Schwartz Refund Settlement

Has anyone gotten the Schwartz Refund Settlement? I got $0.12 and $0.25 from AT&T Universal Card/Citibank as my "Schwartz Settlement Refund"

For many years, Citibank and AT&T Universal (now owned by Citibank) had a policy of charging late fees if your minimum payment wasn't received by 10am on the due date. So, lots of people over the years mailed payments that got there on the due date, but not by 10am, and got hit by $15 or $20 late fees. In addition, since any payment not received by 10am wasn't posted until the following day, anyone carrying a balance had to pay an extra day's interest, which is why they decided so many people are entitled to tiny little refunds.

As a result of the lawsuit, Citibank now credits payments up to 1pm on the day received. In other words, a bunch of lawyers made a bunch of money to get them to barely change their policy.


More info at Citibank on lending.

A cash settlement fund in the amount of $18 million was established to reimburse class members for finance charges and late fees incurred as a result of Citibank and Universal's early payment cut-off policy and to provide statutory damages. Citibank and Universal also agreed to substantial other relief, estimated by class counsel's expert to be worth at least another $18 million . . . The amount of the fees awarded to class counsel pursuant to the percent of recovery method was $7.2 million. That amount represented 20% of the $36 million total value of the settlement.