CLARKSVILLE, Ind. -

The Indiana attorney general’s office recently reached a settlement agreement with a Toyota dealership in the Jeff Wyler Automotive Family to resolve allegations that the group charged what state officials deemed to be unfair processing fees when selling vehicles.

State officials indicated about 4,400 former customers will be receiving refunds in the amount of $142 during the next several months as part of settlement totaling $624,800.

Under Indiana’s Motor Vehicle Dealer Unfair Practices Act, dealers cannot require a vehicle buyer 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. Indiana attorney general Greg Zoeller determined Jeff Wyler Toyota of Clarksville consistently charged buyers a processing or document preparation fee of $479, “far higher than the actual costs the company could justify were incurred in preparing documents.”

According to the settlement approved by the Clark County Circuit Court, Jeff Wyler Toyota of Clarksville will pay $142 back to every customer who was overcharged when purchasing a car from the dealership within the past two years starting from Nov. 6.

The group also agreed to no longer charge document preparation fees in excess of $200.

Under the settlement terms, Jeff Wyler Toyota of Clarksville must mail half of the restitution payments to customers within six months of the signed agreement and the other half within the next six months, and the group must report the full list of eligible consumers to the attorney general’s office.

“Hoosiers file complaints with my office about auto sales more often than any other purchase,” Zoeller said.

“Indiana law has certain protections in place to help safeguard consumers when purchasing cars, including a statute that prevents auto dealers from tacking on unnecessary and inflated fees that are often disguised to the customer,” he continued. “I urge all Hoosiers to know their rights and arm themselves with information before purchasing a car.”

Jeff Wyler Toyota of Clarksville is one of two franchised stores the group runs in Indiana. The Jeff Wyler Automotive Family has a total of 25 dealerships with six operations in Kentucky and 17 more in Ohio.