American Fair Credit Association Class Action Settlement

AFCA SCHEME TARGETED FINANCIALLY UNSOPHISTICATED CONSUMERS

This class action was brought on behalf of California residents who became members of the American Fair Credit Association (AFCA). In February 2003, Judge Ronald Sabraw of the Alameda County Superior Court and Judge Maxine Chesney of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted final approval to settlements valued at over $40 million.

The American Fair Credit Association targeted financially unsophisticated people of modest means, and promised to repair their bad credit. AFCA members ended up paying over $500 in fees for the first year of membership alone, for which they received a members-only credit card with an initial credit limit of only $300.

Girard Gibbs brought a class action in California state court on behalf of California residents and in federal court on behalf of residents of all other states. The cases asserted claims for violations of consumer laws governing lending and credit services.