MADISON, WI (WTAQ) — The Wisconsin Department of Justice is taking action against a group they say is behind millions of unsolicited calls offering extended vehicle warranties.
Attorney General Josh Kaul says they’ve filed a civil enforcement action against NCWC, Inc, a New Jersey based firm that, along with several other firms, have been sending out the calls for years.
“We allege that NCWC engaged in violations of both our do-not-call registry and also engaged in phone solicitation despite not being registered,” Kaul explained to WTAQ Monday. “One of these companies that was working as an agent we allege made over a million calls, and hundreds of thousands of those calls went to people on the do-not-call registry.”
The Department of Justice is seeking forfeitures in the case.
Susan Bach of the Better Business Bureau says it’s a welcome move.
“We get tons of people telling us every year that this is their number one annoyance,” Bach said Monday. “We welcome this action, we think these extended warranty calls are a huge problem in the state.”
If you have a cell phone, you’ve almost certainly gotten one of these calls. The robocaller identifies themselves as being from “dealer services” and attempts to sell you an extended warranty for your car. “They’ve been trying to reach you”, they’ll say.
Kaul says NCWC uses around 40 shell companies in order to perpetuate the calls. In reality, it’s owned by Michael Shaftel, a Florida resident, and run out of a nondescript building in Ocean Township, New Jersey.
Despite the annoyance, the calls have worked in Wisconsin. Kaul says roughly 3,000 Wisconsinites purchased NCWC’s extended warranties last year.
Kaul says they want to send a message that sales tactics like that aren’t welcome in Wisconsin, and that those who engage in them will be held accountable.
