Victims of Transcontinental's warranty fraud get clearance to file refund claims

The Federal Trade Commission has notified 11,780 victims of illegal automated "robocalls" made on behalf of Transcontinental Warranty that they are entitled to file claims for a share of $3 million in refunds for the bogus vehicle warranties they bought.

The notices represent the latest government measure in criminal and civil actions against Voice Touch Inc., Transcontinental and related entities and individuals. Both Voice Touch and Transcontinental are Florida companies.

In late December, the president and vice president of Transcontinental pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges in Illinois. They are scheduled for sentencing March 21.

In the criminal prosecution, the Justice Department charged that Transcontinental misled consumers into believing that the company represented automakers. The company took in about $40 million from more than 15,000 customers from 2007 through 2009, when it was placed in receivership.

According to the FTC, Transcontinental hired Voice Touch "to bombard U.S. consumers with millions of deceptive prerecorded calls in 2009," generating a "flood of complaints to the agency."

The FTC's lawsuit against Voice Touch accused the company of "a massive illegal enterprise that is plaguing tens of millions of consumers with prerecorded telemarketing calls made in direct and blatant violation of the Do Not Call laws."

Consumers were tricked into purchasing extended service contracts "under the guise that they were extensions of original vehicle warranties," according to the FTC.

Voice Touch made similar robocalls for other companies, but the claims notices went only to those who bought extended service contracts from Transcontinental.

The FTC negotiated civil settlements that permanently prohibit the companies from telemarketing and making similar prerecorded calls.
Voice Touch, its principal and its affiliates agreed to pay about $3 million for refunds, the FTC said. The amount an individual consumer receives will depend on the total amount available and the number of claims.

The FTC set a 60-day deadline for consumers to file their forms with Analytics Inc., a claims administrator.