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 What if our check went to my by cynie54
You can call the company that the FTC hired to manage the refund process at 1-866-730-8147.
In reply to I have been waiting on hold by ltanguay
Checks from the FTC are legitimate. When you get a check from the Federal Trade Commission, it comes with a letter that explains why you got the check and gives details about the case. You and your bank can go to www.FTC.gov/AMG for details about the refund. You can call the company that the FTC hired to manage the refund process at 1-866-730-8147. If you get a check, you should cash or deposit it within 60 days.
In reply to Two questions: 1) why did I by left phone num…
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 letter you got from the FTC said your check is a partial refund. “Partial refund” in this case 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.
In reply to The FTC tried to combine by FTC Staff
In reply to Dear Bridget Small of FTC, by Refund Curious
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.
The partial refund amounts were calculated based on the amount a person lost from illegally charged fees on loans they 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 afraid to deposit this even by isthisforreal
The FTC will not send you an IRS Form 1099 related to your partial refund check. The FTC doesn't give tax advice; you could talk with someone at the IRS or a tax professional about whether this is taxable.
In reply to I got mine yesterday a little by Nikki44
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 So how do you find out if u by Nikki415
You can call the company that the FTC hired to manage the refund process at 1-866-730-8147.
In reply to My check says partial refund. by Abbeysgirl69
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 My mom seems to be eligible by Keisha
You can call the company that the FTC hired to manage the refund process at 1-866-730-8147.
In reply to In reading the letter by DBWhite
The letter you got from the FTC said your check is a partial refund. “Partial refund” in this case 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.
In reply to I just got $3,200 back!!!!! I by ann429
In reply to I got mine yesterday and was by shehawk
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.