One of our favorite nightly news segments is the “news guy on your side.” We love watching reporter advocates support frustrated consumers who have been treated unfairly. The consumer is either trying to get their money back, or clear up an unfair charge accruing debt. The common scenario is that a consumer receives a bill from a local utilities company. The bill charges for services they didn’t use.
The consumer has tried to contact the company themselves, but experience a time-wasting bureaucratic runaround. Their efforts lead to nothing, the money is still owed. But then, the overwhelmed consumer contacts a “7 on your side” reporter to advocate for them. Guess what? Within a few calls the problem is solved and the charges are waived. Why? Because that reporter understood the game. They knew who to call and exactly what the rules were in order to get results.
We’re On Your Side Against the Bureau of Automotive Repair in California
Auto shop owners receiving a BAR citation or SMOG interim suspension notice in the mail from the Bureau of Automotive Repair can go through the same experience. You may have done everything right to ensure your STAR Program certification is up to date. That’s why it can be confusing when a letter for a SMOG check violation shows up anyway. Instead of letting BAR bureaucrats run you around, get a Bureau of Automotive Repair defense attorney on your side. Our auto defense lawyers understand how the BAR works. We speak the language and know what is possible after a SMOG citation has been issued. The Vehicle Inspection Report (VIR) sited in your case may offer important details you can’t see. Sure, you know cars, but when a visual inspection of a car is made, are you fully versed in the legal protections? Is going it alone worth losing a STAR certificate and possibly 50% of your business?
One thing that’s important to remember, a mechanic who gets cited for the SMOG violation can lose their job on the spot. That means you can lose a valued employee. If your technician has a family to support, it can be devastating for them. Other auto shops may not allowed to hire that technician for up to a year after the violation has occurred. As the station owner, if you’ve received a STAR/SMOG citation, you have the opportunity to advocate for your auto technicians as well as yourself. Clearing up a BAR citation for your testing station means you keep your STAR certification and your employee can keep their job.
Auto shop owners understand cars, we understand the law. Don’t fight a BAR accusation alone. Call our Automotive Defense Specialists to be on your side!