Question: My family received three checks worth $18.04 each, through the mail, from the Foreign Currency Fee Litigation Settlement Fund, based in Philadelphia. We have no connection to this organization. Is this a scam?
Answer: It’s not a scam, but your family had to have put in a claim before May 30, 2008, to receive the refund checks for foreign currency purchases made on credit, charge and debit cards between Feb. 1, 1996, and Nov. 8, 2006.
In our office at least three people recently received checks for $18.04 from the settlement administrator from the Foreign Currency Fee Litigation Settlement Fund.
Checks began going out after the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Oct. 5 authorized the administrator to disburse the $336 million settlement, reached in 2006, of the class-action antitrust lawsuit involving holders of Visa, MasterCard or Diners Club credit or debit cards.
The lawsuit charged that the credit card companies engaged in price fixing and did not disclose foreign transaction fees ranging from 1 percent to 3 percent on card statements. The companies did not admit guilt in the settlement.
More than 10 million people submitted claims prior to the deadline, meaning the individual refund amounts had to be adjusted downward. A good chunk of the settlement went to attorneys’ fees.
Because of the large number of claimants, checks are being mailed by region, with the mailing expected to continue to the end of the year.
Go to www.ccfsettlement.com/home for more information.
Meanwhile, many claimants could be part of a second pending lawsuit, Ross v. American Express Co., which also seeks damages for foreign transaction fees charged between July 22, 2000, and Nov. 8, 2006, using certain Visa, MasterCard or Diners Club cards.
A tentative figure of $49.5 million has been reached. If approved by the court, the net settlement proceeds, minus attorneys’ fees and expenses of up to $13.875 million, will be distributed in the future.
American Express credit or charge cards are not involved in the lawsuit. Only certain Visa, MasterCard or Diners Club credit or charge cards are covered. Plaintiffs claim that American Express conspired with certain banks that issue Visa, MasterCard and/or Diners Club credit and charge cards to set and conceal fees on foreign transactions, in violation of antitrust laws.
Question: I have accumulated a lot of savings bonds. Where can I go to cash them?
Answer: According to the U.S. Treasury Department, you can cash your EE/E bonds and savings notes at most financial institutions.
To redeem your bonds, you will need to provide proof of your identity. It’s suggested you check with the bank first to find out what ID and other documents will be needed.
Find more information at www.treasurydirect .gov/indiv/research/indepth/ebonds/res_e_bonds_eeredeem.htm or your local financial institution.
The alternative is to contact the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis at P.O. Box 214, Minneapolis, MN 55480; or call 800-553-2663.
Mahalo
To a couple at Big City Diner Pearlridge. A friend of mine in Army uniform and I were having breakfast there last month. As we were finishing up, a waitress told us an older couple who had just left paid for our meal to thank my friend for his service in the armed forces. The waitress said they didn’t want us to know, but I’m so glad she did. Every day you read about the bad in Hawaii, just remember there is also good. — Anonymous
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Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
