There has been a lot of talking about the cross-action lawsuit against major credit card issuing companies – Visa, MasterCard and Diner’s Club. Millions of Americans are going to claim a refund of their foreign exchange fees. Special letters have been sent all across the country to notify credit card users that they are eligible to get some of their money back.
Credit card companies are infamous for the long-term practice of ‘hiding fees’. When a credit card deal is being promoted banks are to disclose all the information about the offer. Unfortunately, some of the information remains hidden. Anyway, that was the case with foreign exchange fees. Credit card users paid about 1%-3% for making transactions while traveling in other countries and they didn’t even know about it.
Recently the court decided that this practice was unlawful. Visa, MasterCard and Diner’s Club will pay approximately $336,000,000 to members of the settlement class. A special fund has been created by the credit card companies.
Everyone who used a Visa, MasterCard or Diner’s Club credit or debit/ATM card in a foreign country between February 1, 1996 and November 8, 2006 is eligible for a refund. You can submit your claim till May, 30 2008. If you do not want to claim the refund you can also request to be removed from the list. You can send a letter by mail or submit your claim form online. There is a special website that covers the lawsuit and gives answers to all the questions about the refund.
A number of lawyers have been appointed to help members of the settlement class so they won’t have to hire lawyers. However, you can hire one at your own expense.
There are three major options for you if you would like to claim a refund.
For those whose trip abroad was less than a week or whose transactions were less than $2,500 there is an Easy Refund. They will get a $25 refund regardless of the exact amount of the transactions made. This option is meant to save time because there is no need in proving how much you spent.
You can also request a Total Estimation Refund. Its amount will be based on your usual spending while in another country. You will just need to answer several questions on the claim form. This will work best for you if traveled for more than one week or spent more than $2,500.
If you have no problems presenting year-by-year information on the transactions made during the time of your travel you can get an Annual Estimation Refund. This option is mostly recommended to credit cardholders who traveled a lot and spent large amounts of money.
Whenever you think of applying for one of the credit card deals do not forget to read the terms and conditions carefully. And every time you receive your credit card bill remember to check what you have been billed for so you will not have to pay any fees you have never heard about.
How to Get Your Foreign Exchange Fees Refunded
