Consumer Alert
$505 million in refunds sent to payday loan customers
If you took out an online payday loan from a company affiliated with AMG Services, you may be getting a check in the mail from the FTC. The $505 million the FTC is returning to consumers makes this the largest refund program the agency has ever administered.
The FTC sued AMG and Scott A. Tucker for deceptive payday lending. When consumers took out loans, AMG said they would charge a one-time finance fee. Instead, AMG made multiple illegal withdrawals from peoples’ bank accounts and charged hidden fees. As a result, people paid far more for the loans than they had agreed to.
In 2016 the FTC won a court case against AMG and Scott Tucker. Then in 2017, a jury convicted Tucker and his attorney of crimes related to the lending scheme. The FTC and Department of Justice are using money obtained in both court actions to give refunds to consumers.
Here are answers to questions about AMG refunds.
Who will get a refund? Checks are being sent to consumers who took out loans between January 2008 and January 2013 from these AMG-related companies: 500FastCash, Advantage Cash Services, Ameriloan, OneClickCash, Star Cash Processing, UnitedCashLoans, and USFastCash.
How many people will get refunds? More than 1.1 million people will get refunds.
How does the FTC know who to send the checks to? The FTC and a refund administrator have used AMG’s business records to identify eligible consumers and calculate their refunds.
I’m eligible for a refund. What do I need to do? If you borrowed from one of the lenders listed above between January 2008 and January 2013, you don’t need to do anything. The checks are being mailed to eligible consumers automatically. There is no application process. If you borrowed from one of those lenders before January 2008, please call 1-866-730-8147.
How can I get more information? Visit the FTC’s AMG refund page or call 1-866-730-8147.
Three tips from the FTC:
- If you get a check, deposit or cash it within 60 days.
- The FTC never asks people to pay money or give information to cash refund checks. If someone asks you to pay to get a refund from the FTC, it’s a scam.
- The FTC has advice if you’re thinking about a payday loan or an online payday loan.
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In reply to Hello, what about Western by farokhfaraz2
The refund administrator, Gilardi & Co., that works for the US Department of Justice is working to verify claims now. The process could take up to a year. When the verification process is complete, the FTC will post information at www.FTC.gov/WU.
In reply to Can someone help me out I got by Fabian54
If you got a check made out to someone who is deceased, and you are in charge of that person's estate, you can call Rust Consulting, the company that the FTC hired to manage the refund process. Call 1-866-730-8147. They will explain what to do.
In reply to My check was sent to the by acmoe
Please ask the company that the FTC hired to manage the refund process. Call 1-866-730-8147.
In reply to Bridgett Small, why were by Lil Mae
The FTC mailed 1,179,803 refund checks to people, and sent out all the money that is available.
In reply to Is this our one and final by Bigdaddy146
The letter you got from the FTC said your check is a partial refund. It says that because the amount of your check is less than the total amount you paid to AMG Services, Inc. when it illegally charged you undisclosed and inflated fees. The FTC has sent out all the money that is available.
In reply to Why does it say partial by kkv
The letter you got from the FTC said your check is a partial refund. It says that because the amount of your check is less than the total amount you paid to AMG Services, Inc. when it illegally charged you undisclosed and inflated fees. The FTC has sent out all the money that is available.
In reply to Bridget, I just received a by Mb
The FTC sent checks to people who took loans between January 2008 and January 2013 from 500FastCash, Advantage Cash Services, Ameriloan, OneClickCash, Star Cash Processing, UnitedCashLoans, and USFastCash.
You might get one check or you might get more than one check. The number of checks you get is related to the name, address and account information the FTC found about you.
The FTC tried to combine information about accounts so it could send one check to each person. But sometimes it wasn't clear whether information was about one person or two people. When information was not clear, we did not combine it. For example, we did not combine accounts that had a maiden name and a married name, or accounts that had one name but two addresses. When we saw that, we sent separate checks.
The partial refund amounts of the checks were calculated based on the amount you lost from illegally charged fees on the loans you took before January 2013 with a company affiliated with AMG Services. Each person will get a refund for a percentage of their loss.
In reply to Bridget, I just received a by Mb
In reply to I had to have a check by Rayetteq
In reply to I had to have a check by Rayetteq
In reply to My letter had a check by feelinglucky
The letter you got from the FTC said your check is a partial refund. It says that because the amount of your check is less than the total amount you paid to AMG Services, Inc. when it illegally charged you undisclosed and inflated fees. The FTC has sent out all the money that is available.
In reply to The letter said partial will by Danny
The letter you got from the FTC said your check is a partial refund. It says that because the amount of your check is less than the total amount you paid to AMG Services, Inc. when it illegally charged you undisclosed and inflated fees. The FTC has sent out all the money that is available.
In reply to The letter said partial will by Danny
The letter you got from the FTC said your check is a partial refund. It says that because the amount of your check is less than the total amount you paid to AMG Services, Inc. when it illegally charged you undisclosed and inflated fees. The FTC has sent out all the money that is available.
In reply to I used one if these in 2010 by yozetteirid
You can call the company that the FTC hired to manage the refund process at 1-866-730-8147.
In reply to Does anyone know why letter by LD
The letter you got from the FTC said your check is a partial refund. It says that because the amount of your check is less than the total amount you paid to AMG Services, Inc. when it illegally charged you undisclosed and inflated fees. The FTC has sent out all the money that is available.
In reply to I received mine yesterday I by Lioness56
In reply to Hi Bridget can you hrlp me? by jad2222
Rust Consulting has been reviewing the documents people sent in, and has started to reissue the checks.
In reply to Rust Consulting has been by FTC Staff