Over the weekend our 2019 60th Anniversary manual trans MINI arrived; as we were filling out the paperwork, there was a charge we saw that we hadn't authorized: "Theft Deterrent Program." I can not seem to find any detailed information about this anywhere, and our dealership did not go over anything having to do with this system/what it means/how to "use" it.

It's also likely my GOOG skills are a bit lacking at the moment. Anyone have any info on this? [See Attachment]

 

I reverse looked up the phone number and it is listed as:

United States Warranty Corp.
22 NE 22nd Ave / Pompano Beach, FL 33062

This is a third party GAP, Warranty, and Additional Dealer Markup company. This charge is bullsh*t and if you didn't agree to it, you should have it removed. It was added by the selling dealer as additional profit through the F&I department.

 

Ahhh. Ok, thank you very much for that. We've had the car since Saturday; was a bit of a head-scratcher. We've looked thru the paperwork & such, there's no mention of it anywhere. Will give them a call about this.

Besides the fact that we already have a theft deterrent system, in the form of a manual transmission!

 

Yeah, this is somewhat common at car dealerships. The F&I department will add something like "window etching" or "micro dots" or some other form of BS security program and charge $199 for it or something similar. If the customer complains, they usually just try and brush it aside. They figure most people paying $30K plus for a product aren't going to whine too much about a couple of hundred bucks - which they are correct on - which is sad.

It's a crummy thing for dealerships to do and they should be chastised for it. You may or may not have legal recourse to get it removed. Once you've signed the paperwork and driven off the lot, most states say you are now legally obligated. Many dealerships, however, don't want to deal with the bad press of an angry customer and will remove the item if you make a big enough stink. If you have not received your CSI survey call or email yet - use that as leverage. Tell the dealer that you will be giving them poor marks on the CSI survey if they don't remove the charge. That will almost always guarantee removal, since they receive factory money based on those survey scores - and it will cost them much more to take a CSI hit than the profit made on this item.

 

Also, don't forget to set the hand brake every time you park it. That will keep them scratching their heads long before they ever start trying to figure out what that other pedal is for.

 

Tell them that the "Theft Deterrent Program" already failed. Since they already stole money from you!

 

Haha--yep! Never park the MINI w/out the handbrake.

It still fools even me sometimes. "Why can't I back up?!?!?" Duh. Release the parking brake, genius.

 

As you might assume, the "Financial Guy" (really the BMW financial guy--MINI shares the dealership w/BMW) is giving us a VERY hard time.

"You already signed the paperwork"

"It was on the sheet you signed"

"You read the agreement."

Well yes we read it, but it's not our responsibility to lay out all the charges. That's the financial guy's job.

We just missed this completely. Difference here is, we were never shown the final bill of sale by anybody. Nor was this charge ever explained to us in full.

The MINI salesman -- when we put down some money to reserve the car and asked him "is this the final bill of sale? Is this the final pricing? There are a few things here that we are unsure of...", specifically about this "theft deterrent system" -- told us "No. It's not final. This is just here for the deposit so we can try to reserve your vehicle."

So we're in a bind here. Still going back and forth. Folks here are right--we're probably screwed. It's feeling like a statement of "we won't leave a positive review, instead a negative one on social media" may yield a response which will basically say to us: "Go for it. We don't care. You signed and agreed to pay us already."

A possible next step is the MINI sales manager who repeatedly said that if we ever had any questions about anything to PLEASE call him. Feels like we won't get anywhere with him either.

 

At a very minimum, they would have to give you paperwork on this "coverage". Within the coverage documents, you should have a right to cancel within x # days from inception of the program. Most states allow this short-term "buyer's remorse" period, in which you are entitled to a full refund.

Discuss with MINI dealer General Sales Manager, and if they still play hardball ******** with you, then call MINI Customer Relations department (BMW) @ 866-275-6464.

Last resort, sue the dealership for the value in small claims court, then filing fee is very nominal, and worth the effort. Most companies will agree to settle instead of showing up to respond in-person pursuant to a subpoena.

 

Not sure if the Illinois law would apply in your case, however be sure to send a certified letter ASAP by tomorrow to have some evidence in your favor to protect you and have proof of notification of Cancellation within 3 days of your purchase (yesterday)!

