Additional Information for Autoguard Advantage Corporation

On Jan. 4, 2023, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office filed a civil lawsuit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court in Columbus, Ohio, against defendants Dimension Service Corporation, Haytham Elzayn, Autoguard Advantage Corporation, National Administrative Service Co, LLC, Pelican Investment Holdings, LLC, Falcon Endeavors, MB Holdings Group, Gustav C. Renny, Vajira Samararatne, Stacey E. Him, Ronald D. Eddington Jr., and Joseph E. Hill Jr. The lawsuit alleges the defendants are in violation of the Telephone Solicitation Sales Act and the Consumer Sales Practices Act.

According to the Attorney General's news release, the complaint alleges that: 

     1) Delaware-based Pelican Investment Holdings was paying for leads to initiate outbound prerecorded calls to consumers to market and sell  “vehicle service contracts.” The contracts were then “administered” by Dimension Service, Autoguard Advantage and National Administrative Service, all based in Dublin, Ohio. 

     2) The prerecorded messages misrepresented the essence of the call, which violates Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act. The calls failed to properly identify the calling party and falsely claimed that the call was about extending the consumer’s auto warranty and was affiliated with the auto manufacturer.

     3) For the phone calls that resulted in a contract sale, the defendants did not secure a signed written confirmation of a verbal agreement – a violation of Ohio’s Telephone Solicitation Sales Act. They also violated this law by acting as telephone solicitors without having registered as such with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and without having obtained and filed the required surety bond.  

https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Media/News-Releases/January-2023/AG-Yost-Slams-the-Door-Shut-on-%E2%80%98Car-Warranty%E2%80%99-Robo

The state is asking that the court impose a civil penalty of $1,000-$25,000 for each separation violation of the Telephone Solicitation Sales Act, a civil penalty of up $25,000 for each violation of the Consumer Sales Practices Act, and issue an order prohibiting defendants from engaging in transactions as a supplier or telephone solicitor in Ohio until all monetary amounts ordered paid are satisfied.

The matter is pending before the court as of Jan. 5, 2023.

For more details you may wish to contact:

- The Ohio Attorney General's Office Help Center

Toll-free: 800-282-0515 or Local: 614-466-4986, 30 E. Broad St., 14th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215, http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/

- The Franklin County Clerk of Courts office, concerning case # 23 CV 000047

373 South High Street, Columbus, OH 43215, phone 614-525-3600, http://www.franklincountyohio.gov/clerk/cio.cfm or online http://fcdcfcjs.co.franklin.oh.us/CaseInformationOnline/"