San Diego, Calif., city and county prosecutors last week filed a lawsuit against two area stereo stores accusing them of false advertising and unfair business practices, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. The suits allege Stereo 1 Warehouses in San Diego and Chula Vista, Calif., advertised prices and free installations of car stereo systems that were rarely given to customers.

The City Attorney and District Attorney offices filed the suit jointly following a year-long undercover investigation, according to the Union-Tribune. Officials said customers rarely received the advertised free installations because they were required to buy additional parts.

Deputy City Attorney Cindy Davis told the Union-Tribune the complaint requests a court order halting Stereo 1 Warehouse's advertising and ordering it to repay consumers, as well as $4 million in penalties.

The paper reported that investigators sent an undercover shopper into the stores to try to buy a $69 stereo. The shopper was reportedly told his final bill would amount to $122 because of the additional installation accessories, after which the store attempted to sell him a different stereo for $140. Davis told the Union-Tribune the investigator intended to buy the $69 item, however he still ended up with the more expensive item and did not notice the switch until the transaction was completed. The more expensive stereo, Davis said, actually sold for less wholesale than the $69 item.

Davis told reporters shoppers have filed at least 42 complaints against Stereo 1 Warehouse in recent years.

The stores' owners did not comment on the newspaper's report, as their attorney had not yet seen the complaint.

"When an advertiser says installation is free, it should be free," District Attorney Bonnie M. Dumanis told the Union-Tribune in a prepared statement. "These practices violate the state's false advertising and unfair competition laws."