Lindsay Automotive Lawsuit: Who Qualifies and How to Claim a Refund

If you bought or leased a vehicle from a Lindsay dealership in the Washington, D.C. area between April 1, 2020, and December 31, 2025, you may be entitled to a refund under the Lindsay Automotive lawsuit settlement announced on April 2, 2026. Lindsay agreed to make more than $75 million available to consumers who were charged above advertised prices or billed for add-on products they never agreed to, on top of a $3.1 million civil penalty paid to the Maryland Attorney General.¹ Refunds are not automatic. You have to file a claim form after the settlement administrator sends it to you.

Who Qualifies for a Refund

Eligibility depends on which Lindsay store you bought from, and the rules differ.

If you purchased or leased from Lindsay Ford of Wheaton between April 1, 2020, and December 31, 2025, you qualify if you saw an advertised price and either paid more than that price or were charged for an add-on you did not consent to or were told was required. You do not have to be a Maryland resident.²

If you purchased or leased from Lindsay Chevrolet of Woodbridge or Lindsay Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram during the same window, you qualify only if you are a Maryland resident, saw an advertised price, and paid more than that price.²

Auction, business, dealer, and fleet purchases are excluded. If you already received a full refund for a specific overcharge, you cannot collect a second time on the same item.²

One boundary worth flagging: the settlement covers the three named dealerships. Lindsay Automotive Group operates many other stores across Virginia and Maryland under brands including Lexus, Cadillac, Volkswagen, Volvo, Buick, GMC, and Harley-Davidson, and the refund program does not extend to purchases at those locations.³

How the Refund Process Works

The refund system is claim-based. A third-party claims administrator, hired by Lindsay and approved by the Maryland Attorney General, handles the mailings and payments. Lindsay pays all costs of the process.²

Three deadlines drive the timeline:

Within 120 days after the court order takes effect, the administrator must mail notices and claim forms to consumers who appear eligible based on Lindsay’s records.
You then have 180 days from the date your form is mailed to complete and return it.
Once your completed form is received, the administrator has 30 days to send your refund.²

Because notices go out based on Lindsay’s own records, make sure the address on file with the dealership is current if you have moved since your purchase. If you believe you qualify and do not receive a form, contact the Maryland Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division at 410-528-8662.⁴

What You Can Be Refunded For

The complaint that produced this settlement described two main types of overcharges, and those are what the refund program targets.

The first is paying above the advertised price. Regulators found that between 2020 and 2023, 88 percent of Lindsay buyers paid more than the price the dealership had advertised online, with the average markup topping $2,000. One buyer traveled from Pennsylvania to the Woodbridge store for a Camaro listed at roughly $42,500 and was charged more than $5,000 above that figure.⁵

The second is unauthorized or falsely-mandatory add-ons. According to the complaint, 68 percent of consumers were charged for at least one product they had not agreed to or were told was required when it was not. Common examples included extended service plans, tire and rim protection packages, and guaranteed asset protection (GAP) insurance.⁶ For Lindsay Ford of Wheaton buyers, these add-on charges are refundable. For Lindsay Chevrolet and Lindsay Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram buyers, only the amount paid above the advertised price is covered.²

A third practice, forced financing, does not have its own refund category. Regulators alleged that more than a third of Lindsay shoppers were told they had to finance through the dealership to buy the car or to get the advertised price, and that Lindsay pushed its own financing to collect kickbacks even when customers arrived with cheaper pre-approved loans.⁷ The settlement addresses this going forward through conduct restrictions rather than a separate consumer payout.

Gather Your Paperwork Now

You do not have to wait for the mailing to start preparing. Locate your purchase or lease agreement, any printout or screenshot of the advertised price you relied on, your financing documents, and any receipts or line items for add-on products. When the claim form arrives, having those documents on hand will make the 180-day return window less stressful.

Both parties settled without admitting or denying wrongdoing, and Lindsay said it settled to avoid the cost of prolonged litigation.⁸ That does not affect your eligibility to claim a refund; the refund program is built into the stipulated order regardless.

What Changes at the Dealerships Going Forward

If you are still shopping at a Lindsay store, the settlement also imposes rules on how the company advertises and sells. Lindsay must show the total price of a vehicle, including all mandatory non-government fees, as the most prominent item in any visual advertisement. Before charging you for anything, the dealership must obtain “express, informed consent” through an affirmative act on your part after receiving a clear disclosure of the charge, what it covers, and whether it is optional.²

The order permanently bars Lindsay and the named executives from misrepresenting vehicle costs, the availability of vehicles at advertised prices, whether fees or add-ons are optional or mandatory, and whether specific financing is required. Regulators can demand records, interview employees, and send undercover investigators posing as customers for five years after the order takes effect.² Lindsay continues to operate all of its dealership locations; the settlement did not require any store to close.¹

1
FTC. FTC, Maryland Attorney General Secure Full Refunds, Additional Penalties Against Lindsay Auto Group
2
FTC. Lindsay Auto Stipulated Order
3
Lindsay Automotive Group. Lindsay Locations
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Maryland Attorney General. Attorney General Brown Announces Settlement With Lindsay Dealerships and Its Owners and Officers
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Washington Post. Lindsay Automotive Group Complaint
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FTC. FTC, Maryland Attorney General Act to Stop Lindsay Auto From Falsely Touting Low Prices, Overcharging
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FTC. FTC and State of Maryland v. Lindsay Chevrolet et al., Complaint
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CarPro. Dealership Group Fined $3 Million but Final Tally Could Be $75 Million