Scams and deceptive marketing: where to start

This page organises our guides on unwanted warranty offers and misleading sales pitches by the question you have. It is a map, not advice. Each guide ends with its own primary sources.

The short answer

Home warranties are service contracts: the FTC says "home warranties" are "really service contracts."¹
Unwanted calls: the FTC says unwanted calls about service contracts "might be telemarketers looking for your money or personal information."¹
Reporting: if you have had a bad experience with a home warranty, the FTC says to tell it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.¹
Where to start: read the sales checklist below, then check who you are dealing with before you pay.

Start with the checklists

Home warranty sales red flagsA checklist of sales tactics and contract terms to slow down on.Add-ons packed into a car loanHow to see add-ons inside a car loan payment.Warranty contract checklistA pre-signing checklist about seeing the warranty text.

Unwanted calls, texts and emails

Vehicle warranty robocallsThe federal rules on calls about an expiring vehicle warranty.Robocall and telemarketing rules (Canada)The Canadian rules on warranty calls.CASL and warranty marketing (Canada)The Canadian rules on warranty emails and texts.

Marketing rules and enforcement records

FTC Section 5 and marketingThe federal law on deceptive service-contract marketing.State consumer protection actsThe backstop where there is no dedicated warranty law.The vacated FTC CARS RuleA federal dealer-add-on rule that is not in effect.FTC Holder RuleFinanced service contracts and the loan holder.GAP and add-on enforcement recordClosed public records reported as the regulators described them.RESPA and referral feesLimits on what an agent can earn from a referral.Dealer add-on bundling (Canada)How provinces treat add-ons bundled into a deal.Buying a warranty online (Canada)Disclosure rules for online purchases.

Checking who you are dealing with

Verify a home warranty companyA licensing, funding and identity checklist.Verify a vehicle service contract providerA licensing and identity checklist.Salesperson licensing: US vs. CanadaHow seller licensing compares.Provincial regulator directoryCanadian provincial offices.How to read state complaint dataWhat complaint records do and do not show.

Cancelling and getting money back

Home warranty cancellation and refundsWhat a cancellation may return.Vehicle service contract cancellationCancellation and refund rights by state.GAP waiver refundsRefund rights on a GAP charge.Direct-sales cancellation rights (Canada)Cancelling a warranty sold at your door or by phone.Cooling-off periods: US vs. CanadaHow cancellation windows compare.

Reporting a problem or a denied claim

Where to file a complaintHow state routes differ.Home warranty claim deniedWhere a denied claim can go, including scam-reporting steps.Denied home warranty claim (Canada)Where a denied claim goes in Canada.Denied vehicle warranty complaint (Canada)Where a denied vehicle complaint goes in Canada.

How this fits our standard and Register

Point 7 of our standard covers marketing claims that contradict a contract's exclusions, and point 1 covers plain-language terms before purchase. The Register reports how we check home warranty and vehicle service contract providers in each category. Both describe a method. Neither is a recommendation, and neither replaces looking up a company's license yourself.

How to verify this yourself

Open the FTC alert (reference 1). The framing statements at the top of this page come from it.¹
Each guide linked here ends with its own reference list. Open the primary source and read it.
To find your state's consumer protection office, use the USAGov directory.

What this page is not

This page is navigation. It does not tell you that any company is a scam, and it is not legal advice. Laws change and differ by state and province. Use the primary sources linked from each guide.

What to do next

If someone has contacted you about a warranty, read the sales checklist before replying. If you already paid, see the cancellation and reporting guides above.

Last reviewed 3 October 2026. General information from the cited primary sources; not legal advice.