Nicholas Financial agreed to pay $750,000 to resolve claims it violated debt-collection laws when collecting on loans and repossessing collateral. The settlement benefits individuals who received a presale notice or post-sale explanation from Nicholas Financial Inc. between April 1, 2015, and Dec. 1, 2022, except those against whom Nicholas Financial obtained a final deficiency notice, those who filed for bankruptcy after the collateral sale date whose bankruptcy ended in discharge instead of dismissal and those whose loans Nicholas Financial sold before Feb. 21, 2024. Plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit claim Nicholas Financial violated Missouri consumer protection laws by failing to provide sufficient presale notice and post-sale explanations to consumers whose collateral was repossessed. According to the class action lawsuit, Nicholas Financial also violated Missouri law when attempting to collect on debts. Nicholas Financial Inc. is an automotive lender that partners with dealerships nationwide.
Nicholas Financial hasn’t admitted wrongdoing but agreed to a $750,000 settlement to resolve the debt-collection class action lawsuit.
Under the settlement terms, class members can receive a payment if Nicholas Financial repossessed and sold their vehicles. No payment estimates are available at this time.
The settlement also includes other benefits. Nicholas Financial agreed to write off $86.1 million in deficiency balances owed by class members. The company will also do its best to delete any deficiency balance information from consumer credit reports with the four nationwide consumer reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, Innovis and TransUnion). To read more click here.