"Systematic Looting"

FOR YEARS, SEARS ROEBUCK & CO. HAS BILLED ITSELF THE place "where America shops." Last week the giant retailer's $3 billion automobile-repair division was branded a place where Americans are being systematically robbed. After an 18-month investigation, the California department of consumer affairs charged that nearly half of Sears' 72 auto-service centers in the state routinely overcharge customers an average $223 for repairs, and that Sears mechanics also billed undercover agents for work that was never done. Spurred by a 50% increase in consumer complaints against Sears auto shops over the past three years, say California officials, they began a probe that reveals a "constant pattern of abuse." Consumer-affairs director Jim Conran is seeking revocation of Sears' license to perform auto repairs in California. Says he: "These are not honest mistakes. This is the systematic looting of the public." Sears denies the charges. A spokesman for the company says that "while honest mistakes may have been made, we disagree with some of the allegations."