22 California Repair Centers Lose Their Midas Touch
Cars serviced at 22 Midas shops put a lot of gold in one franchisee's pocket.
California state officials are going after 22 Midas Auto Service Centers accusing them of numerous violations of the state’s Automotive Repair Act. The allegations include charging for parts and services that were not needed and in some cases not provided, making false or misleading statements, and departure from accepted trade standards.
All 22 Midas Auto Service Centers impacted are wholly-owned franchises of Be Glad, Inc., M.I. Glad, Inc. and So Glad, Inc.; Maurice Irving Glad is the president of all franchises involved. The state has noted that no other Midas franchise locations are affected by this action.
“Nobody wants to feel as if they’ve been ripped off, especially during these difficult economic times,” said Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) Chief Sherry Mehl. “Californians work hard for their money and that’s why protecting them from unfair business practices is the highest priority for BAR and for the Department of Consumer Affairs. BAR aggressively works to find and shut down shops that are hurting both consumers and hard-working, law-abiding auto repair shops.”
The move by BAR could lead to the revocation or suspension of the Midas Auto Service Center franchises’ Automotive Repair Dealer registrations. Under state law, the franchises have the right to an administrative hearing whereby they may contest the charges.
BAR’s legal action stems from numerous consumer complaints and a three-year investigation where BAR used twenty-four (24) undercover vehicles to gather evidence of 105 alleged violations. BAR is accusing the franchises of selling or attempting to sell unneeded goods and services at a substantially higher cost than their advertised “brake specials.” BAR also alleges that the shops did not intend to sell the advertised brake services and repairs at the advertised prices, but intended to entice consumers into more costly transactions.
The following is a list of the Midas Auto Service Center franchises named in the accusation:
| Bay Area Midas Auto Service Centers | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1236 White Oaks Avenue Campbell, CA 95008 |
2525 Monument Boulevard Concord, CA 94520 |
6955 Village Parkway Dublin, CA 94568 |
| 4045 Thornton Avenue Fremont, CA 94536 |
3741 Washington Boulevard Fremont, CA 94538 |
1078 La Playa Drive Hayward, CA 94545 |
| 24659 Mission Boulevard Hayward, CA 94544 |
93 S. Capitol Avenue San Jose, CA 95127 |
4244 Monterey Hwy. San Jose, CA 95111 |
| 5287 Prospect Road San Jose, CA 95129 |
2200 Stevens Creek Boulevard San Jose, CA 95128 |
13745 E. 14th Street San Leandro, CA 94578 |
| 2710 N. Main Street Walnut Creek, CA 94596 |
||
| Central Valley Midas Auto Services Centers | ||
|---|---|---|
| 704 Clovis Avenue Clovis, CA 93612 |
3937 N. Blackstone Fresno, CA 93726 |
7340 N. Blackstone Fresno, CA 93650 |
| 4304 W. Shaw Fresno, CA 93722 |
1412 W. Yosemite Avenue Manteca, CA 95337 |
338 McHenry Avenue Modesto, CA 95354 |
| 3833 McHenry Avenue Modesto, CA 95356 |
1420 V Street Merced, CA 95340 |
2651 Greer Road Turlock, CA 95382 |
(Source: California Department of Consumer Affairs, Bureau of Automotive Repairs)
Comments
9 Comments on 22 California Repair Centers Lose Their Midas Touch
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HID Light on
Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 11:30 am
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Matthew C. Keegan on
Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 11:42 am
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Paintless Dent Repair on
Mon, 28th Jul 2008 2:33 pm
You wonder why mechanics get a bad name? Im glad they closed these places. Absolutely ridiculous
HID Lights last blog post..What are Ballasts?
You got that right, HID. Worse, I wonder how many other Midas franchisees are sticking it to their customers? Don’t representatives of the parent company keep tabs with what is going on at the franchise level? What a shame.
Going to big name chain mechanics do sometimes give you good quality work. Their facility and shops are much bigger than many personal mechanics. But if you want to do your own body work like painless dent repair. Go visit “nodents” on the web.
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