Southwest Dealer Services Inc

Review: I bought a new car (2012) in 2011. At the time, the salesman told me that if I were to install an alarm system in the car, it would fully protect the vehicle. The car came with an alarm system, but for some reason (I can't remember), he was suggesting to add an extra alarm system. I agreed to have an extra alarm system installed so I would not worry about something happening to my car or belongings.

Sometime in November 2015, someone vandalized the car, by breaking a window and removing the alarm system, which it did not go off. Upon inspection of the car, I learned that the alarm system was removed. It's the contention of the alarm company that the alarm was taken before the break-in. This is not possible because no matter where I would park my car, it was always locked. I talked to my car insurance company and was told that sometimes thieves will remove the alarm system too.

The alarm system was replaced by the dealership who installed the alarm at no cost to me; however, my laptop($300.00) was not covered by my car insurance.

Based on my car insurance company's comments, I am requesting that Southwest Dealer Services cover the cost of the laptop. If I had known that by buying an extra alarm system my car was not secure, I would never have left anything in my car. I didn't know that thieves can steal alarm systems.Desired Settlement: I would like my laptop to be replaced. I paid $300.00, which was a special deal and I don't believe I can get the same kind of deal again.

Review: Their policy states that it will pay the difference "between the actual cash value of your vehicle at the time of the theft as determined by your insurance company and the cost of the replacement vehicle. Tax, licence, or other government fees are not covered by this product warranty. Maximum benefit payable is $20,000." It's part of #1 on the back labeled "Terms and Conditions"I paid $1,295.00 for the policy. They want to settle my claim for $1,156.68. I paid $21,293 for the Versa, Mercury estimated my car at cash value $14,648 - the difference between the two is $6,645.00. I know [redacted] Claims Administrator/ AP does not like me because I have been on her since the day I submitted my claim but she still has to give me what the policy states I am owed.Desired Settlement: I need them to refund me properly. FYI: I cannot upload the Versa Contract, and the Insurance paper work.

Business

Response:

SouthWest Dealer Services is a company that sells goods and services to Automotive Dealerships. We also administer warranty claims for those products.

· [redacted] purchased a Theft Code Replacement warranty on a 2012 Nissan Versa from a dealership on 7/2/12.

· [redacted] (her legal partner) opened a claim on this product on 4/18/14.

· The Theft Code Replacement policy pays “the difference between the actual cash value of your vehicle at the time of theft as determined by your insurance company and the cost of the replacement vehicle” just as Ms. [redacted] states. But her statement then goes on to say what she originally paid for the vehicle, not what the cost is to buy a comparable vehicle right now. Attached is the Terms & Conditions that are found on the back of the Theft Code Replacement warranty that define the warranty, as well as define the “replacement vehicle”. It does not state that any calculations will be performed based on the original sale price.

· Ms [redacted]’s claim was calculated on 5/30/14 based on the NADA invoice price for a comparable vehicle (2014 Nissan Versa) + $1,000.

· [redacted] signed a “release of all claims and proof of loss agreement” on 6/3/14, agreeing to the settlement amount of $1,156.68. She received the check, and cashed it on 6/4/14.

· Ms. [redacted] also went to the dealership, and the dealership gave [redacted] an additional $2,000 on 6/6/14.

· According to the dealership, the customer was happy with the additional $2,000 and would retract the Revdex.com complaint previously filed.

Ms [redacted] did contact me directly to complain about the response time of Ms. [redacted] on Friday 5/2/14 at 4:45PM (and her call was returned by Ms. [redacted] Monday 5/5/14 at 8:51AM) – but she never contacted me to discuss the final claim amount. The Revdex.com complaint is the first I was made aware of any issue with her misunderstanding of how the claim is calculated.

Please let me know if you have any questions or need any further information,

--[redacted]

SouthWest Dealer Services

Controller

OC division – LA division – AZ division