Firm Settles Charges Brought by State Investigators

An electronics repair company here has been stripped of its business registration following a state undercover investigation of the firm’s president for allegedly illegal business practices, state Department of Consumer Affairs officials said Monday.

Car Radio Center Inc. has agreed to settle charges brought by the consumer affairs agency that it performed unnecessary and improper repairs on car stereos in 1988.

The state began investigating the Car Radio Center following a customer’s complaint in 1987. In 1988, the state Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair twice sent specially prepared car stereos to the Garden Grove shop for repair. The agency later charged that the company was violating state laws governing proper business.

“We have to have solid evidence against a company before we can conduct an investigation,” said Gordon D. Boranian, assistant chief of the state bureau. “It just happened that this consumer had an extensive knowledge of electronics.” He said the customer, an unidentified Fullerton man, discovered the repair shop had unnecessarily replaced certain parts.

Without admitting any wrongdoing, Fawzi Tazbaz, 60, the company’s president, agreed to settle state charges that he violated state business laws. He was charged with failure to prepare proper invoices, failure to return replaced parts to the customer as required and failure to give written estimates. He was ordered to pay a $450 fine, to reimburse the state $1,000 for the cost of its investigation and was placed on three years’ probation.

His son, Fernando Tazbaz, 37, a co-owner of the store, was deemed not to have been involved in the radio repair incident. Under an agreement reached between the state and the company, Fernando Tazbaz has been issued a new registration to operate the business.

The agreement bars Fawzi Tazbaz from being involved in the company’s operation, management or ownership, Boranian said.

Although Tazbaz was convicted earlier this year, the state agency didn’t announce its actions until Monday, Boranian said.

Fernando Tazbaz said he believes that the actions taken by the state were too severe.

“We have been 20 years in the business without a problem,” he said. “They treat us like we were killers. It is too heavy of a punishment. The most painful thing is that my dad can’t even come to the store.”