The FTC’s Three-Day Grace Period To Cancel a Contract Explained

There is a common misconception that consumers automatically have a three-day grace period to back out of a contract, especially when it comes to purchasing cars. The FTC has a Cooling-Off Rule and each state may have its own laws regarding when consumers can cancel a contract or agreement, but this does not apply to all transactions.

The FTC’s Cooling-Off Rule gives the buyer a three-day period to cancel a sale made at their home or workplace (such as a door-to-door salesperson), or at a seller’s temporary location, like a hotel, convention center, fairground or restaurant. This law was created to protect consumers from being pressured into deals, or and to prevent the feeling of buyer’s remorse. Under Illinois law, consumers are protected with a three-day right to cancel for these types of transactions:

• Campground Memberships (Illinois Campground Membership Act)
• Physical Fitness Center Contracts (Illinois Physical Fitness Services Act)

Illinois Hearing Aid Consumer Protection Act, which allows the buyer to cancel the transaction within 45 days when ordering a hearing aid through the mail.

If you have entered a contract that is protected under a three-day right to cancel and you decide to cancel the contract, you must provide a “Notice of Cancellation” within that time frame. Best practice in these types of transactions is to never sign a contract that does not fully and explicitly describe the three-day right to cancel, does not include the date of sale on the contract, or that contains blank spaces.

 

Where does it state anything about car dealership or car sales in the Cooling Off Rule? It isn't designed to cover that.

 

It doesn't specifically state nonsense "fluff F&I products sold at the time of a car purchase", however in my experience, in every one of these contracts, I have always seen right of rescission period language. I routinely purchase rim and tire policies with all of my luxury vehicles, as the low profile tires and roads in the North-East region don't mix, and these are generally a "good deal" ... but not all policies cover cosmetic damage, so i routinely painstakingly read all the fine-print of 8-10 pages. Over many years of buying cars, and reviewing these contracts, as well a GAP insurance contracts, etc. This 3-day termination period is quite common.

In any event, the OP should have received a contract for whatever product of "insurance" was sold to him, and the rights and responsibilities should be clearly delineated, which would be the inclusion or exclusion of said termination rights. At a minimum, his contract should detail the coverage he bought, how to exercise a claim under the coverage, and other key elements of the purchase terms. He is stating that he has no paperwork on this "coverage" ... either this is inaccurate, or the dealership is more shady than it appears initially.

 

Simply tell the dealer you will never buy another car from them and you will make sure to tell everyone you know as well as every social media site you can find that XYZ BMW/MINI scammed you out of $$$$ for a worthless product you did not ask for or know about.

If that doesn't work and you want to go the small claims route and it is worth your time and effort go for it. I won my one and only small claims case and then found out how tough it was to collect because the corporate office for serving the judgment was in another state. I just made sure to trash the morons every chance I could. Lesson learned.

 

That really sucks! I fortunately haven't had to go the route of small claims ever, but good information!

 

Yeah - I expected this, it is pretty crummy but not a surprise. Speak to the sales manager and if that doesn't work, go to the general manager. Do this in person, not over the phone. They hate it when a customer is making a stink in the showroom and will usually try and resolve it as fast as possible. Be polite, but firm.

In reality, they are in the legal right. You signed, you agreed, no recourse. There is not right of recision on automobile sales, so any of the 3 day rules don't apply in this case. Legally, you don't really have a leg to stand on - but most dealerships will understand the couple hundred bucks isn't worth the bad press of a really upset customer.

I cannot emphasize enough to state that you have not yet received the survey and that you can't in good conscience give them high scores until this is resolved. Those CSI surveys are literally worth hundreds of thousands of dollars over the year. They really don't want a bad one.

 

Any update on this?

 

I had a very similar experience. $300 charge and I had no idea what it was for. Turns out it was for glass etching which I never agreed to and was never discussed. Complained to the manager who did the paperwork with me. After making a condescending remark, he finally agreed to credit me the money, which was fine since I wanted the bike prep threaded inserts installed into the bumper of my f56 so that was covered. My sales guy actually helped out which was surprising. Keep pushing them.

 

Hopefully you can get a refund for something they appear to have slid in the contract without your knowledge however, that's why everyone tells us to read any contract you sign carefully. You're lucky this is all you unknowingly paid for. Good luck and hope they make it right for you!