The corporation that operates Westchester Toyota in Yonkers will pay a six-figure fine to settle a claim by the state attorney general”™s office that the dealership was charging customers improper fees.
Westchester Foreign Autos Inc., which does business as Westchester Toyota at 2167 Central Park Ave. in Yonkers, will repay a total of $149,407 to 228 customers who were wrongly charged a fee for buying their vehicle at the end of their lease, the attorney general’s office reported. The dealership will also pay $22,000 in costs and penalties to New York state.
“New York auto dealers, like all New York businesses, cannot charge hidden fees and offer nothing in return. If they do so, they are breaking the law, deceiving their customers and creating an unfair marketplace,” Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said in a press release. “My office will continue to monitor this dealer”™s business practices and those of other auto dealers, to ensure that they are fair and honest.”
A phone message left for the general manager at Westchester Toyota seeking comment was not returned.
According to the attorney general”™s office, Westchester Toyota charged customers who were purchasing a vehicle at the end of their lease a “buyout fee,” in addition to the purchase price, that ranged from $295 to $2,895.
The buyout fee was not disclosed when the customers originally leased their vehicles, the attorney general’s office said, and Westchester Toyota provided few, if any, services or benefits to consumers in exchange for the fee.
