After CarShield, one of the largest auto warranty companies in the US, was fined $10 million by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for deceptive advertising practices, Florida announced an investigation into the company’s sales practices.
This week, Jimmy Patronis, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) announced an investigation by the Florida Department of Financial Services’ Division of Agent and Agency Services into the nationwide vehicle service contract company for deceptive sales practices in Florida.
“I’m appalled that consumers across the country were duped by Hollywood celebrities into buying CarShield auto repair warranties that weren’t worth the paper they were written on. It’s downright despicable to push a false narrative to consumers protecting themselves from the costs of unpredictable car repairs to just run away with their money in the end,” Patronis said in a statement.
The state will review agents promoting CarShield products in Florida.
In July, the FTC said CarShield “shielded consumers from the truth about limitations of its vehicle service contracts,” and said CarShield “made misleading claims about what the service contracts cover, deceptively represented that consumers could get repairs at the shop of their choice, used deceptive celebrity and consumer endorsements, and violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule.”
To report misleading vehicle service contract or warranty sales practices to the Florida Department of Financial Services, please click here.