Credit Card Currency Conversion Settlement is Legit

January 2, 2008

Did you recently receive a packet of information about a lawsuit over foreign currency conversions relating to credit and/or debit cards? If so, don’t throw it away! It likely indicates that eligible for a piece of a $336 million class-action settlement involving Visa, MasterCard, and/or Diner’s Club cards issued by major American banks including Bank of American, Chase, Citi, and others.

According to the Currency Conversion Fee Settlement web site:

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. Plaintiffs challenge how the prices of credit and debit/ATM card foreign transactions were set and disclosed, including claims that Visa, MasterCard, their member banks, and Diners Club conspired to set and conceal fees, typically of 1-3% of foreign transactions, and that Visa and MasterCard inflated their base exchange rates before applying these fees.

But be careful… Scammers are almost certain to use this as an opportunity to separate you from your personal data. So ignore any e-mails regarding the settlement, and make sure that any paperwork that you fill out and send in is addressed to:

Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 290
Philadelphia, PA 19105-0290

The deadline for filing claims is May 30, 2008.

Posted in Credit Card News