BOSTON -

American Credit Acceptance and Westlake Financial Services agreed this week to provide a total of $7.4 million in relief to thousands of Massachusetts consumers over allegations by the state’s attorney general that they charged “excessive” interest rates on their subprime auto loans.

Attorney General Maura Healey highlighted that her office has now recovered more than $12 million for consumers relating to what she believes are high-interest auto loans. Last November, Santander Consumer USA agreed to provide $5.4 million in relief to more than 450 Massachusetts consumers.

In the latest regulator development, the attorney general’s office identified approximately $1.7 million in relief for ACA loans and approximately $5.7 million in relief relating to Westlake loans.

Under the settlements, officials indicated additional audit work will determine if other loans are also subject to refunds. More than 2,000 Massachusetts consumers will benefit from the settlements, according to Healey’s office. On average, the settlement will provide each consumer with approximately $3,000 in relief.

Healey’s office added that the finance companies will also pay $225,000 to pay for implementation of the agreements.

Officials indicated consumers in these cases were overcharged because of fees associated with GAP coverage — a product that is intended to limit the shortfall between the payment on an auto insurance claim and the amount the borrower owes on a vehicle installment contract in the event the financed vehicle is totaled.

Healey’s office indicated these fees caused the effective interest rates on the loans to exceed the 21 percent state interest cap. GAP is sold by dealers as an add-on product and is often financed in the auto loan.

Under the terms of the assurances of discontinuance, filed Tuesday in Suffolk Superior Court, ACA and Westlake agreed to eliminate interest on certain loans they purchased that allegedly included excessive interest rates due to the inclusion of GAP coverage.

The finance companies also agreed to forgive outstanding interest on the loans and reimburse consumers for the interest they have already paid on the debts, according to the legal filings.

“There are protections in place to ensure that consumers who take out auto loans are treated fairly and not forced to pay illegal and excessive interest rates,” Healey said. “Our office will continue to make sure that these protections under state law are applied properly so that consumers are not exploited by predatory practices.”

This latest case is part of an ongoing subprime auto loan review initiative by the Healey’s office. Previously as part of this initiative, Healey’s office announced a $5.4 million settlement with SCUSA also relating to GAP fees and excessive interest.

In that matter, the settlement provided each consumer involved with approximately $11,000 in relief on average. Concentrations of involved contracts were located in Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Pittsfield, and Lowell

Under the settlement, Santander also paid $150,000 to the commonwealth and must perform a supervised audit of its existing loan portfolio to “make sure that no additional consumers have been overcharged because of GAP fees.”

When the agreement with SCUSA was announced, Healey said: “It is important that protections under state law are properly applied, especially when it comes to economically disadvantaged consumers in Massachusetts.”