Car warranty expired? It's just a robocall

This is the second notice that your automobile warranty is about to expire.

This call is to give you a final opportunity to extend coverage before it's too late.

Over and over again, we've been barraged by variations of this robocall ringing on our work, home and cell phones.

Finally, a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission traces those irritating calls to their source, and there's a Florida connection.

The FTC sued Voice Touch Inc., which is based in Daytona Beach, on Thursday.

How did the firm do it? According to the FTC, Voice Touch worked with Chicago-based Network Foundations LLC, which provided the technological expertise, to blast out automated calls to tens of millions of consumers the past couple of years. The operation randomly dialed numbers, meaning the calls went out to everyone, even if they didn't own a car, the FTC suit contends.

Moreover, Voice Touch didn't bypass people who registered with the federal government's Do Not Call list, so they were bombarded, too, the suit says.

Telemarketers can use robocalls with automated messages, but if they do, they must switch over to a live person as soon as the recipient picks up.

One contention in the FTC's suit is that the telemarketer didn't switch over to a live person but instead continued with the recorded message.

Tom Stephens, president of the Better Business Bureau of Northeast Florida, said the best response to such calls is to simply hang up.

"That's going to come around again," he said of random robocalls. "The technology is there."

The FTC also sued Transcontinental Warranty, which sells service contracts for vehicle repairs. Once again, there is a Florida connection - Trancontinental Warranty is based in the Fort Lauderdale area. When consumers pressed "1" in response to the robocalls, they were routed to telemarketers representing Transcontinental Warranty, which tried to sell service plans for between $2,000 and $3,000.

The FTC contends Transcontinental portrayed the coverage as extensions of the original vehicle warranties, when they really were service plans with no relationship to the manufacturer or dealer that sold the vehicle.

Stephens said regardless of who is selling a service contract, consumers should get the full contract and read it closely before paying anything.

"Basically, you're buying health insurance for your car," he said. "You need to know what's covered and what's not covered. You almost have to get your mechanic together and say, 'What does this cover?'"

For starters, find out what the deductible is for any out-of-pocket payments you must make before the service plan will pay for repair work. Find out whether both labor and parts are covered. Research the company that is responsible for ensuring the payments. If a company goes out of business, the consumer will be out of luck in getting future claims covered by the company.

When examining the fine print, see if the plan excludes coverage for repairs in the case of corrosion or wear and tear. In older cars, this is a common cause of mechanical problems. Check whether there is a fee to cancel the service contract if you sell the vehicle, or a fee if you want to transfer the service contract to the new owner.

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Being on the Do Not Call list didn't help in the case of the automobile warranty calls.

But it's still a helpful buffer against uninvited calls to your phone. You can register both your home phone and cell phones.

The national Do Not Call registry is free. You can register online at www.donotcall.gov or call toll-free at (888) 382-1222.

Florida has its own program. To register your phone, call (800) 435-7352. There is an initial fee of $10 for the Florida program and a $5 annual renewal fee.

In the past decade, Florida has filed about 150 cases against companies for violating the state's do-not-call law and collected about $3 million in penalties, according to the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.