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Shock auto repair bandits into refunding your money
How to use the law to get back at fraudulent garage charges
By: Bob Salvador
If I can show you how to recover $1,500 a year, will you read the next 200 words?
We've all been 'had' by auto repair shops, right? There's plenty of evidence that many garages cheat, e.g.: "80% of car dealers performed automobile service which are either premature or totally unnecessary" (Readers Digest, Feb 93, p.124) or "34 out of 38 auto service centers overcharged customers" (Mademoiselle, April 93, p. 88.)
What you really, really want to know is how to get those shekels back from the bandits. Well, I'm not a lawyer so this isn't legal advice, but I'll tell you what my clients and I have done: Hit 'em with a Motor Vehicle Repair Act ("MVRA" for short) suit in Small Claims court.
Why do I like the MVRA? The MVRA is an Ontario law that - among its other provisions - requires repair shops to disclose detailed information on their invoices, return replaced parts, guarantees, and limits overcharges on estimates.
Too bad most car owners never heard of this law. In Green v. Swartz, the Divisional Court held that any breach of this law meant a total refund of the entire bill. Yes, the entire bill. In my view, this law has a lot of sharp teeth that has shredded a lot of repair bills.
Here's how I applied the MVRA to sue for an amazing-simple 100% refund:
- Sued the shop because it failed to show the number of hours, the hourly rate, and the total cost of labour on the invoice.
- Sued the shop because it charged 10% over its estimate.
- Sued the shop because it failed to disclose the cost of computing its hourly rate, the labour charges, and the telephone number of the Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations in its signs in its office.
- Sued the shop because its invoice failed to show whether the parts installed were new, used, or reconditioned.
My Statement of Claim pleaded, "No charge made in contravention of the MVRA is collectable or payable." Why did I say this? It is because the MVRA says precisely that.
Still don't believe me? The most senior caselaw that I can find is Green v. Swartz, an appeal to the Divisional Court, released in 1997. Take a look at it yourself, right here. Mr. Green got over $4,200 back, didn't he? In my book, that's certainly worth the trouble.
Let's not forget that dictum that any generalization is a fallacy. Not all repair shops are bad. Personally, I have found the ones recommended by the APA be the fairest.
But, MVRA applies only in Ontario. I searched Quicklaw and could not find any similar law in the other provinces. Therefore, if you live outside of Ontario, ask your MPP or MLA why you don't have the same rights as residents of Ontario. This is a great law for consumers that needs to be made available everywhere. For history buffs, the MVRA started as a North York by-law that 'grew' into a provincial statute. The 'father' of the MVRA is Jeff Gray, a consumer lawyer who worked with (former Nader's Raider and author of Lemon Aid) Phil Edmonston. Enough trivia?
Want more? There is a similar law in Ontario and some provinces called the Business Practices Act, which you can use when you get hit with "Buyer's Remorse."
Bob Salvador is a consumer-rights paralegal interested in helping the other 98% of Canadians who are have not using the great laws of this land to recover their losses from white-collar thugs. He can be contacted at paralegal777@justice.com.
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