I got a notice in the mail yesterday. It says I am eligible for a refund of fees charged by credit/debit cards on foreign transactions from 1996 through 2006. Apparently someone filed a class action lawsuit over fees. Has anyone else heard of this? I haven't really investigated it yet but a cursory internet search suggests it is legitimate.
On the upside, it made me count up how much time I spent in Europe during that time frame - 69 days!
Yeah, the lawyers get their millions but thanks to keeping good Quicken records, I can document over $8000 in foreign transactions that qualify. At even 1%, that means $80. I can use my "millions" to afford my next trip.
Yep, I got that, too. In fact, I got two of them, though it says you can only file one. I had 31 days out of the country during that time, but only since 2001. I already filed mine.
Sherry, I also received that notice a few days ago, and it appears legit. Not having heard anything about this lawsuit before, my hunch is that for 10 years the credit card companies buried fees in their exchange rate without adequate notice to cardholders. This suit is probably what prompted all the credit card companies to add conversion fees in the past year. Like you I added days up and found I was in Europe 94 days during that period. Not quite Rick Steves, but wow. I filed online for the middle option.
We got the same thing yesterday. We spent a month in Italy in 2003, so we'll do the middle option. I seem to recall that it says if you spent more than 10 days abroad in that time, you might want to do the middle option.
Would someone mind posting the online-link for this? I cant find the info/article?
thanks!
Just found this one - is this the main web link?
www.ccfsettlement.com
Don't get too excited.
It's a class action. A judge you've never seen will appoint an attorney you've never seen to represent you. The attorney will settle for a fraction of actual damage to consumers in exchange for you losing your rights to seek your own relief.
You will end up with a check for less than three dollars and the attorney firm will pocket millions in legal fees.
Your option is to exclude yourself. I visited the site but didn't read the fine print. Normally you have to take affirmative action to be excluded. You won't get any money from the settlement and the lawyer won't be able to make money on "your behalf". You will retain your right to a separate individual settlement.
The good side is fear of class action lawsuits is supposed to keep companies from harming consumers.
The bad side is an attorney you don't know selling your rights to collect damages in order to make themselves rich. This is how John Edwards made his money.
I'll confess, I'm a lawyer. I've even represented people in class action lawsuits, even though that is not my primary area of practice. And I've opted into class actions before and received a check. From reading the fine print, it looks like if I fill out the form I will receive between $25 and $70. I think I am going to go with the middle option.
Apparently there is often money left over from these suits because not everyone who is eligible files. See for instance http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/26/washington/26bar.html
The leftover funds do not go to the lawyers, who deserve to be compensated (don't they?) within reason for doing their jobs. (No, I'm not one myself.)
Easy to rag on lawyers, I guess, until you need one.
I've received several settlements from class action suits in the past. In one case, I received two checks, each for over $100. It all depends on how much the settlement is and how many people file for it. And even if the cynics think the settlement will be small, it's better than nothing!
Here are my concerns:
The whole thing seems very suspicious...has anyone contacted the alleged court or researched.
Ingrid
Ingrid,
All of that information is on the second page of the packet. #1 There is no seal because it wasn't sent from a court; it was sent the court appointed ed settlement administrator. #2 There are no less than 20 case numbers listed in the footnotes on page 2. #3 you only have to give out the last four digits of your SS# if you choose option 3. #4 Again on page 2 it lists the attorneys and who they are suing: Visa, Mastercard, and Diners Club #5 If you don't want to send the forms to a PO box you can do it electronically via the web site.
My son also got that packet. Per the documentation, it is not a requirement that you physically went to Europe. What is odd is that when he sold something on EBay to somebody in Germany he didn't use a credit card; PayPal was used. The guy in Germany might have used a credit card but I have no way of knowing that. It looks like they are “targeting” anyone who did commerce with anyone in Europe if a credit card might have been used.
Our local news channel did a story on this yesterday. They checked it out and say it is legit.
I just filed my claim for the $25 on line. I don't have time to go back to my records to figure out how much I've charged over the last decade of travel to Europe.
I'm happy to get the $25 back.
IMO....go for it. And, to save time, file on line, don't spend .41 to mail the paper back.
I received my notification in the mail yesterday. I keep track of my trips - so I estimated 105 days out of country during those 10 years. I filled out the on-line form today - took me a couple of minutes. I remember my credit card company started breaking out the exchange fee and listing it separately only recently. This must be what the suit was all about.
It's painless to fill out - and if you get some kind of money back - it's worth it.
Did anyone find out if www.ccfsettlement.com is a legitimate address to file a claim? I would hate to see people use this site only to find out that it was some con artist stealing personal information.
Christine, there's no information on the form to steal. Your name and address are preprinted on the form, and all you fill in is how many days in the past 10 years you have been out of the country. This was for the middle option.
What personal information could they steal? The web site only asks four questions: refund ID, confirmation of your address, number of days you traveled overseas, and the type of travel (business or leisure). It's very straight forward.
My husband threw out our form thinking it was scam. I do not have the claim ID number that was assigned to me. If you don't have that number, they (www.ccfsettlement.com) request the last 4 digits of your social security and your credit card numbers. I am obviously reluctant to do that if I am not 100% positive that this site is legit. Also, I called the phone number they list on the site 5 times only to be disconnected everytime I pressed "0" to speak to a live operator (an option given during the recorded message). This sends up red flags for me!
By the way, CNN did report today, 12/07/07, that this was a legitimate class action case. I just want to make sure that the site to file the claim, www.ccfsettlement.com, is legit. Does the class action form list a website that can be posted here for anyone who might need a new form? How about a phone number?
www.ccfsettlement.com is the website listed on the form as an alternate way to submit your claim if you don't want to mail it, so I would assume it's also legit.
