I just had a long conversation with an inside party that told me about a massive settlement by the credit counseling company Money Management International to avoid further involvement in a suit that alleged they engaged in improper credit repair services through their debt management plans.
This case seems to clearly go hand-in-hand with a recent ruling that could expose credit counseling providers to similar suits alleging that a debt management plan could be seen as a form of credit repair and as such the credit counseling group would not be able to earn fees prior to the full delivery of those services.
The lawsuit: Janice Abat, Ildiko Nyleen, Jeanne Rossean, Shannon Carreiro, Nancy Wilksen, Erica Hal vs. Chase Bank, Money Management International, and Money Management International Financial Education Foundation (8:07-CV-01476), made the following allegation:
The plaintiffs allege: MMI DMPs included improper credit repair services prohibited by the federal Credit Repair Organizations Act; MMI did not operate like a tax-exempt, not-for-profit; MMI statements that it is a not-for-profit were false; and MMI’s activities improperly benefited Chase Bank. MMI denied all of plaintiffs allegations and asserted defenses including the results of a comprehensive, multi-year audit where the Internal Revenue Service determined MMI has operated as a tax exempt organization. MMI further asserts that by its terms the Credit Repair Organizations Act did not apply to MMI. The case only seeks reimbursement or restitution of fees and contributions. It does not affect payments to creditors. Chase denies all of these claims and other claims made by Plaintiffs. – Source
On October 1, 2010 a filing was made indicating MMI had just entered into a $6.5 Million settlement to extract itself from this case in full settlement of the claims alleged against them. – Source, Source
What makes this case so interesting and why all credit counseling agencies, regardless of 501(c)3 status and NFCC affiliation should take notice is that Money Management International is as mainstream as it gets. You would think that by all appearances Money Management International would be recognized as a fully approved credit counseling organization but here is where the Achilles heel is in my opinion.
Around 2005 the IRS conducted audits of large credit counseling groups in an effort to clean up the credit counseling industry. Those agencies that were audited and continue to operate are said to have entered into agreements with the IRS to change ways they operated to bring them into compliance. The letters are not public information but it appears that by entering into that agreement with the IRS that the agencies who did make changes, at the urging of the IRS, were effectively not operating as true 501(c)3 groups prior to that settlement with the IRS. That creates a huge exposure for any agency, no matter how mainstream they are, if they either entered into such an agreement or have not yet ended the audit process, as many have not yet.
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steve i was a plantiff in abat vrs chase bank i did all forms as requested would you have any idea what the amount of settlement would be thanks bill
According to the settlement document here each of the four named plaintiffs will get $5,000.
How much each class member is not specified but here is the formula.
The Claims Administrator shall determine each Participating Claimant’s share ofthe Net Settlement Amount based on the Class Member Information supplied by the MMI Defendants. Specifically, the MMI Defendants are to provide the total amount (in dollars and cents) paid by each MMI Class Member in set-up fees and/or contributions and monthly fees and/or contributions made to the MMI Defendants during the Class Period less any refunds and/or return of any amounts paid by each MMI Class Member (the “MMI Payment Amount”). If either the initial fee and/or contributions amount or the total monthly fees amount ofthe MMI Payment Amount for an individual class member does not exist in MMI’s records, then the Claims Administrator shall attempt to derive the payment information by (1) reviewing the class member’s contract and the number of months the DMP was active, and if unsuccessful, then by (2) applying the average of existing records for of all MMI Class members for the missing payment/contribution information. The Claims Administrator is then to calculate the sum of all MMI Payment/Contribution Amounts for all Participating Claimants (the “Aggregate Claim Amount”).
steve i was a plantiff in abat vrs chase bank i did all forms as requested would you have any idea what the amount of settlement would be thanks bill
I for one will be sending any settlement I might receive back to MMI as a donation. They have been more than helpful, have always answered any questions I have had, and have always been upfront regarding their fees. They never represented themselves as a credit repair company, but rather as an intermediary with the means necessary to help me get myself out of the financial mess I found myself in.
I for one will be sending any settlement I might receive back to MMI as a donation. They have been more than helpful, have always answered any questions I have had, and have always been upfront regarding their fees. They never represented themselves as a credit repair company, but rather as an intermediary with the means necessary to help me get myself out of the financial mess I found myself in.
I am thrilled that MMI was sued in the first place. When my start up failed in 2007, I was in a great deal of debt. I signed up for MMI services to help me pay my creditors. They constantly lied to me, dodged my calls, and refused to explain their fees and charges. After a year, I paid my creditors on my own and canceled MMI. To this day I have no idea of how much I paid MMI for their services. Complete lack of transparency and dodgy business practices. I wish the lawsuit was for more than 6.5M.
I am thrilled that MMI was sued in the first place. When my start up failed in 2007, I was in a great deal of debt. I signed up for MMI services to help me pay my creditors. They constantly lied to me, dodged my calls, and refused to explain their fees and charges. After a year, I paid my creditors on my own and canceled MMI. To this day I have no idea of how much I paid MMI for their services. Complete lack of transparency and dodgy business practices. I wish the lawsuit was for more than 6.5M.