Tuesday, 20 September 2011 10:44
By Matt O’Donnell

Chase Bank has reached a class action lawsuit settlement over allegations it induced individuals enrolled in debt management plans to pay fees to certain credit counseling agencies.

As a result, individuals who were enrolled in a debt management plan and paid fees to one of the 11 credit counseling agencies listed below may be able to receive a portion of the Chase Bank debt management plan settlement.

The class action settlement will resolve a lawsuit, entitled Abat, et al. v. Chase Bank USA, N.A., et al., that alleges the credit counseling agencies listed below misrepresented themselves as non-profit agencies and that Chase benefited from their allegedly false statements by inducing debt management plan enrollees into paying fees to them.

You are considered a Class Member of the Chase Bank debt management plan class action settlement if you had a debt management plan for which you paid either initial or monthly fees to any credit counseling agency affiliated with Andris Pukke, Eriks Pukke, DebtWorks or the Ballanger Group, including:

AmeriDebt, Inc.
CrediCure, Inc.
Neway, Inc.
Debtscape, Inc.
PreActiv, Inc.
Debticated Consumer Counseling, Inc.
A Better Way Credit Counseling, Inc.
Mason Credit Counseling, Inc.
Nexum Credit Counseling, Inc.
The Credit Network, Inc.
Visual Credit Counseling, Inc.

Chase Bank denies any wrongdoing but has agreed to establish a $4.9 million class action settlement fund to resolve the litigation. This money will be distributed in equal shares to Settlement Class Members who submit valid claims, after payment of Plaintiff awards, administrative costs, attorneys’ fees, etc. is paid out.

The amount of money you can receive from the Chase Bank class action settlement will depend on the number of valid claims submitted and the amount remaining in the Settlement Fund after the payment of all costs.

If the total number of valid claims submitted is less than 3,000, then each Class Member who submits a claim will receive an equal share of $2.25 million, or $750 each.

If you wish to receive a cash payment from the Chase Bank credit counseling class action settlement, you must submit a valid claim form either online or postmarked no later than October 10, 2011.

Claim forms and more information on your rights in the Chase Bank Debt Management Plan Class Action Lawsuit Settlement can be found at www.AbatSettlementClass.com.