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.
Topics
It is your choice whether to submit a comment. If you do, you must create a user name, or we will not post your comment. The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. Comments and user names are part of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) public records system, and user names also are part of the FTC’s computer user records system. We may routinely use these records as described in the FTC’s Privacy Act system notices. For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy.
The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.
We don't edit comments to remove objectionable content, so please ensure that your comment contains none of the above. The comments posted on this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. Opinions in comments that appear in this blog belong to the individuals who expressed them. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission.
In reply to Got mine today... was totally by aj
In reply to I received a check out of the by SDM
If you get a check from the Federal Trade Commission, it will come with an explanation of why you got the check and details about the case. You - and the bank - can look at www.FTC.gov/AMG for details about the refund. If you get a check, you should cash or deposit it within 60 days.
In reply to If you get a check from the by FTC Staff
In reply to My husband passed away in by NANA
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 I received a check out of the by SDM
In reply to I called US bank. They said by Mel
In reply to Will the check be from FTC v. by Got1
In reply to Will the check be from FTC v. by Got1
In reply to Will the check be from FTC v. by Got1
In reply to I got two yesterday. One for by cdw100578
In reply to Will the check be from FTC v. by Got1
In reply to got mine today, 1253.00 by sosostressed
In reply to got mine today, 1253.00 by sosostressed
In reply to got mine today, 1253.00 by sosostressed
In reply to How do I know this check is by jill
If you get a check from the Federal Trade Commission, it will come with an explanation of why you got the check and details about the case. You - and the bank - can look at www.FTC.gov/AMG for details about the refund. If you get a check, you should cash or deposit it within 60 days.
In reply to If you get a check from the by FTC Staff
In reply to Bridget Small I know you say by Co2
In reply to How do I know this check is by jill
In reply to How do I know this check is by jill
In reply to How much are the checks. by Tray
In reply to how do I know if this check by maggiemax
In reply to It's real my Husband cashed by Purplebutterfly06854
In reply to I’m seeing comments stating by ABC
If you get a check from the Federal Trade Commission, it will come with an explanation of why you got the check and details about the case. You - and the bank - can look at www.FTC.gov/AMG for details about the refund. If you get a check, you should cash or deposit it within 60 days.
In reply to If you get a check from the by FTC Staff
In reply to Bridget, by VFB
Some people did get more than one check from the FTC. When the FTC reviewed the information and prepared the checks, we tried to simplify the records sot that each person would get one check. But if there was something unclear in the records - like a person with a maiden name and a married name, or a person with two different addresses, we might have sent two checks.
In reply to I’m seeing comments stating by ABC
In reply to I’m seeing comments stating by ABC
In reply to I’m seeing comments stating by ABC
In reply to My husband and I both by logix
The FTC and US Department of Justice worked together to get the $505 million that is being returned to people. You can read about the cases at FTC.gov/AMG. The FTC has a contract with Rust Consulting Inc. to manage the refund process.
In reply to The FTC and US Department of by FTC Staff
In reply to My husband and I both by logix
In reply to I just got mine in the mail by Sunight!
In reply to I just got mine in the mail by Sunight!
In reply to Why does the letter say by lnh
The letter you got from the FTC said your check is a partial refund. “Partial refund” means that 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.