A St. Peters company that sells extended auto-service contracts racked up more than 200 complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau last year, with many claiming that telemarketers coerced consumers into buying the aftermarket vehicle-protection plans that seldom paid out claims.
The St. Louis BBB on Thursday warned consumers to beware of NRRM Enterprises, which does business as Stop Repair Bills. The company was formed in December 2009 as a result of a merger of two area service-contract sellers, St. Charles-based National Dealers Warranty and St. Peters-based Auto Warranty Protection Services.
According to the BBB, Stop Repair Bills is showing a complaint pattern similar to that of Wentzville-based US Fidelis, which was the nation's No. 1 seller of auto-service contracts. It had about 400,000 customers before it stopped selling vehicle-service contracts in December 2009 amidst allegations of consumer fraud. The company filed for bankruptcy on March 1.
"We saw hundreds of complaints in 2010 involving US Fidelis and similar marketing companies in the St. Louis region. Many people felt they were coerced and manipulated into buying repair plans that had little, if any, value," St. Louis BBB President Michelle Corey said in a prepared statement. "While some of these sellers appear to have made progress in reducing their numbers of complaints, many still have a long way to go."
Corey's office has given Stop Repair Bills has an "F" grade, its lowest. The BBB says that Michael Carter, a lawyer for Stop Repair Bills, told the watchdog group that the "F" grade is unfair and that the grade, "at worst," should be a C- or a D.
Messages seeking comment left at the Stop Repair Bills headquarters and at Carter's St. Charles law office were not immediately returned.
Stop Repair Bills, and the two companies that formed it, are no strangers to controversy.
In 2008, then-Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon sued six companies, including National Dealers Warranty, for deceptive telemarketing. The state dropped the suit after the company agreed to pay $29,995 in restitution and penalties and change its business practices.
In January 2009, Canadian officials issued a cease-and-desist order to both companies for selling service contracts illegally.
In August 2009, a Post-Dispatch investigation revealed that National Dealers Warranty was one of several local firms selling warranted engine additives marketed as service contracts. Missouri officials later said that practice is illegal, and it formed part of the basis for November 2009 crackdown by Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster.
Koster sued six area companies, including National Dealers Warranty, and accused them of consumer fraud. The suit, which was amended three months ago to allege the illegal sale of insurance, is still pending.
In August, Stop Repair Bills was endorsed by the Vehicle Protection Association, a trade group that claims to be cleaning up bad practices in the service-contract industry.
In a press release, the group's executive director praised Stop Repair Bills for its "commitment to protecting consumers and providing the most fair and honest service possible."
