Trying to cancel Extended Maintenance (in California)
#1
03-17-2013, 12:16 PM
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: San Jose, CA
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Trying to cancel Extended Maintenance (in California)
Just over a week ago, I picked up my shiny new 2013 MINI Cooper S Hardtop.
Much to my regret, I left the dealership with both my MINI and an extended maintenance agreement. (Learn from my fail: don't be in such a hurry to pick up your MINI that you rush down right before closing when you're tired and your spouse is eager to hurry up and get back home).
To be clear, the extended maintenance plan can be a reasonable purchase for many people, especially if you can avoid being overcharged (which I did), prefer dealer service (I don't), and intend to use your MINI heavily enough to maximize your benefits during the coverage period (I don't). Lots of discussion of the policy and prices exists in other threads, and revisiting this discussion is not the focus of this post.
Anyway, within hours of purchasing my MINI I realized what I had known before, which is that I shouldn't have purchased the policy. My intent with this thread is to describe the process of trying to get my money back, solicit some advice if other forum members have experience with this, and hopefully end with a triumphant conclusion.
Round 1
So, after my frustration with my foolishness had subsided, I did some online research and found some heartening news: by my reading California Civil Code requires all new car service contracts to have a 60 day cancellation period without cause. So I contacted the Financial Manager who sold me the contract and told him I'd like to cancel, but he claimed that was impossible due to the contract's "Refund" section stating that refunds are only available if you total the car. Actually, now that I think about it, he didn't technically say "no", he just emphatically pointed out the "Refund" part of the contract and emailed me a scan of it, just for emphasis. He's a slippery one, so he may know very well that he has to let me cancel if I push, and thus avoided stating directly that I cannot.
So Round 1 ended in a stand-off. We each are digging in to our respective positions.
This week I'll be calling the Insurance Board to make sure my reading of the law is correct, and if it is, I'll be taking the next step in getting a refund.
Here is the document that I think supports my claim: http://www.insurance.ca.gov/0100-con...cfm#canicancel
It states:
Other relevant links for anyone else interested in this situation:
So that's all for now. If anyone has successfully gotten their contract cancelled shortly after purchase, I'd be interested in hearing about their experience. And please note that we're talking about extended MAINTENANCE, and not about extended warranty.
Much to my regret, I left the dealership with both my MINI and an extended maintenance agreement. (Learn from my fail: don't be in such a hurry to pick up your MINI that you rush down right before closing when you're tired and your spouse is eager to hurry up and get back home).
To be clear, the extended maintenance plan can be a reasonable purchase for many people, especially if you can avoid being overcharged (which I did), prefer dealer service (I don't), and intend to use your MINI heavily enough to maximize your benefits during the coverage period (I don't). Lots of discussion of the policy and prices exists in other threads, and revisiting this discussion is not the focus of this post.
Anyway, within hours of purchasing my MINI I realized what I had known before, which is that I shouldn't have purchased the policy. My intent with this thread is to describe the process of trying to get my money back, solicit some advice if other forum members have experience with this, and hopefully end with a triumphant conclusion.
Round 1
So, after my frustration with my foolishness had subsided, I did some online research and found some heartening news: by my reading California Civil Code requires all new car service contracts to have a 60 day cancellation period without cause. So I contacted the Financial Manager who sold me the contract and told him I'd like to cancel, but he claimed that was impossible due to the contract's "Refund" section stating that refunds are only available if you total the car. Actually, now that I think about it, he didn't technically say "no", he just emphatically pointed out the "Refund" part of the contract and emailed me a scan of it, just for emphasis. He's a slippery one, so he may know very well that he has to let me cancel if I push, and thus avoided stating directly that I cannot.
So Round 1 ended in a stand-off. We each are digging in to our respective positions.
This week I'll be calling the Insurance Board to make sure my reading of the law is correct, and if it is, I'll be taking the next step in getting a refund.
Here is the document that I think supports my claim: http://www.insurance.ca.gov/0100-con...cfm#canicancel
It states:
All service contracts are cancelable under California Civil Code Section 1794.41. The obligor must give you a full refund of the service contract purchase price if you have met all of the following requirements:
Cancel the service agreement within 60 days after receiving the contract, or 30 days if your car is used and came without a manufacturer warranty.
Send your cancellation notice in writing to the person specified in the contract (i.e., the dealer, VSCP, or administrator).
Have not filed a claim with the dealer, VSCP, or administrator.
Cancel the service agreement within 60 days after receiving the contract, or 30 days if your car is used and came without a manufacturer warranty.
Send your cancellation notice in writing to the person specified in the contract (i.e., the dealer, VSCP, or administrator).
Have not filed a claim with the dealer, VSCP, or administrator.
- http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/l...ides/k-6.shtml
- http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/.html/civ_..._contents.html
- http://apps.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/ap...civ1794_41.htm
So that's all for now. If anyone has successfully gotten their contract cancelled shortly after purchase, I'd be interested in hearing about their experience. And please note that we're talking about extended MAINTENANCE, and not about extended warranty.
#2
03-17-2013, 02:21 PM
So send a Certified Letter to the Finance Officer of the Dealership, along with this "jargon" where ever you got it from and state that you immediatley require the Dealership to refund the full purchase price of the Extended Maintenance Contract...simple!! You've now wasted 8 days including tomorrow to get this taken care?? 
