Wyatts Towing restitution

In December 2023, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser recovered $1 million as part of a settlement with Wyatts Towing (Wyatts). The settlement came after an investigation found that since 2019 the company towed thousands of vehicles without a valid permit or proper authorization, charged unlawful fees, illegally kept consumer funds, and engaged in deceptive and unfair business practices to discourage Coloradans from exercising their rights under the state’s towing laws.

Of the $1 million, $764,000 was directed to consumer relief through direct payments. The settlement also directed Wyatts to forgive $236,000 in consumer debt related to the reduced retrieval statute. That debt forgiveness is already in place for affected consumers.

Attorney General Weiser has directed that all $764,000 in monetary relief be distributed to Colorado consumers who were overcharged or towed without proper regulatory permits or authority.

The Attorney General alleged that Wyatts unfairly and deceptively engaged in the following conduct[1].

Towing without permits required by the state. State law requires towing carriers to renew their permits annually, and towing companies are not allowed to tow vehicles or retain any fees for tows without a valid permit. Between 2020 and 2023, Wyatts and affiliated companies towed vehicles when they did not have valid permits.

Illegally authorized tows. The Towing Bill of Rights, which went into effect August 10, 2022, prohibits tow drivers from approving tows and allows property managers and other third parties to authorize tows to avoid improper tows. Despite the new law, Wyatts still allowed drivers to authorize tows on residential properties between August 10, 2022, and September 20, 2022.

Improperly charged notification fees. Between October 1, 2019, and October 20, 2022, Wyatts charged approximately 2,000 vehicle owners a notification fee of at least $75 each for a nonconsensual tow, but the company never documented that it sent a notice via certified mail as required by state law.

The settlement can be found on the attorney general’s website.

1  The settlement also addressed vehicle sale issues. Towing operators may sell unclaimed vehicles to recover towing fees and costs, but they may not keep excess proceeds from the sale. Excess proceeds must instead be paid to the State and to vehicle owners. Before the Towing Bill of Rights, Wyatts kept excess proceeds that it had no right to keep. The attorney general’s office did not obtain restitution related to this alleged violation.

Under the Towing Bill of Rights, consumers can retrieve their vehicle if they pay 15% of the towing fees, up to a maximum of $60. The unpaid portion is a debt owed to the towing carrier and the consumer must sign a form affirming that they owe the payment. Under the terms of the settlement, Wyatts agreed not to collect on $236,000 in outstanding debt it is holding from consumers who participated in the company’s initial implementation of the reduced retrieval law.

Wyatts also agreed to change its business practices including the following:

• Refund all fees and costs charged to consumers for future tows that are done in error, and collect information from all individuals paying to release a towed vehicle for the purposes of refunds if ever deemed necessary;
• Not charge a notification fee until all statutory requirements have been met;
• Not impose additional obligations on consumers to retrieve their vehicle other than submitting the Public Utility Commission (, providing consumers with the PUC form, and when collecting remaining amount;
• Establish and implement policies requiring clear documentation for every vehicle sold or auctioned for overage payment purposes; and
• Conduct audits at least three times a year to monitor erroneous towing trends.

The settlement can be found on the attorney general’s website.

Consumers who are eligible for payments from the settlement fall into three categories:

First, consumers who were erroneously charged a notification fee of either $75 or $150 will receive refunds in those amounts. Roughly 2,000 consumers paid these illegal fees and are eligible for these refunds.

Second, consumers whose vehicles were towed when Wyatts did not have a proper permit from the PUC, or during the period when Wyatts was towing without proper authorization under the Towing Bill of Rights. Consumers eligible for these payments will receive an equal amount of approximately $164 per towed vehicle.

Third, some consumers who both paid the erroneous notification fees and had their vehicles towed improperly by Wyatts are eligible for both of the above payments.

If an impacted consumer already had their tow refunded, they will not receive restitution as part of the settlement with Wyatts.

Checks are being issued to consumers by January 2025. Checks must be deposited within 90 days of their issuance.

The attorney general’s office retained Rust Consulting to manage the distribution of the Wyatts settlement payments.

The checks are only valid for 90 days. Please cash your check at your earliest convenience.

Yes. Please contact the attorney general’s office at 1-800-222-4444 or consumer.protection@coag.gov and we can begin the process of reissuing a check.

Checks were issued to the groups of eligible consumers outlined above.

If you fall into one of these groups and you do not receive your check by April 30, 2025, please inquire with our office by phone at 1-800-222-4444 or by emailing consumer.protection@coag.gov.

Settlement recipients were identified during the course of the attorney general’s investigation into Wyatts. An individual was not required to submit a complaint to any agency to be considered a settlement recipient. If you believe you fell into one of the groups identified above and did not receive a check by April 30, 2025, please inquire with our office by phone at 1-800-222-4444 or by emailing consumer.protection@coag.gov.

Rust Consulting took steps to obtain updated mailing addresses for all consumers. If your check is returned to Rust as undeliverable, Rust will conduct additional searches for your updated address. If you believe you fell into one of the groups identified above and did not receive a check by April 30, 2025, because of a change of address, please inquire with our office by phone at 1-800-222-4444 or by emailing consumer.protection@coag.gov.

Please go to your financial institution first as they may cash it if documentation regarding the status of your name change is presented.

If the bank will not cash the payment, please write “void” on it and return the original payment to Rust Consulting, along with proof of your name change (e.g., marriage certificate).

Please go to your financial institution first as they may cash the payment if documentation regarding the status of the account holder and your status as the beneficiary/executor is presented.

If the bank will not cash the payment, please write “void” on it and return the original payment to Rust Consulting with a note explaining the circumstances.

If the sole payee is deceased, we can reissue the payment to the decedent’s Estate, or to the person appointed as Personal Representative of the deceased (e.g. an Executor or Administrator) but, in addition to the original payment, you will need to provide Rust a copy of the Death Certificate and a certified copy of the court’s appointment of the Personal Representative (e.g. Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration). We are unable to make a name change without proper documentation.

If you have guardianship or power of attorney you should be able to negotiate the payment if you present your legal documentation to the financial institution.

Please go to your financial institution first as they may cash the check if documentation regarding the status of the business and your status as the business owner/operator is presented.

If the bank will not cash the check, please write “void” on it and return the original payment to Rust Consulting, along with proof of the business’s dissolution or name change.