{"id":83856,"date":"2017-08-21T13:30:28","date_gmt":"2017-08-21T17:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=83856"},"modified":"2017-08-20T22:25:53","modified_gmt":"2017-08-21T02:25:53","slug":"dinapoli-dmv-must-do-more-to-crack-down-on-unregistered-auto-repair-shops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=83856","title":{"rendered":"DiNapoli: DMV must do more to crack down on unregistered auto repair shops"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>Agency also slow to schedule hearings to resolve consumer complaints<\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The state Department of Motor Vehicles has not done enough to prevent automotive repair shops and inspection stations from operating without valid registrations, putting consumers at an increased risk to be scammed by dishonest businesses,\u00a0according to an audit<\/a>\u00a0issued Aug. 15 by state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.<\/p>\n

\u201cDMV has a responsibility to help prevent consumers from being taken for a ride by unscrupulous repair shops,\u201d said DiNapoli. \u201cThis means doing more to ensure that New York\u2019s repair shops are legitimately registered and working harder to investigate and resolve consumer complaints in a timely manner.\u201d<\/p>\n

Valid registration of repair shops and inspection stations provides customers with the reasonable assurance that the business owners do not have a history of either criminal activity or operating an auto business engaged in deceptive or fraudulent practices. But the audit revealed DMV has established little in the way of controls to restrict unregistered repair shops from operating.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
A review of DMV data\u00a0identified approximately<\/a>\u00a023,600 automotive businesses with expired licenses or registrations. Of those, auditors selected 170 used car dealerships and repair shops with lapsed registrations and found 22 percent of these businesses with strong indications of continued operations; such as multiple cars being worked on, signs advertising services requiring registration, and dealerships with multiple cars being advertised for sale, warranting additional investigation by DMV.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Auditors also reviewed county property tax parcel data and found an additional 266 potential automotive business locations that were not registered with DMV. Visits to 65 of these locations found that 18 percent appeared to be actively operating, but unregistered, auto businesses. The analysis shows that, in addition to reviewing an agency\u2019s own records, publicly available data can also be used to\u00a0help identify unregistered facilities.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The audit also identified 21 automotive dismantlers that are required to report to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, but are potentially not registered. DMV officials stated they plan to meet with DEC to implement a methodology to coordinate and ensure facilities are properly registered.<\/p>\n

Records also show that although DMV is generally addressing consumer complaints against automotive facilities in a timely manner, it took DMV over a year to schedule required hearings for more than half of the complaints against repair shops that committed fraud, grossly overcharged or had practiced dishonest or misleading advertising.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Of the 6,890 consumer complaints that were open or filed with DMV between Jan. 1, 2014, and Dec. 16, 2016, 22 percent warranted further investigation by DMV and had the potential for penalties and sanctions to be imposed on businesses.<\/p>\n

DiNapoli\u2019s auditors reviewed 1,127 complaints alleging fraud or other severe violations and discovered 583 did not receive a hearing\u00a0within 12 months\u00a0from the date the complaint was made. In fact, auditors determined that 489 of these cases took more than 17 months from the time the complaint was filed until a hearing and decision occurred.<\/p>\n

As a result of the audit, DiNapoli recommended DMV officials:<\/p><\/div>\n