State College towing company facing lawsuit from state AG’s office for ‘deceptive practices’
Walk’s Service Center in State College is facing significant fines and penalties for unfair and deceptive practices since at least 2012, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday by the state attorney general.
According to the 59-page lawsuit, Walk’s is accused of issuing parking tickets on private property — which is within their rights in the commonwealth — but having them “camouflaged” as if they were government parking tickets. Walk’s then demanded consumers pay under the “false threat of prosecution and/or the unlawful retention of their vehicle,” per the lawsuit.
For towed vehicles, Walk’s is also accused of misleading consumers by having such parking tickets itemized on towing slips, which did not explain what a “ticket fee” was and which sometimes exceeded the borough’s maximum towing services fee schedule. Walk’s tickets also sometimes directed customers to pay through an online alias, such as the more official-sounding “Parking Management & Enforcement” at pmepay.com, which makes no mention of Walk’s.
An attorney for Walk’s told the Centre Daily Times on Thursday that they will “vigorously defend this unjustified lawsuit.”
“Our response is that the complaint is completely baseless,” said Mark Stewart, an attorney for the Harrisburg-based firm Eckert Seamans. “These accusations have no merit at all. Walk’s practice of ticketing people who park illegally on private lots is 100% consistent and compliant with the borough.”
The office of the state attorney general is seeking a $1,000 fine for each violation of the Consumer Protection Law and a $3,000 fine for every violation involving a victim who is 60 years old or older. It also wants Walk’s to surrender all profits from what it deems deceptive practices (and stop such practices immediately), pay the court costs and make full restitution to customers.
A spokesperson from the state attorney general’s office, Mark Shade, confirmed the fines could reach up to six figures, although he said that’s ultimately up to the courts.
Walk’s — which has a one-star Yelp rating and a 1.4-star Google rating — is contracted by a number of private property owners to tow and/or ticket vehicles that park on their respective properties. It’s been in State College for more than 25 years.
The business has 20 days to respond, from the time it is served the lawsuit. Neither Walk’s nor Walk’s attorney had been officially served as of Thursday afternoon, Stewart said.
“Walk’s business practices are 100% compliant with the law,” Stewart added. “The attorney general is trying to apply a square peg to a round hole, and there’s no reason Walk’s should stop complying with and following the borough’s ordinance.”
According to the lawsuit, the commonwealth has received “a number of consumer complaints” against Walk’s — which the lawsuit says also goes by the names Parking Management & Enforcement, Walk’s Auto Sales and Service, Inc., Karch Auto and Walk’s Towing — and several complaints have been filed with the Better Business Bureau. The state attorney general’s office also specifically outlined two local consumer cases.
In one case, which occurred in May 2018, a female Centre County resident said she was told a tow would be $170 — but, upon arrival, was instead told it would be $190 because of the ticket fee. It was only later the resident learned the parking ticket hadn’t come from the borough. In another case, in July 2017, a male county resident went into a leasing office to secure a parking permit and was ticketed during that time. He paid a $15 ticket fee and a $75 drop fee when Walk’s attempted to tow his vehicle.
Neither the borough nor the police department were able to say how many, if any, complaints were made against Walk’s to either entity. Lt. Greg Brauser from the police department referred all other questions to the state attorney general’s office.
Like the borough’s parking tickets, Walk’s is printed on white paper with the words “PARKING VIOLATION” in red letters at the top. They also have similar information, and the state attorney general’s office pointed out that Walk’s tickets state nowhere that such tickets can be contested while they also incorrectly cite a borough ordinance that was repealed in 2003.
Stewart countered that, while Walk’s tickets didn’t explicitly state they are not from the borough, they also do not claim to be from the borough either.
The civil case will be tried in the Court of Common Pleas of Centre County. Attorney Kevin R. Green will represent the commonwealth, and any residents who were impacted by the practices can still contact the attorney general’s office.
This story was originally published November 5, 2020 at 5:50 PM.
