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June 28, 2007

Local Businesses

Car repair chain accused of deceptive ads

Tarrant County Just Brakes stores lose membership with the Fort Worth Better Business Bureau.

Story by: J. Blankenship

The Shorthorn staff

The Shorthorn: Megumi Rooze

Cliff League has managed the Just Brakes on Collins Street without any formal complaints for seven years but now is at odds with the Fort Worth Better Business Bureau. The chain of stores is said to be using an implied bait-and-switch approach, which advertises a $99.88 brake special but charges customers significantly more.

A brake repair shop near campus is caught in a dispute between its corporate owners and conflicting actions of nearby Better Business Bureau offices.

Just Brakes on Collins Street, along with all its Tarrant County stores, lost its membership with the bureau in Fort Worth because of advertising and sales practices. Yet the Dallas bureau retained the nearby store on its membership roll.

Cliff League has managed Just Brakes on Collins Street for more than seven years. University faculty, staff and students frequently trust their cars to his store for routine maintenance and repairs, he said.

“We don’t service everyone on the campus yet,” League said Tuesday. “But I can assure you, there haven’t been any formal complaints for this location at all.”

Julie Lyssy, Fort Worth Better Business Bureau spokesperson, said Just Brakes has a chain of stores across the county. The stores as a group have more than 16 unresolved complaints, so her location dropped their corporate membership for all Tarrant County stores. Just Brakes has an appeal pending.

Lyssy said the corporation has been using an implied bait-and-switch approach. They advertise a $99.88 brake special, but most customers end up paying significantly more. She said competitors advertised more specifically and had fewer complaints, as a group.

But the bureau hasn’t received complaints about League’s store, which wasn’t dropped from the Dallas Better Business Bureau.

“Each office is free to make its own decisions,” Lyssy said. “We chose to cancel their membership, and we’re comfortable with that.”

She cited “complaint-processing concerns” and declined to elaborate.

The Dallas bureau didn’t respond to telephone calls seeking comment.

History sophomore Jason Fitzgerald said he didn’t have any complaints about Just Brakes. Service was overdue on his fiancé’s car so he drove it to the Collins Street store. He hadn’t been to the store before and selected it because of radio advertisements. He knew there was a brake special that would cost about $99. The car needed rotors, calipers and more, nearly tripling the bill.

He left the car with Just Brakes for about four hours while attending classes and activities on campus. The repair shop called him with itemized repairs and expenses and requested his approval to proceed. He said Just Brakes didn’t perform any work without his approval.

“I’m shocked to hear there may have been problems,” Fitzgerald said. “I feel like their service was pretty good.”

Mechanics at three nearby automotive repair shops agreed brake repairs can be tricky but preferred to stay out of battles between a competitor and the Better Business Bureau. They said routine maintenance costs about $100. Neglected brake systems easily exceed $600 in repairs, depending on the condition of rotors, spindles and other parts. Reputable repair shops provide written estimates and approval before performing work. Some provide maintenance schedules to help customers avoid costly repairs.

League’s store is a member of the Motorist Assurance Program, a national organization to strengthen relationships between motorists and the automotive service repair industry. Member businesses agree to provide estimates and obtain approval before beginning repairs. Written limited warranties are included at no extra cost.

“We haven’t received any complaints about Just Brakes, and they are members in good standing,” said John Peveto, Motorist Assurance Program president.