Class Action Alleges Discount Tire Failed to Provide Written Estimates Prior to Repair Work

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A proposed class action claims Discount Tire Co. has violated a Florida law by failing to provide customers with an itemized written estimate of repair costs before performing work that exceeds $100.

The 13-page lawsuit alleges that it is Discount Tire’s “standard and common practice” to perform tire installation after conferring with a customer and then print a repair invoice once the work has been done. According to the case, this practice allows the defendant to add certain products, including tire warranties, to customers’ invoices without their prior knowledge or approval.

The case claims Discount Tire has violated Florida’s Motor Vehicle Repair Act, which requires a shop to provide customers with a written estimate that includes certain statutory information prior to the performance of repairs costing in excess of $100.00. Per the suit, the defendant has engaged in the same practice at each of its 32 Florida repair shops.

The Florida Motor Vehicle Repair Act, according to the case, requires the state’s vehicle repair shops to include in written invoices a disclosure informing customers that they are entitled to a written estimate if their final bill will exceed $100. The invoice must also allow customers to select whether they would or would not like to request a written estimate, or whether they do not request a written estimate as long as the cost is below a certain amount specified by the customer, the complaint relays.

The lawsuit alleges Discount Tire, rather than provide the statutory disclosure and obtain a customer’s signature prior to performing repair work, uses instead an electronic disclaimer that states “Signature on file.” According to the case, however, no customer signature is on file in accordance with Florida law.

The lawsuit alleges Discount Tire’s apparent failure to provide written invoices and allow customers to select estimate options prior to repair work being done robs customers of their right to both review the costs for which they’re being charged and refuse or negotiate certain items that the defendant, the suit claims, “regularly adds” to invoices without the customers’ knowledge.

The plaintiff, for instance, claims to have visited a Discount Tire location in October 2020 to purchase two new tires for her vehicle and was “completely unaware” at the time that the defendant had added to her invoice two “Certificates for refund, replacement” at a cost of $21 each.

“At no time did DISCOUNT TIRE’s sales representative notify Plaintiff that these charges were being added, nor was Plaintiff given any opportunity to decline the charges,” the complaint alleges, claiming the plaintiff was not provided with a printed invoice until it was handed to her in an envelope upon completion of the tire installation.

According to the case, Discount Tire routinely adds a cost for “Certificates” to its invoices and fails to offer any explanation of what they are. The lawsuit, citing a different invoice form that the defendant supposedly provided to customers for a time, claims the certificate is essentially a warranty. Per the suit, Discount Tire promises that it will, for a fee, refund the purchase price of the tire “in the event of a failure due to workmanship and materials or a non-reparable road hazard for the service of the original tread down to 3/32 inch remaining, or 3 years from the date of purchase, whichever occurs first.”

The case claims, however, that customers are unaware they are being charged $21 or more for “a simple warranty” given they are not provided with a written invoice prior to the installation of their tires in accordance with Florida law. Moreover, the suit points out that virtually every tire manufacturer already includes a free warranty for the tires sold by the defendant.

“Using these tactics, DISCOUNT TIRE charges an incredibly high percentage of its customers for the Certificates even though the benefit of the Certificate is marginal at best over the free Limited Warranties,” the complaint alleges.

The lawsuit looks to cover anyone in Florida who purchased tires from a Florida Discount Tire location and paid a repair invoice without being provided with a written estimate prior to the performance of work costing more than $100.

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