My complaint:
I purchased a Car Shield protection plan, the Powertrain Plus (Gold) coverage because I knew the warranty on my car would soon be up. My car had 55, 163 miles on it at the time.
When my car broke down, I had it towed to the Land Rover dealership. They told me the car’s engine had failed. I told them that I had a Car Shield policy and their response was: “We don’t use Car Shield. They never pay!”
So I called Car Shield where after listening to daily commercials on CNN, I trusted I would get help. I was given a list of approved repair shops. I chose Pete Kelly’s which is close to my home. Communication between the facility and CarShield was extremely slow. Tests were done and it was determined that the engine had problems. At one point we were told that an adjuster would be at the facility in 24 to 48 hours. That never happened. Days later our service man told me that CarShield told him that the engine needed to be taken apart to determine the exact problem. He told me he had no time to do this. My bill there for “diagnostics” was $363.47. I called Car Shield again and was told to take it to another repair shop. I did that. The engine was taken apart. When they spoke to Car Shield, they were told that the claim was denied. My bill at this facility was over two hundred dollars.
When I called Car Shield for an explanation, I was referred to number 11: The repair or replacement of valves andor piston rings for the purpose of raising the engine’s compression or correcting oil consumption, sticking or stuck rings, when mechanical breakdown or failure has NOT occurred, including when such condition results from excessive carbon build-up. The agent with whom I spoke rudely insinuated that I did not understand what I was reading if this did not explain the denial.
I am more than disappointed with Car Shield. I would never recommend the service. I wonder why a reputable station like CNN would air such an advertisement. It seems like a scam. Luckily during the entire nightmare of the car going from facility to facility, I borrowed a car. Rental would have been another charge that could have been denied. When I see the commercial, I wonder about those testimonials. And when I hear the man say, “They replaced my engine. WHO does that?” it makes me sick.
Please explain the denial of my claim. One part of the Powertrain Plus (Gold) coverage claims that engines are covered, yet when I needed help most with my engine and it failed, there was no help.
Suggested solution:
My car was totally incapacitated. I would like Car Shield to reexamine the information sent to them by Perez Auto and explain what Perez found that caused the claim to be denied. According to my contract, pistons were covered. During the entire lengthy nightmare of having no car, I borrowed one. Car Shield should have paid for a rental.I never asked as I feared a charge. And it would have been a hefty bill for the weeks that my car was in the repair shops recommended by Car Shield. The repair shops were in no hurry. I remained a loyal customer despite denial of the claim and I continued payment. Finally I opted out of coverage in August. I feel Car Shield failed me. The money I would have paid for monthly coverage that might possibly be denied will be used to pay off my sizeable loan for a newly rebuilt engine.
