Horizons August 2008

HORIZONS e-NEWSLETTER
Volume 1, Number 1

Update of activities of the Automotive Warranty Services Association since our meeting. 

We have been pretty busy since our session last week:

Attorney General Outreach Update

Last week, AWSCA’s legal counsel, Helen Mac Murray, met with the Missouri and Washington attorneys general’s office. Both offices were very supportive of the Association’s plans and offered comments to the draft Best Practices. Both offices agreed to assist the Association in its goal of identifying and prosecuting companies who do not comply with the law. Additionally, both offices agreed to provide the Association with consumer complaints against all automotive warranty companies. Mac Murray is planning future visits to Florida, Connecticut and Oregon as well as to the FTC in Washington, D.C.

Affidavit

Thanks for providing comments and clarification suggestions to make the Affidavit more workable. The final version is attached. Please sign it, have it notarized and fax it to us at 866 571 4560 (we'll even pay for the call). [Note: if you sent one already without a notary signature, please resend it; thanks.] Also, in case you were wondering, finance companies and service providers will have their own affidavit to sign and return to AWSCA headquarters. It's in the final draft stage and will be distributed for their signature in time to meet the same deadline. Many of you have inquired over the past week how AWSCA will enforce the affidavits and about the procedures AWSA is developing to handle companies that become in breach of their affidavit. The board met on Tuesday, August 12th and decided that the Certification committee would also handle enforcement of the affidavits. Committee chairs have been selected and preliminary procedures are being discussed. In the next few weeks, all AWSCA Members will receive a detailed procedure document outlining the proactive steps that the AWSCA is taking to identify companies in breach of their affidavits, procedures for notifying the board and the companies that are in breach, and steps for service providers (administrators/finance companies/CRM companies) to take for a company in breach.

AWSCA Membership

Attached is the AWSCA membership application. If you don't have one on the way, please send it with your check ASAP. You'll want to be a dues paying member so you can work on one or more of the committees and vote for recommendations to the Board. Equally important, today everyone in the industry is receiving the communications and our "open-door policy". Pretty soon that "door" will close, and ONLY MEMBERS will be receiving news and important updates. So, please join very soon so you don't miss out.

Committee & Board membership

Thanks to those of you who signed up for a committee. The first two committees that will kick-off are the Best Practices Committee and the Certification and Enforcement Committee. If you indicated your desire to serve, you'll hear from us in the next few days. If you want to serve on one of these, but did not have the opportunity to sign up at the meeting, please send me an e-mail (larry@vpanet.org) with your name, address, company, phone and e-mail and the committee name. I'll sign you up. Both committees will be very active in the next few weeks, so be prepared to spend some time and share your thoughts. Also, we thank all of you who applied for a Board seat. The current Board will be voting next week on the remaining two seats.

Other items

If you have any suggestions for us, please send me an e-mail at any time. I'll appreciate it.

Larry Hecker
Executive Director
Vehicle Protection Association (formerly Automotive Warranty & Service Contract Association)
Phone: 302 524 1150
Fax: 866 571 4560
larry@vpanet.org
www.vpanet.org