Yea I got one today too. I guess it is legit.
Did anyone else notice the fine print on the inside first page: "Do not contact the Court, Defendants, or your bank with questions about this case." WHY NOT? Is this not legitimate? You're damn right I'm going to contact my credit card company!
It's telling you not to contact them because, the Settlement Administrator (the folks that mailed the packet out) were appointed by the US District Court to handle questions, claims, and anything else do with the settlement.
Yes, it is legitimate. Here is a link to the judge's order of preliminary approval of the settlement:
http://ccfsettlement.com/documents/memo-and-order-110806.pdf
If you have "Pacer" account, you can go to the website for the court (www.nysd.uscourts.gov) and view the docket and individual documents if you wish. It costs---8 cents a page, I think.
Brad said: "A judge you've never seen will appoint an attorney you've never seen to represent you. The attorney will settle for a fraction of actual damage to consumers in exchange for you losing your rights to seek your own relief."
That is not an accurate representation of a class action. And if you are concerned about "losing your rights to seek your own relief", you can opt out. But think about it. Suppose you took 4 foreign trips during those years, and charged an average of $3000 to your credit card each time. (That's generous). And suppose the FTF was 2 %. That's $240. Do you think you can get a lawyer to represent you to recover that $240? NO. Even if you choose to represent yourself, the filing fee is more than that.
Only my wife got the notice. Between the two of us, we have several cards, but only use a couple. There is no indication on the notice about which card (or cards) is involved.
Is there any way to tell which card or bank is involved? For our travels abroad, I don't think there are many charges on the card that is only in my wife's name.
Jerry, unless you are choosing option three to document higher expenses I don't think it matters which card was used. It appears that the refund will be figured based on how many days you traveled outside the US during those years (as well as how many people the money will have to be divided by), using a formula to determine your share.
Not sure what I want to do but here is a link from a news agency that might help people:
I'm going with the $25 option because it is the least invasive, even though I've spent more than $2500 overseas. I think this is legit but the $25 option is the quickest and safest (just in case):
http://www.komotv.com/news/consumer/7073532.html
http://www.9news.com/rss/article.aspx?storyid=82247
http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2007/12/03/daily13.html
http://www.smartmoney.com/news/pr/index.cfm?story=pr-20071203-000312-0701
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,234051.shtml
Thank You Jay.
That will mean a slightly bigger settlement for those of us that go for option 2 :)
I didn't write my comment to rag on lawyers.
I've been part of many class action suits over the years. I still have many of the checks I received because they were so small they are better conversation pieces than worth cashing.
A couple years ago I had one that sounded like I was actually going to get something back. I took time, went through my records, and documented hundreds of dollars in qualifying erroneous charges.
To my still naive surprise, I got a check for around three dollars and realized my time and effort simply put more money in the attorney's pockets. I should have taken the records and contacted the company directly through a personal lawyer.
I'll probably sign on to this one as well but it won't be with the expectation of getting anything of value in return.
If this nets me anything more than a couple of dollars it will be truly unique rather than just an exception to the rule.
I got the same package. I have taken a RS tour 5 out of the last 6 years and spent just about a month in Europe each time = 140 days (whew!) so I DO plan to file and see what happens! It should be better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick!
After attempting to Op/out of refund in class action I was unable to find out what I wanted to know from the internet I contacted the office in Phila. and they sent me the opt out form which contained a request for my credit card numbers and social security number. I don't trust this enough to give them my numbers. Most of the trips were through friends and one was a collette tour which paid for most items such as lodgings,food etc. I don't trust anyone anymore after Enron,Adelphia, Schwabb, Merrill Lynch. etc. Lots of luck.
I got the same notice about two weeks ago. I think that it is legtimate. Just send in the letter and mark the % purchased instead of the $25 only. Hopefully we will get a nice present in the mail. Otherwise...you have not given any private information out to anyone that they don't already have.
I did get a notice in the mail last month and I had sent my claim for the $25.00 ( the green form ) via certified mail on the 17th of December 2007. First, as of today nobody had picked up the mail at the address, PO box in Philadelphia. Second, last week my bank had canceled my debit card without advance notice and they told me they will reissue another one. My bank would not provide any further information to me. Thank God their security people were looking out for me. Please look at the envelope closely, there is no seal of the Philadelphia District Court at the upper right corner but Smith-Edward-Dundlop US postage paid. It is a scam, scam, scam!!!!!!!!!!!!
It probably safest to submit the claim on the official website.
Gerri, I submitted NO credit card information, social security information or any kind of personal information when I sent mine. The only information they had was what they already had before they sent the mailing. So I'm not sure what there is to be afraid of. The Philadelphia District Court never claimed to be sending the notice. It was sent by a settlement administrator who was hired to handle said settlement. I don't know that your debit card being cancelled had anything to do with this, since you say your mail hadn't even been opened yet.
Gerri, it is not a scam. I provided a link to the judge's order approving the settlement above. Here it is again: http://ccfsettlement.com/documents/memo-and-order-110806.pdf
And I explained how you could go to the court's official website and read actual case documents if you want.
If you received the official notice from the claims administrator there was a claim number and no need to enter your credit care number.
I don't know why they haven't picked up your letter---maybe they don't have time to go to the PO window and sign for it.
As for your debit card, if your bank won't explain why they changed it, there is something wrong with the customer service at your bank. But the cancellation has nothing to do with the class action settlement notice.
