Beaverton resident Tim Wilson has parked in the same designated spot at the Cedars West apartment complex for 17 years and pays about $25 a month for the covered space.

So he was stunned when he woke up one August morning and found his 2017 burgundy Ford Fusion missing.

"I was just getting up to go to work and my freakin' car was gone,'' Wilson said.

His apartment manager said she didn't have his car towed. She called Sergeants Towing, and learned one of the company's drivers had hooked up Wilson's Ford.

His apartment manager told Sergeants that Wilson's car was parked legally. About 12 hours later, the car was returned to Wilson. But later that day, he found the under carriage damaged and filed a complaint with the state Attorney General's Office.

Wilson's complaint was one of 29 filed with the state against Sergeants Towing by consumers in the last two years.

On Wednesday, Oregon's Attorney General Ellen F. Rosenblum announced a settlement with the towing business, requiring Sergeants to pay $75,000 in fines, with $50,000 suspended if it meets all conditions. If not, it must pay the full sum.

The company also must pay $4,456 in restitution to seven consumers.

The agreement comes as a new state law, Senate Bill 117, went into effect Jan. 1 requiring towers to receive written or signed authority from a private parking facility before taking a car. It also prohibits them from towing cars unless a sign in plain view restricts parking.

Towers also may no longer stop within 1,000 feet of a parking facility looking for potential tows, what's known as "patrol towing,'' without posting signs noting the hours of monitoring.

Jesse Copeland, general manager for Sergeants Towing, signed the agreement with the Oregon Department of Justice. He didn't return calls or emails seeking comment.

"Towing operators have to play by the same rules as any other business, and they cannot arbitrarily tow a vehicle without clear signage or without a clear reason to tow,'' said Kristina Edmunson, the state Justice Department spokeswoman.

Among the other complaints was Blake Colbert, a Washington man who visited his mother in Milwaukie on Nov. 27, 2016, stayed overnight at her place, the Heather Crossing apartment complex, and the next morning discovered his car, parked in a visitor's space, had been towed.

He had to pay $249 to Sergeants to get his car out of its impound lot. Sergeants told Colbert that the car had been towed because he had "backed in'' a lot where that wasn't allowed. Colbert documented there were no signs prohibiting backing in to spaces and that his car had a visitor parking permit hanging on its rearview mirror.

"I want a full refund,'' Colbert wrote to the state. "This is very obviously a predatory practice.''

Sergeants has been ordered to refund the $249 to Colbert.

As part of the agreement, Sergeants also must:

-- Create a written record of the time, date, phone number and name of the property owner who granted them permission to tow a car and keep the document on file for two years.

-- Take at least five photos of all vehicles towed and record the time and date of the photo before towing. The photographs should show the parking violation, including any signs that justify the towing.

-- Release a car once a hookup is complete if the owner or operator is present, in exchange for a hook-up fee.

-- Release a vehicle at no charge when the hookup is incomplete and the owner or operator is present at the time of the tow.

--Not tow a vehicle unless it's parked in violation of a property owner's parking policy.

-- Train all current employees within 30 days of the Dec. 29 settlement and train all new employees within 30 days of hiring about Oregon towing laws and maintain documentation of the training for two years that includes the method, date, time and location of the training.

Within 60 days of the agreement, Sergeants must pay $2,500 to Wilson, the Beaverton car owner, for the damage to his car.

"They earned it,'' Wilson said, his anger still apparent months later. "I understand towing is necessary. But they need to clean up their act. That's not how you do business.''

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian