Counterfeit Lift Inspection Labels Found in New Mexico Auto Dealership
CORTLAND, NY – (August 27, 2019) The Automotive Lift Institute, Inc. (ALI), an ANSI accredited product certification body (Accreditation ID# 0584), hereby makes public announcement that counterfeit lift inspection labels have been found in New Mexico (see image at right).
This is the second time it has come to ALI’s attention that someone is counterfeiting the organization’s inspection labels, misusing its trademarked ALI Certified Lift Inspector logo and misleading customers about the type of lift inspection they are receiving. ALI previously issued a Public Safety Notice in May 2018 after counterfeit lift inspection labels were found in New York City and Long Island.
“These types of situations can potentially put lift operators in danger, which is why ALI and our members advocate for safety throughout the lift industry and even take responsibility for exposing these fraudulent incidents,” says ALI President R.W. “Bob” O’Gorman. “The best way to confirm that a lift inspector is certified by ALI is to check the directory on autolift.org. When in doubt, the ALI team also can confirm the authenticity of the ALI inspection label and the inspector. For their own safety, employers and owners should make it standard practice to demand ALI’s annual lift inspection label at the time of contracting inspection services from anyone other than the lift manufacturer.”
Use of ALI’s Certified Lift Inspector mark on an unauthorized inspection label unethically leads shop owners, service technicians, Department of Transportation inspectors, and Occupational Health and Safety officials to believe that an inspection performed by an ALI certified inspector had occurred. The fraudulent labels depicted in this Public Safety Notice resemble ALI’s annual inspection label but have been applied by a company that is not affiliated with ALI in any way. Representation of ALI’s registered mark on labels such as the one in the image presented above is not authorized. Automotive lifts bearing the label depicted should have this label removed immediately, and the lift should be re-inspected by a qualified lift inspector.
As of this notice, there have been no reports of damage or injury presented to ALI related to this counterfeit inspection service. The labels were found in a Ford dealership in Raton, New Mexico. If you have contracted the services of Quickie Lift Automotive Equipment Repair, LLC said to be located at 8325 Pine Cone Road, Colorado Springs, Colo., be advised that this company is not eligible to use ALI’s Lift Inspector Certification mark and is not affiliated with ALI. The claim of this organization is that they cannot find the records of the homeowner that produced these labels in exchange for installing a lift and that they have no knowledge of the exact number of fraudulent inspection labels produced or placed in the field. Record keeping for inspections performed and inspection label use records are a requirement of ALI’s Lift Inspector Certification Program and ALI believes that to not keep such records undermines public trust and lift safety. Consumers with lifts bearing these labels (depicted above) are advised to contact ALI immediately and seek out inspection services from a qualified lift inspector. To locate the ALI Certified Inspector nearest to you, visit the Directory of ALI Certified Lift Inspection Providers.
ALI continues to promote the safe design, construction, installation, inspection, and use of automotive lift products. The integrity of the ALI annual inspection label and the ALI Certified Inspector mark are of paramount importance.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Janelle Storey at 607-756-7775 or [email protected]
Automotive Lift Institute P.O. Box 85, Cortland, NY 13045