DOJ files action against ‘extended auto-warranty’ telemarketing group

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The state has filed suit against the telemarketing agency N.C.W.C., Inc., a nationwide provider of extended vehicle-service contracts, for violating Wisconsin’s telemarketing laws.

The New Jersey-based firm makes marketing calls to Wisconsin automobile owners about extended vehicle-service plans. The complaint alleges that N.C.W.C. made thousands of telemarketing calls to Wisconsin numbers without being registered as a telephone solicitor, as is required by Wisconsin law. Additionally, the company violated state laws by making several thousand calls to Wisconsin consumers whose numbers were listed on the “Do-Not-Call” registry.

According to the complaint, N.C.W.C. has used trade names such as Safecar, Got Warranty, Heritage Automotive Protection, Liberty Automotive Protection, Warranty World, Dealer Services and Dealer Services Marketing Co, without ever being registered with Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions.

USA Auto Protection, LLC of St. Louis, a N.C.W.C.’s vendor, made 21,675 calls to Wisconsin numbers between March 2018 and March 2021. Of those calls, 11,614 were made to numbers registered on the “Do-Not-Call” list. Another vendor, Ox Car Care, Inc. of Irvine, California, made 1,095,575 telephone solicitations to Wisconsin numbers, of which 669,669 were on the “Do-Not-Call” registry, between January 2018 and November 2020.

“Wisconsin consumers are tired of being illegally solicited by these telemarketers regarding their ‘extended auto-warranties,’ and today’s joint effort shows the State of Wisconsin is committed to addressing these illegal telephone solicitations,” said DATCP Secretary Randy Romanski.