Packard-Bell Electronics Corp. v. Department of Professional & Vocational Standards

In 1963 the Legislature enacted the Electronic Repair Dealer Registration Law (Repair Dealer Law), Business and Professions Code, sections 9800-9880.

There is a dearth of legislative history, but it is reasonably clear that the law was passed to protect the public from fraudulent, incompetent and elusive service dealers who in the past have, by unprincipled operations, imposed upon and swindled the public.

The Repair Dealer Law empowers the Director of Professional and Vocational Standards to investigate, regulate and discipline “service dealers”, defined in section 9801 as follows:

*390 The Repair Dealer Law makes it unlawful to act as a service dealer without having a valid current registration (§ 9840). Under section 9841 the director may refuse to validate or may invalidate the registration of a service dealer for a number of reasons ((a) to (f) of the section) which may be generally classified as fraudulent or dishonest acts or conduct constituting gross negligence.

In addition, the service dealer is required to record all work done and parts supplied on invoices, one copy of which is to go to the customer (§ 9842) ; to return replaced parts to the customer (with…