Class Action Settlement For Users Of Identity Protection Services With Discover Financial Services
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Last week, I received a notice from Discover Financial Services about a class-action settlement offer for consumers who used one a Discover identity protection service:
"If you were enrolled in or billed for Discover Payment Protection, AccountGuard, Identity Theft Protection, Profile Protect, Wallet Protection, The Register and/or Credit Score Tracker between January 21, 2004 and November 9, 2011, this notice describes your rights in connection with a settlement of a lawsuit and your potential recovery."
The settlement combines class-action lawsuits in several states which claimed that Discover Financial Services used improper marketing, enrollment, and pricing practices:
- Walker v. Discover Financial Services et al (N.D. III Case No. 10-cv-06994-JWD)
- Callahan v. Discover Financial Services et al (N.D. III Case No. 1:10-cv-07181-JWD)
- Alexander v. Discover Financial Services et al (D.S.C. Case No. 7:10-cv-02754-HMH)
- Sack v. DFS Services LLC et al (W.D. Tenn. Case No. 2:10-cv-02906-JPM)
- Boyce v. DFS Services LLC (E.D. Pa. Case No. 2:11-cv-00265-LDD)
- Conroy v. Discover Financial Services et al (C.D. Cal. Case No. 2:10-cv-5260-MMM-E)
- Triplett v. Discover Financial Services, Inc. et al (S.D. Fla. Case No. 1:11-cv-20519-AJ)
- Carter v. Discover Financial Services, Inc. et al (E.D. Pa. Case No. 2:11-cv-01656-BMS)
Discover has agreed to set up a settlement $10.5 million fund. If you want to learn more, read the settlement offer details, file a claim, or exclude yourself from this settlement, visit the WalkerSettlement.com website, or contact the Settlement Administrator:
Settlement Administrator
Walker Settlement
P.O. Box 8023
Faribault, MN 55021-9423
Phone: (866) 944-5034
Claims must be filed by June 6, 2012. Exclusion requests and settlement objections must be received by March 23, 2012.
In April 2008, I discussed in this blog my experiences with the Discover Identity Theft Protection service. In September 2011, Javelin Strategy & Research rated Discover's identity fraud resolution services highly in its Seventh Annual Card Issuer's Safety Scorecard. The study evaluated the top 23 card issuers according to three categories: identity fraud prevention, detection and resolution.
The press releases section at the Discover website did not mention the Walker Settlement.
thanks!
Posted by: JoANN NORTON | Sunday, January 01, 2012 at 12:09 PM
Thanks for sharing the such type of valuable information.I really like the such type of informative post..Keep it up...
Posted by: Christianchris | Monday, January 02, 2012 at 07:30 AM
how do i file a claim?
Posted by: donald a stanziano | Monday, January 02, 2012 at 09:11 PM
Donald:
Instructions about how to file a claim are at the website: walkersettlement.com .
George
Editor
http://ivebeenmugged.typepad.com
Posted by: George | Tuesday, January 03, 2012 at 12:28 AM
Not a real website. Any other suggestions?
Posted by: Robin | Wednesday, January 04, 2012 at 02:43 PM
Robin:
Please explain your comment and what led you to conclude the website is not real. I visited the Walker Settlement website 10 minutes ago, and it is live and functional. It is the website mentioned in the DFS announcement. Plus, I listed above the surface mail address. You have everything you need.
George
Editor
http://ivebeenmugged.typepad.com
Posted by: George | Thursday, January 05, 2012 at 12:13 AM
so this is not a scam? i got the same in my mail. am just worried because when i checked the form, it was asking for details aboutmy card.
thanks.
Posted by: rem | Monday, January 23, 2012 at 05:39 PM
I received my post card today indicating that I was enrolled in Discover services. The card tells me that I must exclude myself from the settlement. However, when I visit their website ( the walkersettlement.com), I see no option to opt out of this ridiculous settlement. Can someone please post a link of how to opt out? I personally love Discover and feel that I shouldn't have to opt out of something I didn't agree to.
Thanks.
Posted by: Concerned Discover Cardholder | Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 12:41 AM
Never mind. For anyone that's interested, the exclusion option is listed under "Notice."
Thanks.
