Unfortunately is the case with these 3rd party warranty companies. I'm a service advisor in the automotive field and see this often. Our dealer group sells a extended warranty and its very comprehensive and I don't have any issues with items not getting covered. Of course there are exclusions for wear and tear components, trim pieces, maintenance items stuff like that. But they never try to look for a reason to deny claims, I've had one claim denied for an engine but that was 100% on customer abuse and it was evident. (highly modified car that was shifted from top of 3rd down to 2nd gear instead of 4th).

Anyways I'm getting off topic but I deal with these 3rd party warranty companies all the time and they are always looking for any reason to deny claims. I had a transmission failure in a dual clutch automatic that was denied because it wasn't a "traditional" automatic transmission. Well the customer driving it doesn't realize its not a regular automatic ,they just put it in drive and go. I see stuff like this all the time, and its usually a huge hassle on the advisor trying to get approvals and especially trying to get payment. Your vehicle ends up sitting here for days longer than it should while waiting on approvals and payments to come through.

I hope you get something worked out with them and get it covered, if not I would cancel and try to recoup some of the cost anyways.

 

Why is this a surprise? Pretty much everyone knows that for the most part extended service plans are a scam no matter where you get them or what you get them on. It seems that whenever you have a claim with these things more often than not there's usually a hoop that only a very small percentage of people are qualified to jump through to get their claim satisfied. It's like any other insurance company on the planet. The goal is to sell the plan and do everything they can to not give any of it back in claims. Good luck though.

 

 

Who specifically is pretty much everyone? What pretty much every smart person knows is if you 're gonna get one, get it from a reputable source and you will have fewer problems. Of course it's always a crap shoot on whether it's worth it or not. I have had repairs covered on vehicles that far exceeded the price of the plan and had had repairs on vehicles where I didn't purchase it which also far exceeded what I would have paid. I have never had an issue getting something repaired under a plan. In fact, on a Mazda truck I had back in the 80's, I hadn't done part of the required maintenance. They chewed me out, but still covered it.

 

My service advisor gave a ring to Jim Palmer, "the main guy" behind Discount ESP, and spoke to him on my behalf.
Jim basically stated that the reason I was being denied is because of my aftermarket tire. I have a D.O.T. approved Shinko 777 Rear Tire.
Jim would send this denial in written form to my service advisor via email.

A few hours later, my service advisor receives the email(s). A chain email involving the inspector, with theories/chain of events with why and how my bike broke down.

My service advisor asked Jim to clarify if this is the official denial in written form because its just a random chain of emails theorizing why my claim should be denied.
Jim said no. The final verdict will be given tomorrow.

So in conclusion, my service advisor, (who I am very very grateful for) says they are telling him that I am being denied because I have an aftermarket tire which caused the clutch to break due to my improper riding, and ultimately led to the demise of my lifters/tappets. a.k.a collateral damage. They mentioned my clutch burnt out because I may have been doing Wheelies and Burn Outs. WOW!!! Hearing my advisor tell me this.... it just sounds like one big joke. (I DON'T DO WHEELIES OR BURNOUTS!!!!!!!!)

The technician who is working on my bike says that none of this makes any sense. The 110 motors are high performance and are notorious for having lifters give out. If I could upgrade my lifters I would. I'd put S&S lifters, cams, pushrods, etc...

I'll just have to wait until tomorrow to see what the final verdict is.
Discount ESP are asking for pictures of the underside of my fender and surrounding areas for traces of rubber. omg. typing this is just ridiculous. im actually going through this right now. Well damn.


If anyone else is curious about Discount ESP... this is what im going through!!!
I will give update tomorrow. I would like to give them the benefit of the doubt. Remain pleasant.

Attached below is a conversation between me and my girlfriend as I am typing this post... I just thought it was a random but good example of this situation to everyone right now.
Im talking to my parents, my girlfriend, my brothers and my good friends about this. Had to censor some language and names out.

 

 

so you have time to post random conversations with your girlfriend brother etc but not to make a call yourself who cares what they think it wont get your bike fixed.
Buddy this is happening to you make your own calls
you have not received final word on this deal and you are already posting foul language about Jim and discount ESP
Im surprised you would spend this much time typing and not pick up the phone
you are a diva if you are relying on a third party to fix a problem so you have a reason to complain

 

 

So I understand where you are coming from.
My girlfriend doesn't typically have a potty mouth. She is cursing because she knows how frustrating this is, what I am going through and how much I love my motorcycle. That’s all.
But I’m remaining pleasant.

