Rochester, N.Y. - Bill Querney is retired and has been around long enough to know to be skeptical of anything that sounds too good to be true. Then two days ago he received a check from someone he doesn’t even know.
“I thought it was bogus, really bogus,” says the Penfield resident. “Or maybe a gimmick.”
Yet before throwing it away, he pulled out a magnifying glass to take a closer look for any fine print that might suggest a trick. “I had nothing better to do so I did that, but I didn’t find anything (out of place),” he says.
The very same day his daughter Jennifer Benson and her husband received not one check, but two. All three checks are made out for the same amount: $18.04. Hardly a fortunate, still there were lots of questions.
“It’s nice,” says Jennifer Benson. “But then you do worry when you cash it, what does it mean? Are you signing up for something you didn’t want to sign up for?”
But 13WHAM News has learned the checks, drawn on Huntington National Bank, are legitimate. They are the result of a $336 million dollar settlement of a class action lawsuit against MasterCard, Visa and Diners Club.
The companies were investigated for conspiring to fix rates for transaction fees paid by consumers when they used their cards for purchases outside the US. Details of the settlement are spelled out here: http://www.ccfsettlement.com/home/
The settlement covers purchases made between 1996 and 2006. Affected consumers would have received a notice in the mail requiring them to take action only if they did not want to be part of the settlement. By cashing the checks they agree not to go after the credit card companies at a future date.
Here is another website with images of what the mailer and check looks like: http://www.credit.com/blog/2012/01/millions-of-checks-arriving-in-mail-thanks-to-credit-card-class-action-lawsuit/
Bill Querney learned he and his daughter are among the 10 million consumers who can legitimately expect that yes, the check is in the mail. “I’m going to cash it before everyone else does,” says Jennifer Benson with a laugh.
Her father has already cashed his at the bank. His plans for the money? “With 12 grandchildren I’m sure we can split it up,” he says figuring out that’s just over a dollar each.