Posted by: Concerned Discover Cardholder | Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 12:54 AM
I just received my postcard but the problem is that I don't remember what product exactly I had; tried to call them but the phone number is prerecorded information only. Does anybody know some other real number to call or what to do in my case?
Thanks
Posted by: rneydr6034 | Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 04:15 PM
I still can't figure out from this post if this is real or a fraud. which is it?
Posted by: Babs | Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 07:33 PM
babs:
It is real.
George
Editor
http://ivebeenmugged.typepad.com
Posted by: George | Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 10:40 PM
I went to the website and read but still can figure out how to file a claim with this.
Posted by: Joan | Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 09:11 AM
Hello,
Thanks for your efforts and the info provided by your site.
I have never bought any kind of protection service for payment or ID or any other reason from any of my cards, including Discover. However, possibilities always exist that one is charged for such services due to clicking on the wrong thing, misunderstanding offers, or failing to opt out, etc. Could that be the case here?
If so, I would have to go back and review all Discover records, obviously inconvenient.
Usually in situations like this they provide some examples of problems customers had.
Thanks again. You have a good site.
Giao
Posted by: HM Giao | Friday, January 27, 2012 at 01:34 PM
To GIAO; The first word on the card is "IF" you were enrolled.
Posted by: Dan | Friday, January 27, 2012 at 02:26 PM
Oh this case is real. I cancelled my card back in 2007 because of this because I was so fed up with Discover Card over it all. And 5 years later, I get this thing in the mail telling me I'm enrolled and I didn't know I was even a part of it and I'm married now and I'm calling that number and I can't talk to an actual person to tell them my name is changed and what the deal is, so I don't know what to do on all of that. If anyone knows, please tell me.
Posted by: Mary | Monday, January 30, 2012 at 10:36 AM
William J Boyle
Posted by: A Facebook User | Monday, January 30, 2012 at 04:18 PM
The payout is between $10 and $30 depending on what product you had, and if it is in fact legit.
Posted by: dj | Wednesday, February 01, 2012 at 09:29 AM
A good question to ask your credit monitoring service is what they do in case of identity theft?
Posted by: Ian Worrall | Wednesday, February 01, 2012 at 07:53 PM
Elnora Thompson - account been closed since 2009 and no record of account number. I am 84 years old and wonder if this is real?
Posted by: Elnora Thompson | Sunday, February 05, 2012 at 08:22 AM
You all can still call discover to get the times and account info from years past. discover number 1800 - 347 - 2683. you might be on hold for a while but it pays to talk to a real operator instead of a machine. The way you find out if in fact you are eligible for any type settlement is to first get a card in the mail from the 'settlement administrator' c/o rust consulting, inc. p.o. box 8024 fairbault mn 55021. The post card they sent you has a specific number on it in which you put onto the walkersettlement website. the settlement number is 1-866-944-5034. Remember the discovery people know your information already and have all records from years back and still have your security info questions like mother's maiden name..good luck.
Posted by: [email protected] | Thursday, February 09, 2012 at 10:46 PM
Converse en france:
The Resources page within the blog lists related web sites and blogs. A link is at the top of every page.
George
Editor
http://ivebeenmugged.typepad.com
Posted by: George | Tuesday, March 27, 2012 at 11:19 AM
I don't even remember what service I used, also this is a waste of time, the claim is between $10 and $60 https://walkersettlement.com/Default.aspx?tabid=65&&PageControl=ClaimantInformation
the website ask too many questions and they need a lot of personal info. isn't worthless to give p such info for maybe $30 ?
sorry, I'm out of it.
Posted by: Frank | Tuesday, April 10, 2012 at 12:16 PM
I was just wondering about what to do if you never received that postcard, but the Attorney General, has sent me info about their lawsuit.
Thanks
Posted by: Christopher | Thursday, July 12, 2012 at 10:34 AM
That’s surprising that Discover has really agreed to set up a big settlement for approximately $10.5 million fund. I have already read this settlement offer. This settlement offer is really amazing.
Posted by: John | Wednesday, October 17, 2012 at 07:17 AM
I think that Discover Financial Services should not do used the improper marketing strategy, they should think about the Identity Protection of people. The Identity Protection is really a very important factor for everyone.
Posted by: John | Wednesday, November 07, 2012 at 07:12 AM