In February 2003, the industry publication Warranty Week published an article about KayeTech and WarrantyByNet. They each created a family of identical and interwoven Web pages - some with the automobile manufacturer's name in the URL, e.g., Audiwarranty.net, BMWwarranty.net - that enticed readers into offering personal information about themselves in return for a free rate quote. Moreover, KayeTech's group of 20 sites - all using the words auto, extended, and warranty - included false statements and unsupported claims designed to not only mislead the reader but also "game" a search engine mechanism.

In summary, Warranty Week discovered five very suspect areas operation:

1. KayeTech's pages listed an outdated A.M. Best rating for WarrantyByNet's reinsurance underwriter, and while WarrantyByNet carried the correct rating, it suggested that it was WarrantyByNet's rating - not its reinsurer's
2. KayeTech's pages included possible exaggerations or unsupported claims related to WarrantyByNet, i.e., its expertise "was gained and perfected long before the existence of the Internet." This, from a company that started 4 years earlier
3. Kaye's sites posed as advice columns but were really "advisortisements," advertisements posing as advice columns
4. Each of Kaye's advice pages was carefully crafted to increase its ranking on the major search engines, by ensuring that any search term seeking information on extended warranties would at least partially match one of his URLs
5. WarrantyByNet's mirror sites may have infringed upon the trademarks of automakers, including Audi, BMW, Buick

Warranty Week suggests: "It is our opinion that extended warranties should not be bought from dot-com companies that won't publish their physical address or the names of their executives." The most important thing for the consumer to keep in mind is who is liable for payments on the policy and how strong that company is. Determine who the administrators, insurers and reinsurers are, and do your own homework on their reputation and ratings. Ask who performs or pays for repairs under the terms of the service contract. See our Warranty Wizard for more information.