(C) Colorado Newsline
This story was originally published by Colorado Newsline and is unaltered.
 . . . . . . . . . .



Colorado AG reaches $1 million settlement with towing company for ‘deceptive practices’ [1]

['Lindsey Toomer', 'More From Author', '- December']

Date: 2023-12 

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said this week that a controversial towing company had agreed to a $1 million settlement with the state after the company took advantage of consumers through a variety of business practices that violated state law.

Wyatts Towing agreed to the settlement after a months-long investigation that found the company unlawfully charged consumers and towed thousands of vehicles without a valid permit since 2019, according to a Thursday announcement from Weiser’s office. The company’s business model also incentivized staff to tow as many vehicles as possible, as they worked on commission.

“Wyatts Towing used deceptive practices and broke the law to make a quick buck. They are now taking responsibility and cooperating to resolve this case,” Weiser said in a statement. “While consumers who knew to complain got their money back, those without the time, training, or awareness to act as their own lawyers got cheated out of their hard-earned money. Thanks to this settlement, which will reform how Wyatts operates, future consumers will be treated more fairly.”

State towing permits must be renewed annually, and Wyatts and other affiliated companies owned by its parent company, Towing Holdings, continued towing without valid permits.

Over one five-day period in September 2022, Wyatts collected over $100,000 from towing hundreds of vehicles and selling some of them at auction, Weiser’s office said. The company sold customers’ vehicles after they were unable to pay towing fees and kept the money.

A Colorado law passed in 2022 prevents tow truck drivers from authorizing a nonconsensual tow, instead requiring approval from property managers and other third parties. Wyatts still allowed its staff to authorize tows after this law went into effect and only refunded towing fees to those who filed a complaint.

The law also allows people to retrieve their vehicles if they pay 15% of the towing fee and sign a form affirming they will pay the rest of the fee. Weiser’s office said Wyatts deterred consumers from this option by telling them the form was available online, and also charging the highest allowable interest rate after someone would enter a loan agreement.

Wyatts won’t collect the $236,000 in outstanding debt that remains for consumers who agreed to the loan program under the settlement agreement. The company will also pay $764,000 to the state to be used for restitution, future fraud or antitrust enforcement, consumer education, or public welfare.

Wyatts also committed to improving its business practices and will conduct audits at least three times a year to monitor towing trends.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/colorado-ag-reaches-1-million-settlement-with-towing-company-for-deceptive-practices/

Published and (C) by Colorado Newsline
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/coloradonewsline/