Currency Conversion Fee (CCF) Settlement

Claim:   Credit card users may be eligible for refunds of $25 or more from the settlement of a class action suit over foreign currency conversions.

Status:   True.

Example:   [Collected via e-mail, December 2007]

Origins:   In 2006, a $336 million settlement was announced in a

CCF (Currency Conversion Fee) class action suit alleging that Visa, MasterCard and Diners Club brand credit cards overcharged customers when foreign transactions were converted into dollars and failed to properly disclose the fees involved in those transactions.

Beginning in November 2007, some 30 million credit card customers were sent mailings notifying them of the class action settlement and providing forms to use in obtaining refunds. Cardholders who used U.S.-issued Visa, MasterCard, or Diners Club cards for foreign transactions between 1 February 1996 and 8 November 2006may apply for refunds under the settlement agreement.

Customers have three refund options to choose from: a simple $25 refund, a "total estimation refund" of 1% of estimated foreign transaction activity, or an "annual estimation refund" of 1-3% of documented foreign transactions. Eligible parties may obain more information about the case and apply for their refunds by using the forms sent to them via U.S. Mail, visiting the web site ccfsettlement.com, or calling the toll-free number at 1-800-945-9890.

American Express is not part of this settlement, as a separate case against that company is still pending.

Additional information:

$25 Credit Card Refund Isn't a Scam (MSN Money)

Last updated:   3 January 2008

  Sources:

    Powell, Eileen Alt.   "30 Million May Share Cards' Foreign-Exchange Settlement."

    USA Today.   7 December 2007.