The Bureau of Automotive Repair is proposing regulations that will make significant changes to how much shops can charge for storage fees
The BAR Advisory Group Committee meeting and the fourth Vehicle Storage Fee regulatory workshop was held last week in Sacramento. It prompted concerns by repair shops that the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) is overstepping its bounds. Below is summary of the meeting by Jack Molodanof, president of Molodanof Government Relations.
Vehicle Storage Fees Regulatory Workshop
The BAR is proposing regulations that will make significant changes to how much shops can charge for vehicle storage fees. This workshop marked the fourth session held by BAR to gather input on the proposed regulations.
The regulations, among other things, require shops that perform repairs resulting from accidents or theft recoveries to report their daily storage rate to BAR annually. Shops must determine the daily storage rate based on the costs associated with storing a vehicle. Additionally, shops must post and visibly display current daily storage rates for customers, and notify them in writing, when charges will accrue.
BAR is also creating a search tool, which essentially is a survey, for the public, third party payors and other stakeholders to identify average and median storage rates for a specific locale. This survey will be posted and become public information. The locale is defined as a radius of an ARD sufficient to identify the shops geographically closest ARDs performing the same type of repairs and reporting daily storage rates.
Vehicles must be stored at the shop’s primary business, and the shop must notify consumer if the vehicle is moved to another location. Shops must also provide a minimum of 3 business days of “free” storage after presenting the estimate following the tear down, allowing customers time to authorize repairs or remove the vehicle before charging storage.
Concerns were raised that the BAR survey determining an average will allow insurers to “cap” storage rates. Also, the defined radius of the survey is too large of an area which will result in an inaccurate and flawed survey. Also having one storage rate rather than a tiered (inside, outside, electric vehicles) will create issues. Suggestions from stakeholders included making the BAR survey non-public and providing shops with the right to sue an insurance company (called a “private right of action”) if they cap storage rates. Many also objected to giving away free storage and that the BAR has no legal authority to do so.
Additional concerns included shops that perform no repairs (e.g. clearly non-repairable vehicle) will only be able to charge storage fees similar to those CHP or local police departments. In other words, a shop will not be able to charge its regular market storage rate but instead will be “capped” at CHP or local police rates (negotiated or contract rates), if no teardown or repairs are performed.
BAR will review all comments and concerns and has stated they will make some revisions. See link to the regulation language for more details.
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