California Lowers BAR on Auto Repair Fraud

Policy change at the state Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) opens California’s arms wide for shady auto mechanics.

In a lengthy article http://www.cslea.com/show_article.asp?article_id=1703 on the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association Web site http://www.cslea.com, Bruce Hotchkiss, president of the California Association of Regulatory Investigators and Inspectors http://www.cslea.com/Affiliates/CARII/index1.asp , discusses how forcing BAR inspectors to severely shorten their case closure time is bad news for consumers. Highlights include:
 
"Over at BAR, the powers-that-be have decided that a consumer complaint must be closed (finished) within 45 days. Sounds like a good idea, right? After all, that is a month and a half, and it should be more than enough to gather evidence, talk to all parties, and attempt to mediate a resolution.

• Except that is 45 calendar days, not workdays
• Except that 45 calendar days may be 24-or-less workdays
• Except not all consumer complaints fit a formula."
  

"Don’t think that BAR is unique either; the problem is throughout DCA. Even the Contractors State License Board, which has a very proactive Statewide Investigative Fraud Team (SWIFT) that primarily targets unlicensed contractors, routinely sends consumer fraud complaints to arbitration."
 
"Over the past decade, the levels of management have increased while the boots on the ground have stayed relatively stable. At DCA there is a deputy director for just about everything, and over at BAR there are so many deputy chiefs and program managers, it boggles the mind."
 
You can reach Hotchkiss for further comment at 650-678-0352. Protecting people where they live, work, and play, California Statewide Law Enforcement Association represents more than 7,000 public safety professionals employed by the State of California. http://www.cslea.com/