NEWARK - Sixty auto body shops throughout New Jersey were recently cited with Notices of Violation for violating the Consumer Fraud Act in an inter-agency undercover investigation, the Division of Consumer Affairs and the Motor Vehicles Commission (MVC) announced today.

Investigators from the Division of Consumer Affairs, working in cooperation with the MVC, visited 247 auto body shops between August and October, 2005 to determine whether or not shops were licensed when offering auto body repair services. Of the 124 shops that provided repair estimates to investigators, sixty were not licensed at the time the estimate was offered, in violation of the Consumer Fraud Act. The shops in violation will be fined $5,000 in civil penalties and are required to pay investigative costs of $500.

Auto body repair shops are required to be licensed with the state when conducting auto repair work, according to the statute and regulations governing Auto Body Repair Facilities. The shops are required to renew their license annually with the MVC. If their licenses are not current, the shops are not allowed to conduct auto body repair work until their licenses have been renewed.

Any New Jersey consumer who is concerned that they have done business with an auto body shop that is not licensed should contact the Division of Consumer Affairs at 1-800-242-5846, or www.njconsumeraffairs.gov.

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