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2006 Newsletter

Enforcement Alert

Friday, 06 July 2007 15:10
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Re-Inspection Program

The C.R.A. has previously warned its members of the possibility of B.A.R. re-instituting its Auto Body Re-inspection Program.  On November 13th and again on November 27th, the new Chief of the Bureau Sherry Mehl stated that B.A.R. will be offering to reinspect consumer’s vehicles.  A toll free line is being set up and they plan to have the program operational soon. The program would appear to be for the general public however it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize the driving force behind this is the insurers .The insurers will be trying to use B.A.R .to enforce their will. Those of you that do a high volume of repair will have a higher likelihood of having vehicles reinspected. If B.A.R. finds a significant problem with a repair they will be looking further. Don’t make their job easier.

You need to take the necessary steps to insure that the invoice you provide your customer accurately reflects the jobs performed and parts supplied.  It is also important to make sure that your final invoice is forwarded to the insurer.  A comprehensive quality control program will be invaluable to insure your compliance.  Defending yourself can be very costly.

If you need assistance with compliance please call us at 707-636-1770 or you can reach Allen Wood at 916-837-2362.           

Lets all work together to show our critics what we as an industry can do.

 

Penalty Guidelines/Citations

 

You may think the re-inspection program was bad, well get ready! The new Bureau Chief while discussing proposed changes to the Bureau’s Penalty Guidelines advised that some of the revisions were in preparation for the issuance of citations for paperwork violations.  She stated this is to allow for lower level enforcement actions, a different option to filing an accusation. You will have an appeal process.  Many of you will recall that the Bureau stopped issuing Notices of Violation as a result of frivolous law suits filed by the Treavor Law Group. It appears now that the Bureau finds it necessary to initiate a new bureaucratic methodology, under the guise of creating a lesser evil, to regulate the industry. The Bureau does have the authority under section 125.9 of the Business and Professions code to implement this process. A process that prior administrations have refused to utilize.  Since this is a formal disciplinary action, would an insurer use this as a reason to pull a DRP contract, you decide.  The Chief after lengthy discussion regarding changes to the Disciplinary Guidelines has stated that she would review the proposal with staff and in the interim would take further comment from the industry. We are working with other industry groups to try and influence her to change her position .The current version of the guidelines are in section3395.4 of the California Code of  Regulations, pages 247 to 251 in the B.A.R. Laws and Regulations book. Find it here.  We will keep you informed.

 

 

After Market Parts

Friday, 06 July 2007 15:12
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We have been told that recently elected Senator Yee will be introducing his previously pulled after market parts bill. We need your help to defeat this bill if proposed. To do so we need pictures of ill-fitting C.A.P.A. Certified parts. Photograph the certification label, the part installed showing its poor fitment and an after photo showing how the O.E.M. part fit when installed. We will not be disclosing the name of the shop that provided the photos, if that is of concern. The more shops that participate in providing photos will make it easier to demonstrate the seriousness of the problem. Please forward them to our office at 251 Bellevue Ave. Suite 100 Santa Rosa, Ca 95407.

 

Radio Ads

Friday, 06 July 2007 15:13
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If you haven’t received a copy of the radio ad please let us know. We have been running the ad in Sonoma County and have had many inquiries from the industry. We are now moving to a second phase, in that we are adding our association phone number so the public can call. We have actually had members of the public contact Gene about the ads, not knowing he was part of the association. We have paid the production costs and if you wish to run the ads locally you may. If you don’t have a local media contact we can possibly assist with this.   Roy Carnevale has volunteered to be the point of contact Roy can be reached at 415-720-3887.  If you want us to set this up we can, tell us the station we’ll have our person check rates, if the cost is agreeable we’ll make the purchase and bill you.  The new ad should be available by the time you read this. Non member shops have heard the ads and have offered to support their airing.  We are accepting donations from them to help defer the costs as everyone benefits from the message.  Roy has the details.

 

Legal

Friday, 06 July 2007 15:14
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B.A.R. WRIT

 

We have received the response from B.A.R. and will post it to our web site. The board voted to continue the process and the next step is to depose B.A.R. personnel in preparation for trial. Our counsel is currently moving forward with this process.

 

We encourage all members and non-members to write the Bureau Chief, Sheri Mahl at 10240 Systems Parkway, Sacramento, CA  95827.   Inquiring why Progressive is being allowed to continue to operate in violation of the law, when you are not being afforded the same opportunity.  This also allows unfair competition with you as an auto repair dealer. Send copies of these letters to your local Senator or Assembly person and copy the Association.  If Progressive tries to carry a bill to legalize this practice, as they did before, this preemptive notice to legislators will be helpful. If you need help drafting this letter call Allen at 916-837-2362.

 

The CRA Mission

Our goal is to bring together a group of repair professionals that share a common interest in the future of the auto body industry. We are committed to improving the industry by working with industry stake holders to establish a fair and competitive market place, while ensuring the customer receives an honest and competent repair.