Settlement on Foreign Transaction Fees
Class action settlement reached on foreign exchange fees…
If you made a foreign transaction with a Visa, MC, or Diners Club credit or debit card between 2/1/96 and 11/8/06, you may be entitled to up to $25 or more in a class action settlement over foreign exchange fees. A settlement has been reached in the Foreign Currency Conversion Fee Antitrust Litigation. Plaintiffs challenged how the price of credit and debit / ATM card foreign transaction fees were set and disclosed to customers. The Defendants include Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club, Bank of America, Bank One / First USA, Chase, Citibank, MBNA, HSBC / Household, and Washington Mutual / Providian.
The court action charged that between February 1, 1996 and November 8, 2006, the defendants conspired to set and conceal fees, typically of 1 - 3% of foreign transactions and that Visa and MasterCard inflated their exchange rates before applying these fees.
The deadline for filing a claim is May 30, 2008. The deadline for opting out of settlement damages or objecting to the settlement is February 14, 2008. The hearing for final approval is scheduled for March 31, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, 500 Pearl Street, New York, N.Y. 10007. This date is subject to change. For up-to-date information on the status of the settlement visit, http://www.ccfsettlement.com.
If you meet the qualifications and choose to request a refund, you may use one of three refund options. Each of these options will pay a single refund of fees charged for foreign transactions on ALL of your eligible cards. You may choose only ONE option from the following:
Refund Option 1 - Easy Refund of $25 (Green Form); Recommended if you traveled outside of the U.S. for less than one week or had foreign transactions of less than $2,500 using your eligible cards during the 1996 to 2006 period.
Refund Option 2 - Total Estimation Refund - 1% of estimated foreign transactions. (Blue Form) Recommended if you traveled outside the U.S. for more than one week or had foreign transactions of more than $2,500 using your eligible cards during the 1996 to 2006 period. Refund is based on typical spending during travel and your answers to a few questions about your own travel outside of the U.S.
Refund Option 3 - Annual Estimated 1 - 3% maximum of foreign transactions. (Red Form) Recommended if you had extensive foreign travel or foreign transactions and are willing to provide year-by-year information. Refund based on information you provide. This is the only option for corporate card use.
April 29th, 2008 at 7:10 am
[…] in the past about excessive foreign exchange fees and a recent ruling favoring consumers. The Foreign Currency Conversion Fee Antitrust Settlement provides approximately $336 million to an estimated 2.6 million credit card users who may have been […]