Credit Counseling Class Action Settlement

Class Settlements, Notice and Case Information

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What do I do if I have not received my check by November 28, 2008?
  2. How do I update my address?
  3. What do I do if the person who received a check in this settlement is deceased?
  4. How do I return the check I received for this settlement?
  5. Who represents the class?
  6. Where did you get your information about me?
  7. How do I learn more?
  8. Should I continue paying money under my debt management plan?

1. What do I do if I have not received my check by November 28, 2008?

If you have not received your check by November 28 2008 and you previously received notices about this matter and you were a client of Ameridebt, you should call the FTC’s claims administrator at 1-888-309-3816.

As of June 19, 2009, if you were a client of an agency other than Ameridebt, have not received your payment it is now too late to request your check be reissued.

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2. How do I update my address?

It is important that you advise us of any change of address. If you were a client of an agency other than Ameridebt, please complete and return the change of address form that accompanied your check.

If you no longer have that form, you can click here to submit your change of address online.

If you were a client of Ameridebt, please send your change of address to:

United States of America
Federal Trade Commission
FTC v. AmeriDebt, Inc., et al.
Claims Administration Center
P.O. Box 808054
Petaluma, CA 94975-8054

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3. What do I do if the person who received a check in this settlement is deceased?

Checks made out to deceased class members should be given to the personal representative of the deceased to be deposited in the estate's bank account.

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4. How do I return the check I received in this settlement?

If you were a client of an agency other than Ameridebt, please return misdirected checks to:

Polacsek Class Administrator
P.O. Box 6198
Novato, CA 94948-6198

If you were a client of Ameridebt, return misdirected checks to:

United States of America
Federal Trade Commission
FTC v. AmeriDebt, Inc., et al.
Claims Administration Center
P.O. Box 808054
Petaluma, CA 94975-8054

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5. Who represents the class?

In addition to Ms. Alyssa Polacsek, Ms. Sarah Leoni, and Ms. Felecia Robinson, who are acting as representatives of consumers, the following attorneys seek to be designated as "Class Counsel":

Garrett M. Smith, Esq.
Michie Hamlett Lowry Rasmussen & Tweel PLLC
500 Court Square, Suite 300
P.O. Box 298, Charlottesville, VA 22902-0298
Telephone: (434) 951-7200
Fax: (434) 951-7218

David J. Vendler, Esq.
Morris Polich & Purdy LLP
1055 West Seventh Street, 24th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Telephone: (213) 891-9100
Fax: (213) 488-1178

Gregory S. Duncan, Esq.
412 East Jefferson Street
Charlottesville, VA 22902
Telephone: (434) 979-8556
Fax: (434) 979-9766

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6. Where did you get your information about me?

We obtained summary financial data on your debt management plan from a company called The Ballenger Group, LLC which was the last organization to manage the defendants’ debt management plans. The records indicated the identity of your credit counseling agency, your address, other identifying information, and in most cases some information about the payments you made to your CCA. The data will be used only to contact you and to calculate your share of the proceeds. Class Counsel believes that the information was accurate when it was saved, coming as it did from the company that was processing your DMP through the spring of 2005.

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7. How do I learn more?

You may inspect the Complaint, and all of the other papers filed in this lawsuit at your cost by electronic means. The Court's web site is ecf.mdd.uscourts.gov.

Full instructions as to how to download pleadings from the federal courts are available at pacer.psc.uscourts.gov.

Certain select pleadings are available without cost on this website. Click here to view the Court Documents Page.

A selection of pleadings is also available on the website of the Receiver: www.robbevans.com/html/debtworks.html

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8. Should I continue paying money under my debt management plan?

It is beyond the scope of our representation to advise you whether you should make a change to your debt management plan. We can tell you that DebtWorks, Inc., the for-profit company that was servicing all of the debt management plans of the credit counseling agencies listed in our class action notice is out of business. Its successor, The Ballenger Group, LLC, is also out of business. Therefore, if you are still making payments, your agency is presently using a processing company that is different from the ones we sued. It is also possible that your account was transferred to another credit counseling agency. You should have received a notice of any such change. If you are unable or unwilling to continue to give your credit counseling agency money for its services, you may wish to explain your circumstances or concerns to your counselor and ask for a change in your plan. You can also inquire of your agency whether it still has 501(c)(3) status and whether that status has been challenged by the IRS, and you can write to your agency and ask for copies of recent Form 990 informational returns it filed with the IRS, and read those to learn more about who it is paying for the services it uses.

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