Dealer Will Payout $624,800 In Settlement Over Doc Fees

Another franchise dealer is being forced to pay out a large sum of money after an investigation into their so-called doc fees. Jeff Wyler Toyota in Clarksville, Indiana has settled with the state attorney general’s office to payout $624,800 in restitution to customers to whom they charged doc fees that were found to be too high. That payment comes out to a $142 for each of the 4,400 customers covered in the settlement, which goes back two years.

According to a press release from the office of Indiana attorney general Greg Zoeller, “Under Indiana’s Motor Vehicle Dealer Unfair Practices Act, auto dealers cannot require a motor vehicle purchaser to pay a document preparation fee unless the fee reflects expenses actually incurred for the preparation of documents and was negotiated by and disclosed to the customer.” Jeff Wyler Toyota was found to have charged doc fees around $479, which the state ruled was higher than could be justified to cover costs.

The Toyota store has to send payments to 2,200 of the customers within the next six months and follow-up with the second 2,200 thereafter. The AG’s office is asking customers who purchased from this store during the past two years to contact the dealership to see if a refund is available.

Forty-one of 50 states in the U.S. have no caps on doc fees, while other states have individual rules, caps and restrictions. We told you last week about another dealership, which paid out $2.8 million in a doc fee lawsuit, could national regulation over doc fees be on the way?

What do you make these two high-dollar dealership doc fee payouts becoming public in the last seven days? Do you think there be an uptick in lawsuits and lawmaker pressure to alter doc fee laws? Finally, what is the doc fee situation in your state?