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Resolved: Prepaid Service Plan Initially Not Transferable (now prorated)
- Thread starter Todd Burch
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- Model S
That's really stupid. If I'd realized that, I wouldn't have bought the prepaid plan. It's barely much savings anyway given what you could invest the money in. Add to that now the risk of the plan going worthless and prepaying makes very little sense.
Sorry about your insurance company. Can't you dig in your heels and say they have to find you an equivalent car or pay that? The whole point is it's supposed to pay out fair market value, enough to buy the same comparable used car.
Sorry about your insurance company. Can't you dig in your heels and say they have to find you an equivalent car or pay that? The whole point is it's supposed to pay out fair market value, enough to buy the same comparable used car.
That's exactly what I'm going to do if their second offer comes back low. I'll ask them to find me a similar car for the value they're offering.
teslasguy
MSP P#1117
Well, so much for Elon's claim that he doesn't want to make money from service! If I had known this I wouldn't have bought this plan either.
+1 for not buying if I had known about this. We bought it just last week. 
For what its worth, I brought this case up with my local SC yesterday and was told that you should put up a fight to get back the unused portion of the plan.
I would definitely escalate this up the chain as much as possible. Good luck!
For what its worth, I brought this case up with my local SC yesterday and was told that you should put up a fight to get back the unused portion of the plan.
I would definitely escalate this up the chain as much as possible. Good luck!
+1 for not buying if I had known about this. We bought it just last week.
For what its worth, I brought this case up with my local SC yesterday and was told that you should put up a fight to get back the unused portion of the plan.
I would definitely escalate this up the chain as much as possible. Good luck!
Not sure why everyone is surprised about this. It says it right in the service agreement. Doesn't anybody read the things they sign?
From agreement:
Conditions:
1. This Agreement cannot be transferred to another vehicle. It can only be transferred to a different
private owner of the same Vehicle
This is also there as an FYI to everyone:
J. Cancellation
This Agreement may not be cancelled by You or Tesla and no return of the purchase price or any other
fees or taxes will be provided by Tesla to You.
tdelta1000
Active Member
I think it would be a wise business practice for TM to honor the remainder of his plan because it shows the TM stands by its products.
That's the thing, nobody reads the fine print anymore. The service plan is a very poor value, especially now that the unlimited ranger service is gone. Just wait until people go to use the extended warranty, there will be a lot of this same sentiment, as that has even more exclusions and fine print.
Considering the amount of CYA legalese thrown into most things (rewritten several times to make sure it's covered from every angle), is it any surprise? There's a reason websites exist that will put a site's TOS/Privacy policy in simple terms.
1. Neither of these really apply. I don't need to assign this to another vehicle, so I could care less about that (true, my title for this thread says "transferable" so it's a bit misleading). I don't really want to cancel it either. To me, cancellation says you signed up for it, then decided later that you didn't want it, and want a refund. But neither of these covers the condition of what happens if a car gets totaled and you can't possibly get it serviced anymore. It's a situation that isn't explicitly covered in the document, and in arbitration I would think there's at least a leg to stand on there. Surprised it's not explicitly covered in the service agreement, in fact.
2. No, I don't read everything I sign, and likely neither do you. I bet nobody reads everything they sign. Did you know that the Apple iTunes End User Agreement is 56 pages? Did you read it all before clicking the checkbox? If by some miracle you did, did you understand everything you read? Doubt it. If so, you're either a lawyer or a liar (perhaps not mutually exclusive).
3. Lots of Tesla's policies change. In fact, the service agreement even says that anything in the agreement can be changed with Tesla approval.
Regardless of what the document says, giving a partial refund for the unused portion of the plan in this circumstance is basic decency. Not doing so makes customers upset.
Canuck
Well-Known Member
Both don't apply. The OP does not need to ask for it to be transferred to another vehicle or to be cancelled. He only needs to ask for his money back because the contract is "frustrated" as a result of the loss of the vehicle. Here's a brief lesson about the legal doctrine of frustration:
Steptoe Johnson LLP: The doctrine of frustration in English law
It's the same as a leased building burning down, a rental car being stolen, etc. These contracts are frustrated and money is paid back. The part of the contract that reads there is no return of the purchase price is in the same sentence as cancellation. Once again, it is not being cancelled. Rather, it is frustrated. There is a difference at law. I am confident Tesla will give his money back once the doctrine of frustration is presented but if not the agreement provides for a dispute resolution procedure that the OP should follow.
Oh, give me a break. I am certain you have signed contracts without reading the fine print. Did you read every term of your first mortgage? If so, did you understand them all?
Hmm, I take back my original comment that the pre-paid service plan going away with the car's demise sucked. I think that's looking at it the wrong way. The original warranty, any extended warranty, service plans, everything goes away with the car.
However, they're all part of the value of the car and should all be part of the insurance settlement. Just like the value the original warranty adds to the car, or a transferable extended warranty, the transferable service plan should be part of what was lost in the accident and the insurance payout should take that into account. Same as any other extra added value item on the car, like an upgraded stereo.
Many years ago, when my Dodge Stealth had a major accident and they were figuring out value, they added a few hundred dollars to the value because the car had been professionally lowered and the windows tinted (not my doing, but I bought it used).
However, they're all part of the value of the car and should all be part of the insurance settlement. Just like the value the original warranty adds to the car, or a transferable extended warranty, the transferable service plan should be part of what was lost in the accident and the insurance payout should take that into account. Same as any other extra added value item on the car, like an upgraded stereo.
Many years ago, when my Dodge Stealth had a major accident and they were figuring out value, they added a few hundred dollars to the value because the car had been professionally lowered and the windows tinted (not my doing, but I bought it used).
Canuck
Well-Known Member
Service plans are different than extended warranties or improvements to the car. Extended warranties die with the car because they are basically insurance plans themselves and that's part of the risk undertaken when you buy the plan. That plan can pay out far more than its cost or nothing. It's all a matter of assessing risk when it comes to purchasing extended warranties and the total loss of the car is part of that risk. Improvements to the car may, or may not, increase the actual cash value of the car. If they do, insurance pays more. If not, there's no loss to be paid. Those are fact dependent and negotiable. That's why you should always be retaining receipts.
Service plans are agreements to perform specific services at fixes dates/intervals for a fixed price. If those can't be preformed because the contract is frustrated, then the unused portion must, at law, be paid back.
Don't get me wrong, I agree with you and it would be nice for Tesla to give you a prorated refund but it's not something I would have expected.
Canuck
Well-Known Member
It's very common for the doctrine of frustration not be part of the terms of the contract.
I haven't heard of that before, though there's no reason I should have I suppose. Is it a Canadian legal term or a US one (or both)?
Canuck
Well-Known Member
Both. It's derived from the English common-law which is the basis of the law in Canada and the US (among many other countries). Unless varied by statute, it applies and there are no statutes that remove the doctrine of frustration from contracts. That would make no sense.
It also makes no sense to list in a contract all the ways it can be frustrated, or to even mention the doctrine, when it is a principle of law.
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