NEWARK
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Acting Consumer Affairs Director Sharon
Joyce today announced that the Brake-O-Rama
auto repair chain has agreed to a $250,000
settlement with the state, and also will
revise its business practices, under a Consent
Judgment that resolves a lawsuit filed by
the Office of the Attorney General and the
Division of Consumer Affairs last August.
Brake-O-Rama,
a Lodi-based company that operates 13 retail
locations in New Jersey, allegedly charged
consumers for repair work that was not actually
performed. Brake-O-Rama also allegedly advertised
and sold motor vehicle inspection services
when its stores were not licensed by the
state Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) to
perform inspections.
Pursuant
to the settlement, Brake-O-Rama has agreed
to pay $125,000 to the state in civil penalties,
and reimburse the state for attorneys’
fees and investigative costs. The civil
penalties will be suspended for a one-year
period during which time, the state can
seek payment from the balance in the event
Brake-O-Rama fails to comply with the settlement
terms. In entering into the settlement,
Brake-O-Rama made no admission of liability
or wrongdoing.
“We
will act, as we did in this matter, when
we believe New Jersey consumers have been
taken advantage of and our consumer protection
laws are violated. Particularly, in these
tough financial times, every dollar matters
to the consumer,” Attorney General
Dow said.
The
state filed suit against Brake-O-Rama last
August following a series of inspections
by Consumer Affairs’ investigators.
Under
terms of the Consent Judgment, Brake-O-Rama
agreed to:
-
Not engage in the advertisement and/or
sale of automotive repair services including,
but not limited to, wheel alignments,
transmission flushes, power steering flushes
and coolant flushes, which Brake-O-Rama
lacks the necessary equipment or is otherwise
unable to perform;
-
Not charge consumers for automotive repairs
that are not performed;
-
Not represent to consumers that a Brake-O-Rama
location can perform certain automotive
repairs, when such location lacks the
necessary equipment to perform such repairs;
-
Not represent to consumers that certain
automotive repairs were performed, when
such is not the case;
-
Not engage in the advertisement and/or
sale of motor vehicle inspection services
which Brake-O- Rama is not licensed by
MVC to perform;
-
Not charge consumers for motor vehicle
inspection services, then take the motor
vehicle to a MVC operated inspection facility;
-
Not represent that any Brake-O-Rama location
is a vehicle inspection facility, if such
location does not possess the necessary
license from MVC to perform such inspections;
-
Not induce consumers to authorize additional
automotive repairs by representing that
it would perform repairs that it lacked
the necessary equipment to perform;
-
Provide consumers with a written estimate
or obtain from consumers prior written
authorization or oral approval to proceed
with automotive repairs;
-
Provide consumers with signed copies of
estimates and/or invoices;
-
Conspicuously post the notice of consumer
rights; and
-
Take all reasonable steps to ensure that
each and every motor vehicle presented
for repairs is evaluated and repaired
in a manner consistent with all industry
standards.
“These
agreed-to business practices will ensure
that consumers get the services that they
pay for,” Acting Director Joyce said.
Deputy
Attorney General Jeffrey Koziar of the Consumer
Fraud Prosecution Section represented the
state in this action.
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