Iowa is sharing in a 19-state settlement against a finance company for alleged shady practices in handling home loans. Bill Brauch, a spokesman for Iowa’s Attorney General, says Household Finance has agreed to a settlement of 484-million dollars. Brauch says they believe the company misrepresented loan terms, charged too costly prepayment fees, and forced consumers to buy costly loan insurance.Brauch says roughly one-thousand Iowa customers of Household will get some part of the settlement. He says they’ll share one-point-three million dollars, and possibly more. Brauch says customers don’t need to contact the A-G.He says it will take several weeks to finalize the agreement and determine who’s eligible for a refund. Brauch says this is the largest settlement ever in a federal or state consumer fraud case. He says it should send a message to all lenders regarding the way they do business. For more information on the settlement, surf to the Attorney General’s website.
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