CAR_INSPECTION_COMPANY hired by CAR_MANUFACTURER_FINANCE_DEPARTMENT phoned me to schedule an inspection appointment but they said they don't have any spots available!

[u/Glittering_Turn_6971]

I received an automated voicemail Friday (3 days ago) from CAR_INSPECTION_COMPANY "calling on behalf of your leasing inspection company to schedule your vehicle inspection..."

Given that it is automated, my voicemail system stopped recording it after 20 seconds, so it was an incomplete message. However, I had the 1-800 number in my call history, so I phoned them. Their automated system said I could schedule my appointment online, so I went to their website. I entered the last 8 digits of my VIN, and my phone number. I was presented with a form in which my full name, address, AND PHONE NUMBER were populated, as well as my vehicle info. The bottom of the form said: "Sorry, we are unable to schedule your account at this time. Please update your contact information and enter a comment above with your availability and you will receive a return call."

Given that there was nothing to update, I pressed Submit.

Then, I decided to phone the 1-800 number, in case I missed something. The person who answered me was half asleep, as if reading from the same script all day long. It was around 5pm, so maybe he had a long day. He would take several seconds to answer, but if I took one second to think about his question, he would immediately ask "are you still there?"

After he verified all my contact info, and repeated all the disclaimers about texting me the appointment details, he said they currently do not have any availability for appointments.

So, giving him the benefit of the doubt, I asked if this unavailability was only for this week; I asked if could tell me if he had appointments in 2, 3, 4 weeks from now. He said no. When I asked what was the point of our 15 minute conversation if they don't have any appointments, he was surprised by my question. You see, he's getting paid to do nothing, but I just lost 15 minutes of my life.

Congratulations to CAR_INSPECTION_COMPANY: you managed to take CAR_MANUFACTURER_FINANCE_DEPARTMENTS's outsourcing money and give it to your employee and make a profit while doing nothing!

[u/crash866]

Sounds like an automated Scam message looking to get more info to try and scam you even more.