Office of the Attorney General
Attorney General Conway Announces Suit Against Auto Warranty Telemarketer

Attorney General Jack Conway today announced the filing of a consumer protection lawsuit in Fayette Circuit Court against a Nevada telemarketing company for making deceptive calls concerning automobile warranties to Kentucky consumers on the Do Not Call list. The company’s principal owner, Mike Bruce Moneymaker, a resident of California, was also named as a defendant in the suit. 

The Attorney General is seeking a temporary injunction to prohibit the telemarketing company from making further telephone calls to Kentucky residents with phone numbers on the national Do Not Call Registry and committing other false, misleading and deceptive acts in the course of the solicitations.

“Consumers from across Kentucky have reported these annoying warranty calls to both our website and our Consumer Protection Hotline,” said General Conway. “When you register your phone number on the Do Not Call Registry, you expect to be protected from harassing telemarketing calls. When companies violate Kentucky’s ‘No Call’ law, my office will take action.”

The Attorney General’s complaint alleges numerous violations of the telemarketing “No Call” law and the Consumer Protection Act.  The complaint alleges that false and deceptive misrepresentations were made on telemarketing calls to individuals in Fayette County and at least eight other counties.  According to the complaint, telemarketers from SVM, Inc in Nevada and from other associated companies have repeatedly called Kentucky consumers and stated that the manufacturer’s warranty on the consumer’s vehicle is about to expire.  The telemarketers represented that they could extend the factory warranty and solicited financial information from consumers.   According to the Attorney General’s complaint, the telemarketing centers are owned by defendant, Mike Bruce Moneymaker of California.

The complaint further alleges that these telemarketers have failed to properly register with the Consumer Protection Division or to obtain a bond as required by Kentucky law

States across the country are reporting similar deceptive telemarketing calls about auto warranties. Kentucky is participating with other attorneys general in a multistate investigation concerning the recent flood of such calls to consumers across the country. Consumers are reporting calls to their cell phones, as well as land lines. 

Today’s lawsuit is the first brought in Kentucky against the maker of auto warranty telemarketing calls.  More suits are expected to be filed as the investigation proceeds. Similar lawsuits have recently been filed in a handful of other states including Indiana, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

General Conway urges consumers who have not already signed up for the “No Call” list to do so today by calling 1-888-382-1222. A link to sign up is also available at www.nocall.ky.gov. Both cell phones and land lines should be placed on the Do Not Call Registry.

If you are on the “No Call” list and receive any telemarketing call that you believe is in violation of the law, file a written complaint online at www.nocall.ky.gov or call the attorney general’s Consumer Protection Office at (866) 877-7867 (STOP) to request a complaint form. Consumers are encouraged to report the phone number from which the call originated and any other details about the identity of the caller and the sales pitch.  Calls from companies with whom the consumer has an established business relationship, or owes a debt or has provided consent to call, are not prohibited.  Likewise, calls from charitable solicitors and callers conducting surveys are not prohibited under the Do Not Call law.

For more information on how to avoid auto warranty scams visit http://tinyurl.com/qplkyj.