Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Bob Crawford says the arrest of a New Port Richey transmission shop owner on Tuesday is the latest indication a law enacted to protect consumers against illegal and fraudulent auto repair activities is making a dent in the No. 1 consumer complaint in Florida. Complaints about auto repair ripoffs have dropped by more than 25 percent in the four years since the Florida Motor Vehicle Repair Act went into effect on July 1, 1993. At that time, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services was receiving more than 3,000 written complaints annually. This past year, that number was down to 2,223.
Consumers are also now aware that they have a remedy in the event they've been wronged.
Tuesday morning, investigators with the Department's Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement charged the owner of American Transmissions in New Port Richey, Michael Nummy, with scheming to defraud, a third degree felony, following an undercover sting operation. The arrest is just the latest in an ongoing crackdown on auto repair fraud activities. In the 1996-97 fiscal year, law enforcement officers with the Department responded to more than two dozen complaints about motor vehicle repair. Various sting operations resulted in 10 arrests and 20 felony charges. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles visited 2,319 businesses, issued 1,127 violation notices, with many resulting in administrative fines, and revoked the registration certificates of 22 auto repair shops for defrauding customers.