We were visited at Axcentrics Salon in June 08, (newly opened) and were given a pink slip with no explanation informing us of pending court date for violations with excessively heavy fines leveled. One stylist had not put licenses with pictures up on the wall yet, looking to match the new decor with a new frame, so they were posted on reception desk. The inspector seemed very friendly and said it was not a big deal at all and to put the licenses up on the wall. Stylists were licensed properly, had all the necessary msds forms, he noted we had all our insurance papers in order on the premises and he said we had a very nice salon and that it was immaculate. He said nothing more than that in return to my questioning if there was anything I should be concerned about regarding his writing on his clip board and handed me the pink reciept and left. Four months later in October we recieved a serious court summons for her license not being up on the wall and fined her $400. and myself the owner $500. A week later another court summons arrived for a pretrial date one week earlier. We were furious, not one inkling indicating this was going to occur. I called around to all the salons in our area and found out that only the little salons were visited, We could not believe there was no week given for voluntary compliance which had always been routine in the past. I've been a hairdresser for 35 years and have never personally had a violation. Of course the licenses were properly posted with in hours, to be prepared for a return inspection. Hence we were quite shocked at the extreme harsh court summons and ridiculous out of proportion fines. Next thing we know I recieved a phone call from an inspector from Albany giving me a chance to communicate over the phone with him regarding pending court date as there were for too many people expected in court and there was no possibility of us being heard and to not go to court at all. Per our interview and my description of the event and my never having had a violation etc. He offered us a deal to pay half the fine totals, or $450. which I still felt was extremely unfair with never having had a week to correct the situation. He gave me a week to decide, upon continuing research I found out from the div of licenses web site that the last time they sent out inspectors they visited 8000 salons and had issued 8000 tickets for violations etc. It was plain to see that the state coffers were empty and that they we extracting the money from the little guys in salons all over the state for minisquel rule violations. I decided to plea my case that a fine like this could just put a small salon out of business. While I was waiting for my day in court to appeal I recieved a third notice stating that now the fine was $1800. which now shocked us all to no end, talk about being shaken down by the mob. I called and asked which section of the NYS Div of Licenses states that they can double the fine for no apparent reason while we were waiting for our court date? She answered something about it being a computer generated letter which is a likely excuse for their intended intimidation tacktics. Well we had enough by now and agreed reluctantly to the original half of the fines just to put an end to the nightmare and pressure.
We are very dissappointed in New York State treating us like criminals for minor clerical errors. I truly do understand the need for professional licensing and the enforcement of such there of. However not being given the time of day in the first place to inform us with a list of rules and regulations pertaining to each or our own specific set of salon services and requirements when we recieve our license to run a salon. The problem being that there are approximately 49 printed out pages of sections and laws regarding salons which I defy any normal new salon owner to try and decipher as to which pertain to them. We all try and cover the basics but have never been properly informed of the constant updates or maybe I should say could keep up with the petty changes made in order to keep our salons current. Here we are trying to run a small business in New York State but are obviously being prejudiced against with no reasonable compliance time to correct little errors and while being fined 500 times the normal amount for such little violations. Talk about being slapped in the face for pouring all my hard earned savings and for taking out thousands of dollars in loans to start a small business here as a final tribute to all the years I've already worked as a cosmetologist. Not to mention providing a decent place to work for my self and others here and this is the treatment we get from New York State to show for it. Very Un Fair Treatment for the little salons! Adrian @ Axcentrics Salon
Small Salon/Spa Rt 20 in Orchard Park
Gallery
NYS Div of Licenses Salon shake down
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says ... on Friday, Feb 25 at 10:13 PM
I had a similar incident happen to me they gave me a fine for the picture on my licience. The picture was only a year old and they said it wasn't current enough. it was a steep fine like approx. $350. there is no paper work that states the time frame
says ... on Saturday, Apr 18 at 6:44 AM
Hey come on NY State, are you listening governor? It's no wonder why businesses and residents are leaving by the droves..That's one reason we can't attract new business to WNY...look at the taxes, fees, etc. How much can you squeeze from us??
says ... on Saturday, Apr 18 at 4:50 AM
This seems totally unfair. I would think the law would protect you against such bully from the court system . I think you have a time limit. Not only that reseonable time . I bet when you go to court this will be dropped . Don't forget get a lawyer.
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