Claim for Refund of Foreign Currency Conversion Fees
 

Some folks will recall the suit against American Express for their foreign currency conversion fees on charges made in a currency other than dollars, and the settlement that followed.

Now there is a settlement in the class action against VISA, MC, and Diners Club for similar currency conversion fees. The lawsuit is about the price cardholders of Visa-, MasterCard-, or Diners Club-branded payment cards were charged to make transactions in a foreign currency, or with a foreign merchant, between February 1, 1996 and November 8, 2006. The Settlement Fund is $336,000,000!

Claims against the settlement fund have to be filed by January 9, 2008.

You can claim based on transactions made in foreign (i.e., non-US$) currency from February 1, 1996 through November 8, 2006.

For more information, down-loadable forms, etc., go to:

http://www.ccfsettlement.com/

Questions? 1-800-945-9890

This seems like a real waste from the point of view of the consumer. The procedure In terms of finding records to get a refund does not seem worth it to me, which seems really unfair to consumers. How is anyone supposed to realistically be expected to have charge records going back to 1996? Even for more recent records, it would seem that for most people, the time necessary for determining the amounts would not be worth the expected return.

It would be wise to look at the website where you would discover that reasonable estimates are perfectly okay in making your claim. :) Evidently the class counsel also thought it might be tough to come up with many years old records for most card users. So even bad record keepers (most of us) can get some bucks. :D

Unless there is something elsewhere, the following does not sound like a reaonsonable estimate. Also, "under penalty of perjury."

"You do not need to attach bank or credit card statements to your claim. However, by submitting a claim you are representing under penalty of perjury that all information provided is true and correct, that you have not submitted more than one claim form and that you are the primary card holder on the accounts included on your claim.

In addition, all claims are subject to audit and you may be asked to provide additional information to support your claim. Please keep proof of your eligible transactions until your claim has been processed. By submitting a claim, you authorize your bank and the settlement administrator to provide and share information to verify your status or claims."

Even if you want to object to this nonsense "If you object, you must also give notice to the attorneys for the class by hand delivery, overnight mail, or by certified mail, return receipt requested."

Unless I am missing something (I have not had time to read this carefully), it seems to me that this whole settlement is a bigger rip-off of the consumer than the original currency conversions.

I would love to tell the court this, but I do not feel like sending certified letters to everyone concerned. I am sure the lawyers who set this up realize that. Frankly we should be able to send one email or fax, but that would make it easy for consumers.

I was pretty interested in this, as I probably have a spend in the tens of thousands of dollars internationally during this period. However, there is no guarantee of what you are going to get back on this - it won't be decided until everyone submits a claim by next year.

Only the lawyers are going to make any sort of money on this...

I'm pretty sure I do, and I've done a whole bunch of international travel during the ten year period. The biggest problem for me would be figuring out when I've been charged fees. I know in recent years my bank has shown the converted amount in $ after posting the charge in local currency, but I don't remember off-hand them 'fessing up about additional fees along with.

Reminder! Time is running out . . .
 

Just a reminder that if you intend to put in a claim, time is running out.

Claims against the settlement fund were to have to be filed by January 9, 2008, but it seems (I do not guarantee this) that the deadline may heve been changed to May 30, 2008.

Also note the following from the website.

If I read this correctly, some of us should be receiving notices from our credit card issuers within the next week to ten days, and we can expect to see notices appearing in major financial newspapers and newspapers of general circulation around Christmas time.

For estimating spending, would it be reasonable to take your days in foreign locations and just multiply them by the applicable per diem rate set by the U.S. government?

Just input the number of out-of-country days on Refund Option 2, 'Total Estimation Refund', and the government will do the math.

I did the math and ended up deciding the slightly greater return from Option 2 was not worth the trouble of providing a bunch of active credit card numbers to an unknown server. So I opted for Option 1 and provided a single account number which was used for foreign transactions and has since been closed. Whatever information you choose to provide will likely live on in perpetuity on some server somewhere. And any breaches of the server will likely take a while to be reported to affected individuals. It's just not worth it to me.

From what it looks like [but I'm not 100% sure of this] you aren't required to put in your account number, just the bank name. Somewhere in the settlement documents it says if you don't put in your number they can't do the 3% refund, just 1%.

So you could withhold the numbers, and then if they don't like it and come back to you with a deficiency notice you can use the 45-day correction period to either give them the numbers or change which form you use.

Option 2 looks good:

"How will the amount of my refund be determined?(top)
If you are eligible for a refund, the amount of the refund will depend on a number of variables. The first variable is the Refund Option that you choose to file. Refund Option 1 will provide an easy refund of $25. Refund Option 2 will be based on typical spending patterns during travel outside of the U.S. Claimants who choose Refund Option 2 will provide an estimate of the number of days they spent outside of the U.S. during the class period and the frequency of their travels for the purpose of business, visiting friends or relatives, vacation/leisure, or other travel purpose. Travel purpose and time outside the U.S. are factors captured in the U.S. Department of Commerce annual Survey of International Air Travelers, and can be used as predictors of trip expenditures outside of the U.S. The Settlement Administrator will calculate the amount of the refund under Refund Option 2 using an algorithm. The algorithm is designed to provide an estimate of a Claimant’s refund using the information supplied in the Claimant’s Refund Option 2 claim form and other data, including from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s survey noted above. The algorithm calculation for a Refund Option 2 claim will be based on a 1% foreign transaction fee. Refund Option 3 will utilize the bank that issued your credit and/or debit/ATM card and the dollar amount of your foreign transaction fees (apart from any alleged increase in base exchange rates). Refunds for all claims, regardless of the option chosen, will depend on the amount of money available to pay claims and the number and total dollar value of all valid claims filed. You might get only a partial refund, or, in some circumstances, your claim might be adjusted upwards. Any reductions made to refund amounts are designed to ensure that every claimant receives a refund from the settlement. A reduction of the refund amount below $25 will only occur as a last resort."

Option 2 means you only estimate the number of days you were abroad. They will do the math. Option 3 requires you to give account numbers - but nice bonus - works for corporate cards as well. Option 1 isn't too bad 2 - hassle free $25. A lot of my friends did not get this so I wonder how the $300 million will de divided...

Plus, what really pisses me off is the 27.5% + $5M in expenses that go to the law firm. that's like $80 million...

I don't know if it's been mentioned here that the web site now says, "the deadline for filing a claim has been extended to May 30, 2008, and the deadline for opting out of the settlement damages class or objecting to the settlement has been extended to February 14, 2008."