- Washington AG Bob Ferguson reached a settlement with automobile towing company Chuck’s Towing and Recovery to resolve allegations that the company violated the Washington Consumer Protection Act and the federal Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”) in three cases in which vehicles were towed and then sold at auction.
- In February 2020, a woman serving in the U.S. Coast Guard complained to the AG’s office that her car was sold at auction while she was stationed in Oregon without the company first determining whether a service member owned the car. Had it done so in her case, as well as in two other cases where Chuck’s Towing auctioned off cars, the company would have been required to obtain a court order before selling the vehicles as required by the SCRA. In addition, the tow company is alleged to have violated the CPA by failing to create, maintain and update policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the SCRA.
- According to the Assurance of Discontinuance, Chuck’s Towing will be required to pay $13,087 in restitution to the three service members whose vehicles were towed and $4,000 to the AG’s office to fund future investigations and litigation of SCRA actions.