#3
03-17-2013, 02:58 PM
#4
03-17-2013, 03:18 PM
Join Date: Dec 2012
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Sure, it all sounds easy when you're sitting at your computer reading what I wrote above. For starters, I have a job, so pursuing this hasn't been a fulltime effort. Secondly, once I was pretty sure I had 60 days to cancel, I spent a few of them thinking it through more carefully, since hurrying is what got me into this mess. Like I said, the contract can be a reasonable deal, so I seriously considered just keeping it. And finally, it took a lot of searching and reading to find the concise summary above and (mostly) convince myself it applies by reading the CA Civil Code. My last doubt is due to some funny language in the legalese that refers to contracts and their ability to have no cancellation periods. I don't think that overrides this requirement for service contracts, but I want to make sure before I make a stink at the dealership. A certified letter by itself doesn't mean anything if it's based on a misinterpretation of the law.
I found a lot of posts on various MINI and BMW boards from people asking if it's possible to get out of Extended Maintenance after buying it, but none of the posts I found had a definitive answer. So I figured it would be useful to document my adventure here to help the next guy or gal.
-Seabeast
#5
03-17-2013, 03:21 PM
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FYI, I got 0.9%, which I didn't think was available when I went into the dealership.
-Seabeast
#6
03-24-2013, 04:55 PM
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Quick update on the saga: I called the California Department of Insurance hotline, but the person I spoke with was pretty useless. He basically just read back to me the same thing it said on the website.
So I printed out and carefully read the full text of the relevant sections of Civil Code and the Insurance Code, and felt pretty confident my interpretation is right. Apparently the "Refunds" section on the Extended Maintenance contract is required to be there and to largely exclude refunds, because otherwise the policy would be considered insurance and regulated very differently (e.g. if you could get a partial refund if you didn't make claims, then it's insurance and not prepaid maintenance).
On Friday I sent my cancellation letter via certified mail. Haven't heard anything back yet.
I was hoping to hear something today when I went to a scheduled post-sales appointment with my MA, but when I arrived at the dealership they informed me that "he's no longer with us", e.g. he quit. This dealership isn't winning points, but I'll reserve final judgement until I see if they give me any (more) hassle on the contract refund.
/Seabeast
So I printed out and carefully read the full text of the relevant sections of Civil Code and the Insurance Code, and felt pretty confident my interpretation is right. Apparently the "Refunds" section on the Extended Maintenance contract is required to be there and to largely exclude refunds, because otherwise the policy would be considered insurance and regulated very differently (e.g. if you could get a partial refund if you didn't make claims, then it's insurance and not prepaid maintenance).
On Friday I sent my cancellation letter via certified mail. Haven't heard anything back yet.
I was hoping to hear something today when I went to a scheduled post-sales appointment with my MA, but when I arrived at the dealership they informed me that "he's no longer with us", e.g. he quit. This dealership isn't winning points, but I'll reserve final judgement until I see if they give me any (more) hassle on the contract refund.
/Seabeast
#7
04-26-2019, 04:59 PM
Reviving this thread from the dead because it came up on a search for my situation.
OP, your interpretation is correct. In fact, all the new BMW and Mini extended maintenance plan contracts now have wording that allows cancellation for a full refund within 60 days in California and 13 other states, and prorated (by month) refund outside.
It must have been complaints from people like you that eventually forced this change.
In case you still lurk here, did you ever manage to get the refund?
OP, your interpretation is correct. In fact, all the new BMW and Mini extended maintenance plan contracts now have wording that allows cancellation for a full refund within 60 days in California and 13 other states, and prorated (by month) refund outside.
CANCELLATION/REFUNDS (ONLY VALID IN ALABAMA, ALASKA, CALIFORNIA, ILLINOIS, MAINE, MARYLAND,
MINNESOTA, MISSOURI, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW JERSEY, PUERTO RICO, SOUTH CAROLINA, VERMONT AND
WISCONSIN)
If this Agreement was purchased in any of the states or territories listed in the heading immediately above, it may be cancelled within
60 days of its purchase for a full refund so long as no services have been provided on the Enrolled Vehicle under this Program. At any
other time, this Agreement may be cancelled for a pro rata refund less a $25 cancellation fee. The pro rata refund will be calculated
based on the number of months that have elapsed since the Agreement became effective. To cancel this Agreement and receive a
refund, customers must deliver written notice to the Center where this Agreement was purchased. Customers can deliver this
written cancellation notice to the Center where this Agreement was purchased in person, via U.S. mail, or via a courier such as UPS
or Federal Express. The Center will pay any refund due within 30 days of its receipt of a written cancellation request. The Program
purchaser cannot request a cancellation/refund after selling, trading-in or otherwise surrendering possession as the Program will
remain on the Enrolled Vehicle.
MINNESOTA, MISSOURI, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW JERSEY, PUERTO RICO, SOUTH CAROLINA, VERMONT AND
WISCONSIN)
If this Agreement was purchased in any of the states or territories listed in the heading immediately above, it may be cancelled within
60 days of its purchase for a full refund so long as no services have been provided on the Enrolled Vehicle under this Program. At any
other time, this Agreement may be cancelled for a pro rata refund less a $25 cancellation fee. The pro rata refund will be calculated
based on the number of months that have elapsed since the Agreement became effective. To cancel this Agreement and receive a
refund, customers must deliver written notice to the Center where this Agreement was purchased. Customers can deliver this
written cancellation notice to the Center where this Agreement was purchased in person, via U.S. mail, or via a courier such as UPS
or Federal Express. The Center will pay any refund due within 30 days of its receipt of a written cancellation request. The Program
purchaser cannot request a cancellation/refund after selling, trading-in or otherwise surrendering possession as the Program will
remain on the Enrolled Vehicle.
In case you still lurk here, did you ever manage to get the refund?
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mrwadlo (04-27-2019)
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