Motorcycle dealers to pay restitution to consumers in AG deal

INDIANAPOLIS (Inside INdiana Business) — The Indiana Attorney General’s office says it has reached agreements with six Indiana motorcycle dealerships that will pay a total of $174,000 in restitution to consumers. The dealerships, located throughout the state, allegedly charged excessive document preparation fees to more than 1,700 customers over a two-year period. 

The dealerships are located in Bloomington, Kokomo, Lafayette, Michigan City, Plainfield and Valparaiso. Todd Rokita’s office says the dealerships were accused of charging fees “in violation of an earlier version of Indiana law that limited the types of fees dealers could charge for document preparation.”

The law states automobile and motorcycle dealers cannot charge more than $200 for document preparation. The dealerships allegedly charged customers $299 before lowering the fee to $199 in May 2019.

As part of the agreements, the dealerships will send $100 restitution checks to each customer who purchased a motorcycle when the alleged infractions occurred. 

“I will do all I can to put money back into the pockets of Hoosiers who fall victim to deceptive business practices,” Rokita said in a news release. “We are pleased that these dealerships have agreed to send checks to affected Hoosiers and to lower their document-preparation fees in accordance with Indiana law.”

The dealerships involved in the agreements include Indywest Harley-Davidson Inc., Harley-Davidson of Bloomington, Hunter’s Moon Harley-Davidson, Harley-Davidson of Kokomo Inc., Harley-Davidson of Valparaiso Inc., and Honda of Michigan City.