By Alex Lloyd Gross
“This is personal and confidential Your Warranty is going to expire , If you do not respond immediately, you may be liable for several thousands of dollars in fees”. Those were just some of the tactics used by RMC Direct, when they sent out mailers to Pennsylvania consumers on bebalf of several businesses. Now, they are not allowed to send any direct mail to anyone in Pennsylvania. according to Michelle Henry, Attorney General .
Some of the tactics used by RMC Direct to induce people into responding to their services were the following .
- Creating a false sense of urgency that required an immediate response by using language such as “Final Notice,” Respond by,” “Time Sensitive,” “Immediate Response”;
- Stating “Signature Required” when no signature was required;
- Stating they contained “personal and confidential” information when they did not contain such information;
- Stating or implying that if a consumer did not take certain affirmative action, their financial liability would increase, when this was not accurate;
- Stating or implying, falsely, that there was an affiliation or association between the sender of the advertisement and the consumer’s mortgage lender or vehicle manufacturer;
- Stating or implying that a consumer’s warranty was expiring or about to expire, regardless of whether or not the consumer ever had a warranty to begin with;
- Containing a barcode that had no meaning;
- Including a “registration fee voucher” that had all the hallmarks of a check, but was not a check;
- Appearing to be sent by the IRS or a government institution, when it was in fact an advertisement unrelated to any government institution.
RMC Direct has entered into an agreement with the Attorney General to prohibit them from sending any more junk mail into the state of Pennsylvania. RMC was headquartered in Coral gables Florida and started business in 2019, according to on line records.
If you receive a misleading mailer like the ones described above and wish to file a claim or complaint with the Bureau of Consumer Protection, you can do so online, by email at scams@attorneygeneral.gov or by phone at 1-800-441-2555.