I spoke to a garage in the trade for 20 yrs and these companys have never paid out,they word it in the small print so basically nothing is coverd. Bought my car from Victoria motor company Gwent warranty off customer protect. complete rip off,customer service people flogg you off. Hope for bad luck for all customer protect workers see how it feels
Need some advise.

I bought a car (54 Plate mondeo 2.0 TDCi) back in Feb :money::beer::T
It came with a warranty from Autoprotect which I thought was really good news. However I have just put the car in to have it checked as it was really rattley, turns out it was the Aux belt tensioner (good job garage for the quick Diagnostics) so the garage spoke to autoprotect who said that unless its a sudden mechanical failure its not covered because it genreal wear and tear.

I find it hard to get my head round the fact of Autoprotect will no cover the part because I have caught it before it gives up, they also added that because I have tried to claim it if it dose break its not covered?!!
Any suggestions on what I should do?

Cheers

NM

dgcbev

I have a BMW 520d and the Turbo has just gone...

I am covered under AutoProtect Gold Warranty, and they are coming to collect the turbo and inspect it.

No doubt they will say it is wear and tear...

Has anyone got any advice or experience in dealing with these crooks, how can I win this battle and get them to pay the £1800 bill?

red_eye

Merlin3977 wrote: »

Hi,

It could be worse. I've been fighting these cowboys and Red Sands as the underwriter since July 2009!

In Jan 2009 i bought a BMW M3 From Lanmere (Ilford). Paid £22k for the car with a completely immaculate dealer only service history and took out a "warranty" with Autoprotect (and i use that term very loosely) through him. Knowing M3's as i do and the fact that just about everything costs thousands if it goes wrong (gearbox for instance can cost £7k) i agreed to the dealer selling me an Autoprotect Gold policy on the basis that it covered virtually every mechanical and electrical defect.

Being an expert witness i consider myself quite savvy, and after reviewing the policy definitions, concluded that whilst expensive it was worth the risk of a four year policy at £4k. After three weeks of buying the vehicle it was put into a main dealer BMW garage and subjected to an inspection 2 service (£1300) and they noted that the car was a very good example, mileage was low and service history was immaculate.

In June of 09 i noticed a noise coming from under the bonnet and took it directly to BMW who stated that the vanos unit was noisy. As such they needed to investigate the noise further but also informed me that there was a knocking noise lower down the engine. I told them of the warranty and they said to speak with Autoprotect.

After speaking with one of their Essex Boy Oiks, they agreed that the vanos was covered and said that i would need to pay for further investigations into the other issues and let them know what the problems were and that they would send an engineer.

Basically after spendoing a thousand pounds stripping the engine down i was called and asked to attend the garage. There they showed me the engine and explained that basically it was knackered and that it would have only been a metter of miles before it blew. They confirmed that this was a recent development and that i should again notify the warranty people.

I won't go on forever but in summary their two bob engineer came out and stated it was normal wear and tear and that it wasn't covered. As such i would have to find £14k to repair the engine myself or BMW sais a replacement engine was £11k.

I obviously went ballistic first, then decided i wasn't going to stand for this and found an insurance expert witness and a highly respected auto expert who has represented Rolls Royce and BMW.

Basically after throwing nearly £8k on proving that their warranty should stand or that it was mis-sold, thus leading to them being liable due to mis-selling we took ur case to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Now, whilst we were more than confident i can honestly say that we weren't prepared for the length of time it has taken or the apathy they have demonstrated.

First, an adjudicator refused our claim against Autoprotect/Red Sands and said we should have read the small print! after this i sought further legal advice and we then went wrote a letter of complaint to the FSA about the FOS's conduct and failure to accept our case.

Subsequently they made the FOS put it in front of the ombudsman and in October this year we received a preliminary decision in our favour, where the ombudsman overruled their own adjudicator and awarded us the entire cost of a replacement engine and many thousands of pounds towards the replacement vehicle we had to buy on finance. However, the cheating gits were not quite finished and requested an extension of time before the ombudsman gave his final decision (after all, two and a half years wasn't enough for them!)

As a result we've received comments from the ombudsman which effectively amount to an almost reversal in decision, whilst still finding in our favour. They also want to reduce the amount of our award. However, fortunately (and i can't go into details here) they have made the mistake of "last letter syndrome" and have completely undermined their entire argument. I can say that they have resorted to accusing us of modifying the car, racing it and also failure to service it and check the oil but the facts speak for themselves as do BMW and our two experts.

going on the last letter from the ombudsman where he has suggested an award figure, i can say that these conmen will be paying out more than double the original claim and awarding compensation!

So, after nearly three years and several thousand pounds we are about to beat these idiots into the ground and receive payment. I've also been told by a solicitor that once we have the final decision we can, for a fixed fee, take them to court in a recovery of costs action and claim compensation through the county court as well as all the money spent fighting this.

If these !!!!!! shaft you, don't let it drop. Make a complaint to the FOS. It may take a while but Autoprotect and their underwriters are known to the FOS/FSA and the more complaints that roll in the more people will win and the more the likelyhood that these crooks will get their comeuppance!!

If anyone is interested, i'll post up the full award details once the case is closed but sitting here now typing, knowing we have won our argument fills me with happiness!!

Good luck with them, they are basically crooks who will take your money for a piece of worthless paper they claim is a warranty.

AUTOPROTECT, YOUR TIME WILL SOON BE UP......:rotfl:

did you get cost and compo from them in the end?

dvarley

I bought a Autoprotect Warranty through Click4Warranties.
It was for my Zafira after its 3 year manufacturers warranty ended. Six months later the garage found a crank case oil leak.

Even with my FIVE STAR, wear and tear covered policy, it was not covered. On the web site the blurb is "Ultimate peace of mind for motorists. Covers mostmechanical or electrical component breakdowns. Coveragainst breakdown due to WEAR & TEAR included as standard" Engine - large tick.

But in reality “Any external oil leaks other than those oil leaks that are specificallycovered”. So what oil leaks are specifically covered, the answer is just the head gasket.
I might as well have taken my £300 plus and thrown it off Trent Bridge.

Pitliver

This shower also trade as Go car Warranty, who's latest accounts show them as technically insolvent!

Their 'sell you anything' blurb states 'We know you often want to take your car to a manufacturers main dealer, and we are happy to pay up to £100 per hour' ...fine,.. and off we set with my daughters Mini to the main dealer who identified the fault, requiring a replacement part.

Problem is,.. the warranty company dictated that they would not authorise genuine Mini Parts.

There is not a main dealer franchise on the planet who will fit 3rd party aftermarket parts.

The story gets worse with the major gearbox 'mechanical failure' but the story would fill this forum.

To add insult to injury, the claims number is at premium call rate and every call (we have made 15), has you on hold for at LEAST 20 mins.:mad:

In my opinion these companies are crooks and deserve to be shut down!

Save your money and reduce your blood pressure...stay away!