Cease and desist order issued re: auto glass shop rebates

The owners of two auto glass shops have been ordered to stop offering rebates -- $20 gas cards, $25 restaurant gift certificates, and apparently up to $100 in cash -- to customers.

M.S. Glass Outlet LLC, of Lynnwood, Wash. and M.S. Glass Outlet LLC, of Portland, Ore., and owners Mehdi and Mehran Saghafi, both of Beaverton, Ore. have been issued a cease and desist order from Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler.

Employees for the companies twice offered Washington state insurance investigators rebates or dinner certificates on windshield replacement work. The amount depended on the customer's insurance deductible; cash customers got no rebate or certificate.

In Washington, however, state law prohibits service providers from waiving, rebating or paying a claimant's property or casualty insurance deductible. Why? Well, it's partly a level-playing-field issue, intended to help ensure fair competition. There's also the problem of those costs likely getting passed onto other customers who don't benefit.

Here's a copy of the order.