DENVER -- For some people, a guarantee or warranty on their purchase is like a security blanket. It provides coverage to fix or replace it something goes wrong. But what happens when the warranty company skips out and leaves town?

The company in point is Mutual Warranty Company of Denver. The company may not have just left town, it may have left the country, said Call 7 for Help Consumer Champ Bill Clarke.

"I gave them $500 and when my air conditioner broke, they said the check was in the mail. Weeks later neither I nor the contractor has seen a dime," said Paul Cook, from Wichita Fallas, Texas.

Mutual Warranty lists a Denver business address but the state shows no such company by that name. The address on the 16th Street Mall doesn't list the company in its directory and the Better Business Bureau has a long list of complaints just in the last few months.

The BBB suspects Mutual Warranty is actually based in Panama.

Clarke called Mutual Warranty using its toll-free number and what it said should make anyone suspicious.

A salesman on the line couldn't say anything about the Denver location, refused to explain why there's no listing in the building directory at the 16th Street Mall for Mutual Warranty, and then said any more questions would have to go to company executives.

He also refused to give a phone number for follow-up questions and said our best bet was by e-mail. It's been a week and Clarke has heard nothing.

A later e-mail indicated Panamanian authorities had arrested the principals in Mutual Warranty but they were later released. Subsequent e-mails from Mutual customers around the country now indicate the company is back in business, soliciting customers via the Internet.

Rebates

Holly of Denver was expecting a rebate on something she bought from Best Buy. It didn't come and then she was told she needed a copy of the bar code and the register receipt from the purchase. She told everybody she could reach that she sent them in with the rebate coupon.

Call 7 for Help contacted Best Buy and Holly will get her money. Best Buy said consumers should make full copies of everything they submit for a refund. Research shows that most rebates go unclaimed and you wonder why?

Companies such as Costco that let you claim your rebate on the Internet are doing it right.