10 JUL 07: MR. BIG BLUFFER?
Well, well. It turns out Georgia's Office of Consumer Affairs has been after Bill Heard Chevrolet -- not for one or two years, but 16. Perhaps their commercials were so loud that the managers couldn't hear all of the state's complaints....
The Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs announced Monday it's filed legal papers against Bill Heard Enterprises and several related dealerships, accusing them of violating the "Fair Business Practices Act." Yes, Georgia has such a thing - but for some reason, many businesses don't post it on the lobby wall.
The legal papers posted on a state consumer web site list 16 years of complaints against Bill Heard dealerships. The latest is a letter mailed to 10,000 people last October, which looked like a recall notice from General Motors -- only a phone number in the letter connected callers with a Bill Heard office. The letter had a Norco, California postmark, giving a whole new meaning to "California Dreaming."
General Motors was so upset by this fake recall letter that it sent certified mail to Bill Heard around Thanksgiving. G.M. called the letter "impermissible," and threatened to terminate all dealership agreements if things weren't corrected in 30 days. Why, that could have been enough to make Bill Heard Saab....
The state countersuit accuses Bill Heard of doing nothing to "retract, correct or clarify" the mailings of October. Well, it WAS sent in the weeks before a big election.
The Administrator of the Fair Business Practices Act says based on this, Bill Heard Enterprises constitutes "an immediate danger of harm to the citizens of the state of Georgia." And he never even checked the catalytic converters on the cars....
But the legal papers filed in Fulton County Court last Friday go much farther, citing 16 years of "unfair and deceptive practices" by Bill Heard Enterprises. The first one in 1991 led to a $2,000 civil penalty. In 2004, a penalty was $188,000 -- so Bill Heard had moved up from Nova to Escalade range.
The state countersuit says based on the latest mailing, Bill Heard Enterprises should be penalized "up to a maximum of $5,000 per violation...." That amount times 10,000 letters would equal a $50 million loss. But it could be worse - the administrator isn't demanding the RiverCenter change the name of Bill Heard Theatre.
(The papers were filed in Atlanta, apparently because the Georgia state offices are there. But some of the violations had to occur in Columbus, as Bill Heard dealerships didn't enter metro Atlanta until about 2000. That's the year, not the penalty level.)
On top of that, the state Administrator specifically asks for a "trial by jury" against Bill Heard Enterprises. Do you think the car dealer could get a fair trial in Columbus? Or is "Mr. Big Volume" so loud that the case could only be heard in Savannah?
Your blog called Bill Heard Chevrolet late Monday, for its reaction to the state's complaint. A man named Kevin in the "customer relations" department admitted he hadn't heard about it, and he might not have a response ready until later today. What a switch - as someone gives a car lot the "5:00 surprise."
(For a moment, Kevin thought I was a customer who was making a personal complaint. But the last Chevrolet I owned was the first car I ever owned - a 1966 Impala, which did well to make 15 miles per gallon in the highway.)
When it comes to sneaky mailings, I've received several from car dealers over the years. Some of them had envelopes which made you think they were from the Internal Revenue Service. Talk about a tough choice, for which office you'd rather it be....
I remember one mail offer, which came back to bite Bill Heard Chevrolet in an unusual way. Vaguely-marked white envelopes were sent from Texas, right after the September 11th attack. Who knows how many people called police detectives, instead of the showroom.
We mentioned earlier this year how a Nashville TV station examined Bill Heard Chevrolet's business dealings there [25 Apr]. WTVF's investigative series has won two national awards - and lo and behold, Bill Heard sold its Tennessee dealerships a couple of weeks ago. So now, the only "Nashville Predators" may be the hockey players.
E-MAIL UPDATE: We need to "fact-check" a couple of tips from readers, so we aren't ready to post those messages quite yet. But let's start at the newspaper rack:
Richard, Have you read the interview with the mayor in today's paper? The L-E advertised this article for several days as if it were something you wouldn't want to miss. I even got up early this morning to read it. I couldn't believe my eyes! That was about the most boring article I ever remember reading in the local paper. Any comments?
Well, that's what happens when the Ledger-Enquirer doesn't send Kaffie Sledge to do the interview....
Mayor Jim Wetherington told the newspaper he doesn't want to give himself a "letter grade" for his first six months in office. But did you notice he said he'll "give it all I've got for the next four years or however long I decide to stick around...."? The table's already being set for a 2010 rematch with Bob Poydasheff.
Let's face it: Jim Wetherington doesn't exactly have the pizzazz of a Barack Obama. The mayor is more of a folksy Fred Thompson type - although he probably wouldn't want to be compared to a Republican....
The only other noteworthy thing to me was that Mayor Wetherington specified "Columbus, Georgia" only once. Have you noticed how he makes absolutely clear he is NOT talking about the capital of Ohio?
Let's take one more e-mail today, about another local leader:
I would like to hear Dr.Phillips explain why some of MCSD schools have not passed the standards set by the state. When ever local media wants a reply from him he is no where to be found.
That's why Superintendent John Phillips put money in the new Muscogee County school budget for an official district spokesperson. I know that person from several years back - and I don't think you'll see Valerie Fuller brush off any questions.
I checked the Georgia Department of Education web site's charts Monday, and several Muscogee County high schools fell short of "adequate yearly progress" this year. They include Carver, Jordan and Spencer - but at least the first two made very good progress in their athletic programs.
Yet the state's charts show Harris County High School also fell short of adequate yearly progress -- and it has Georgia's Superintendent of the Year, in Susan Andrews. As school counselors would tell you: it all comes down to how carefully you prepare that resume....
COMING SOON: What does "REG BOARD/COMM MEMB" mean? (Any guesses?)....
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