Household Finance Corp. Ripped off by the dog and pony show Tucson Arizona

This article appeared in today's St. Paul Pioneer Press, and thought it might be of interest to those dealing with Household Finance and Beneficial. There is hope out there.
Posted on Thu, Aug. 07, 2003

PREDATORY LENDING: Settlement reached with Household

Associated Press

MILWAUKEE About 6,900 Wisconsin residents are eligible for part of a $5.1 million settlement with Household International Inc. over alleged deceptive and unfair lending practices, the state attorney general said.

Mortgage or home equity borrowers, most of whom are from southeast Wisconsin, should receive claim notices in the mail over the next two weeks. Consumers who obtained a mortgage loan directly from Household International from January 1999 through September 2002 are eligible.

Average refunds are expected to be about $750, though they will range from $85 to more than $10,000, according to Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager's office.

Consumers must return a claim and release form to receive a refund, which will be paid by the end of the year.

The refunds are part of a $484 million settlement involving all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

State officials claimed Household International overcharged borrowers with fees and interest and misled them on other loan terms.

They also alleged Household concealed the true expense of its home loans, often adding thousands of dollars for insurance policies, and failed to adequately explain fees.

The settlement was the largest ever obtained by state attorneys general in a consumer protection case.

"It's one of the multistate actions where, not only were we able to get a significant amount of money for the settlement, but we were able to do so in order to restore to consumers' money, that's rightfully theirs," Lautenschlager said Tuesday.

Household International, through its subsidiaries Household Finance and Beneficial Finance, is one of the nation's largest sub-prime mortgage lenders.

Sub-prime lenders give mortgage loans to consumers with credit problems. Customers often are charged higher interest rates because of the increased lending risk.