Any Iowa truck drivers who paid a $149 fee to a Texas company for submission of federal documents that could have been filed for free are due a refund. Iowa Attorney General, Tom Miller, says Compliance Processing Group, LLC of Frisco, Texas had sent past-due notices to Iowa truck drivers under the name FMCSA Compliance Processing Group. These letters warned truckers that if they did not immediately contact them, they risked fines of up to $10,000 per day and that they would be put out of service per the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Their mailers deceptively implied it came from a government agency and that civil penalties would accompany any failure to respond. It was only in the small print at the bottom that it stated the company was not a government agency. “The success of the Respondent’s business model depends upon exploitation of truck drivers who are attempting to be responsible, but who do not know submitting a required biennial report to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is easy and free,” says Miller. As part of a settlement agreement, the company will refrain from soliciting, offering or selling services related to government compliance to Iowans and will provide full refunds to any Iowan who requests one, for any reason whatsoever. General inquiries on this can be sent to the Attorney General’s Office at webteam@ag.iowa.gov or impacted individuals can call 515-281-5164.
