Q. When might I receive a payment?

A. The settlement administrator has mailed checks to eligible class members who submitted claim forms.

Top

Q. Am I a Class Member?

A. If you received a notice in the mail saying that you are a class member, then records identified you as a class member.

If you got at least one Refund Anticipation Loan ("RAL") through an H&R Block office in West Virginia between January 1, 1994 and December 23, 2005, and you did not previously request to be excluded from the class, you are a member of the West Virginia class, also called the Cummins class. But, if you did request exclusion from the West Virginia class and you got another RAL through an H&R Block office in West Virginia in 2005, you are a class member for the year 2005 only.

Top

Q. What is this settlement about?

A. This case combines several lawsuits that were filed against H&R Block, Inc. and various related corporations. The cases were filed against H&R Block in different states at different times, but all essentially make the same claim - that H&R Block violated certain state laws in the way it made RALs available to consumers.

H&R Block denies that it violated any laws, did anything wrong, or that anyone was harmed by its conduct. H&R Block nevertheless has agreed to settle the case solely to avoid the burden, expense, risk and uncertainty of continuing the various lawsuits.

Top

Q. What might I receive from this settlement?

A. If you are a class member and if you submitted a claim form postmarked by June 30, 2006, you will receive a cash payment.

West Virginia class members are entitled to $32.5 million of the $62.5 million settlement, before deductions for certain costs of administering the settlement, attorney's fees and expenses, and service fees paid to the three class representatives.

To receive a payment, you must have returned a claim form postmarked by June 30, 2006. Every Class Member who returns a valid claim form will receive a cash payment. The amount of your payment will depend on the number of valid claim forms that West Virginia Class Members send in, and how many RALs you had during the class period.

If every class member submitted a claim, your share of the settlement would be a minimum of $60.90 for each RAL you obtained during the class period. However, only a percentage of class members has actually submitted claims.

The maximum amount any West Virginia class member can receive is $175 for each RAL obtained during the class period.

Top

Q. How do I file a claim?

A. The deadline for submitting claims was June 30, 2006. Claims postmarked after June 30, 2006 will not be accepted.

Top