Auto repair chain must install cameras

SANTA ANA, Calif., Jan. 2 (UPI) -- A California auto repair chain will pay $5 million, limit services at some shops and install video cameras in work areas to settle claims it cheated customers.

EZ Lube, which will stop providing services other than lubrication and oil and filter changes at 30 shops, will be on probation for five years, The Orange County Register reported.

A judge signed off Monday on the settlement, which stemmed from a 2004 investigation by the state's consumer agency.

EZ Lube, with headquarters in Santa Ana, has 80 auto repair shops.

"Our motivation is to make them honest,'' said Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas. "If they're going to be dishonest and defraud people, we'll prosecute them."

While investigators said they found proof that EZ Lube shops duped car owners by doing work that was not needed or charging them for work that was never done, Skip Miller, a lawyer for the company, denied any fraud occurred.