This morning I gave a phone call to the phone number listed on the service contract fine print.
It states if Discount ESP's decides to deny my claim, I can file an appeal through their backup insurance company. Virginia Surety Co.
After about an hour long conversation.. they were able to be up-to-date on my situation and help me out.

Discount ESP stated in the notes that they denied my claim due to "Abuse & Misuse" However, when the claim adjustor from Virginia Surety Co pulled up the inspectors notes,
the inspector noted no signs of abuse or impact.

The claim adjustor then wrote new notes into the system saying Discount ESP does not have grounds to deny my claim for "abuse" if there is no evidence of it. The claim adjustor instructed me to call my service advisor at Harley and ask them to reach out to Discount ESP, again, to speak with claims department for them to review the claim and make another decision, again.

So basically, they denied my claim for abuse & misuse and tried to pin the evidence on my aftermarket tire, implying burnouts & wheelies but there is clearly no evidence.
The fact remains, I don't abuse my motorcycle.

So I am excited and hopefully this leads to an approval.
Now... for those of you who are reading this post and are curious about Discount ESP.. I did some research.

You might find this to be very interesting.

However, it seems it is administered by First Extended Service Corporation.
A simple google search will pull up, tons and tons of people who have been through hell and back with this company. (This organization is not BBB accredited.)
Jayme of Fallbrook, CA "I can tell by the reviews, this company has been robbing people for a long time."
Robert of Henrico, VA "People need to let them know that they are dealing with an awful company. A company that steals from their customers!"
Amy of Carson City, NV "BEWARE! I will take them to small claims court on the advice of the repair shop."
Lisa of White Sulphur Springs, MT "DO NOT purchase an extended warranty from this company." etc...

Then if you research their Backup Insurance Company, Virginia Surety Co.. holy cow.
https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pc...p?tdiNum=93889

This is directly from the Texas Department of Insurance government website. They are the state agency that regulates the insurance industry. They also work to protect the rights of insurance consumers.
You will find dozens of penalties and fines for violations in their company history:
Penalty of $8,000 for issuing an unapproved form in Minnesota.
Penalty of $50,000 for violations found during a market conduct examination in New York.
Penalty of $10,000 for an administrator providing dealerships rates that departed from the rates, rating plans, classifications, schedules, rules and standards in effect in New York.
Penalty of $10,000 for violations found during an investigation in Maryland.
Penalty of $100,000 for violations found during an investigation in Minnesota.
Penalty of $200,000 for committing acts constituting grounds for the imposition of sanctions when using unfiled forms and unlicensed entities in Texas.

etc...
It also looks like they have changed their company name and address several times.


Everything above is easily accessible and I feel like most people will read the Service Contract that Discount ESP provides at a cheap cost.. and then fork over the money because its fast and convenient.. but people don't actually take the time to research the companies affiliated and actually administered with it until they are in the situation that I am currently in.

I will post an update later today to see if they will finally approve the damage I feel they rightfully and lawfully should.

 

That's exactly right, and a good lesson.

DiscountESP seems well regarded here on the forum. I've never dealt with them, so I have no idea. But I have no reason not to take their positive reputation at face value.

Out of pure boredom and curiosity, I did decide to visit their website this morning. Two things struck me as red flags.

The first is that you can't read the actual language of the contract before you pay.

The second is that there is nothing on the website that actually tells you who they are. No identification of their official company name. No street address.

So, I decided to jump on the chat and ask: Kathy reported that their official name is "JHD Holdings, INC., 3223 N Pontiac Dr, Janesville, WI 53545 Doing Business as Boardtracker Harley Davidson."

The DiscountESP website says "We have our own third party administrated Extended Service Plan through First Extended". The phrase "third party administrated" suggests to me that JHD Holdings is actually holding the paper (ie, carrying the risk of claims) and then hiring Assurant for claims administration.

Virginia Surety Co and First Extended Service Corporation are all part of the same company, which is called "Assurant" and is out of Chicago.

JHD Holdings, INC is Licensed as Service Contract Provider in Wisconsin. In order to get that license, they have to either 1) Post a Letter of Credit (for a specific amount, which is based on the prior year's premiums, etc) 2) Make a Security Deposit with the State or 3) Post what is called a Contractual Liability Insurance Policy, which essentially means an insurance policy that will pay their claims if they are not financially able. The vast majority of companies go with option three.

Anyway, just some ramblings.