More than $22 million will be distributed to about 6,500 consumers who were allegedly harmed by a Maryland-based debt relief and credit repair company, the federal consumer financial protection agency said Friday.
In a post on its blog, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said the consumers would receive their checks in the mail, sent by Friday (May 5). The payments would be sent through the Epiq Systems, the CFPB said, and most customers will automatically receive a refund check.
The payments are being paid following a lawsuit by the agency against Maryland-based Burlington Financial Group, which the CFPB has described as a debt-relief and credit-repair company which marketed and sold debt-relief and credit-repair services to people nationwide from January 2016 until at least September 2019. The company, the CFPB has alleged, collected fees from the customers until at least August 2020, with at least 6,000 people collectively paying Burlington more than $30 million.
In March 2021, the bureau filed a lawsuit against the firm, charging that it offered deceptive debt relief and credit repair services to consumers. In that lawsuit, the CFPB also alleged that Burlington Financial used telemarketing to solicit people with false promises that the company’s services would eliminate credit-card debts and improve credit scores.
The bureau said if a consumer receives a refund check for less than the amount the consumer paid Burlington Financial Group, that consumer may be eligible for additional funds.