A Case of Consumer Confidence : Sears investigation, while unresolved, proves the value of a state agency

The troubling results of the state Department of Consumer Affairs’s investigation of Sears, Roebuck & Co.’s auto-repair practices should be enough to persuade legislators to save this vital agency threatened by California’s budget crisis.

The department’s 18-month, undercover investigation of Sears, which is the largest single operator of auto shops in California, alleges “a constant pattern of abuse.” State investigators claim that Sears made unnecessary repairs and charged for work that was not performed. In a few cases, mechanics damaged cars; one auto that went in for a brake inspection left Sears without brakes, according to the department.

The department’s investigation was triggered by a 50% rise in consumer complaints against Sears over the last three years. That increase coincided with Sears’ decision to slash hourly wages of automotive employees and pay them commissions.

The results of the investigation has prompted Consumer Affairs to seek revocation of Sears’ license to perform automobile repairs in California. That process involves a hearing before an administrative law judge at which Sears can present evidence refuting the state’s charges.

Without prejudging the outcome of that proceeding, the Sears probe does highlight the need to retain the Consumer Affairs Department, the state’s consumer watchdog. Legislators anxious to close an $11-billion shortfall recently targeted it for elimination. The action would produce a direct savings of only about $2 million since most of the agency’s budget comes from fees collected from the dozens of professions and trades it regulates. But the cost to Californians of this move--in dollars and consumer confidence--could be unacceptably high.